Philippians and Philemon - MR Vincent - 1906.pdf
Philippians and Philemon - MR Vincent - 1906.pdf
Philippians and Philemon - MR Vincent - 1906.pdf
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III. 6, 7] ALL LOST FOR CHRIST 99<br />
is treated as p7-oceeding from the law. The reference need not be<br />
confined to the ceremonial law, for the law is a whole (Gal. iii. 10).<br />
* having become ' : in the course of my pursuit of<br />
yevojLievos :<br />
legal righteousness.<br />
/£/7 : See on ii. 15. Not absolutely blameless, according<br />
to God's st<strong>and</strong>ard, but in human judgment. (Comp. Gal. i. 14.)<br />
On Holsten's attempt to impugn the authenticity of the epistle by<br />
endeavoring to show in this statement a contradiction of Paul's teaching<br />
elsewhere that man is unable perfectly to keep the law, see Introd. vi.<br />
The blamelessness here asserted is according to human, Pharisaic st<strong>and</strong>ards.<br />
me.'<br />
7. axiva. y]v £8 :<br />
' but such things as were gains to<br />
: instead of the simple a, because of €8 :<br />
* things which<br />
were of such a kind that they could be called 8.' It presents<br />
a category of the things specified in vs. 5, 6. See for this usage<br />
Gal. iv. 24, V. 19 ; Phil. ii. 20 ; Col. ii. 23.<br />
.01 : dative of advantage ; not of judgment, ' in my estimation.'<br />
' €8 : gains,' taken separately ; the profits of descent, of legal<br />
strictness, of zeal, etc., each attended with its own particular gain.<br />
: defining <strong>and</strong> emphasising 8.<br />
' '<br />
I have counted -:<br />
: with deliberate judgment. (See on<br />
ii. 6.)<br />
:<br />
' a loss.' The several gains are massed in one loss.<br />
The word only in this epistle <strong>and</strong> Acts xxvii. 10, 21. See farther<br />
on((vs. 8).<br />
From his former experience he now turns to his present Christ-<br />
ian ideal <strong>and</strong> his efforts to attain it.<br />
8-14. Since the hour of my conversion my estimate of the worth-<br />
lessness of my legal righteousness <strong>and</strong> its profits has not changed.<br />
I continue to count them all but loss as compared with the surpass-<br />
ing worth of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. To me they<br />
are mere refuse, if I can but inake Christ my own <strong>and</strong> may be<br />
found living in him, not having a righteousness of my own, which<br />
is of the law, but rather a righteousness which proceeds from God,<br />
which is based upon faith, <strong>and</strong> which becomes mine throtigh faith<br />
in Christ: a righteoustiess which means such intimate <strong>and</strong> prac-<br />
tical knowledge of Christ as that his risen life shall be a power in<br />
my life, <strong>and</strong> his sufferitigs shall be mine, even unto death ; <strong>and</strong><br />
that so^ at last, if this may be, I may be raised from the dead as<br />
he was. I speak of my desire, not of my attainment, for I have<br />
not yet realised my ideal ; but I am pressing on toward the attain-