Philippians: The Surpassing Value of Knowing Christ Jesus
Philippians 3:7-11; Matthew 13:44-46 - What is your most prized possession?
“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Philippians 3:7-11 NASB1995
Paul looks back on his curricula vitae and counts those things that he thought were gain to him as loss for the sake of Christ and the surpassing value of knowing Him. The AI image that Steve created is that moment in Paul’s life when all of those trappings and intellectual smugness of his life as a rich, zealous Pharisee were traded in for the ultimate prize. These parables of the hidden treasure and the costly pearl come to mind:
““The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:44-46 NASB1995
I have a small bookcase in our family room that has a bunch of trinkets and fancy glass/metal thingies with my name on them displayed on the top and inside. It contains the awards and special honors that I was given during my 37-year career as an Aerospace engineer that ended at my retirement almost eight years ago; the awards even include plaques from outside space organizations for papers that I wrote and team awards for being part of a special team that did something. We went to awards dinners, received a nice dinner, I went up on stage and was handed an award and occasionally I even got a bonus check for the effort. These looked good on the resume, which was kept current because you never knew when you had to find another job in the volatile aerospace business.
Along with those dust collectors that I find less and less interesting, we have a house filled with more rubbish that we have bought over the years or that my late Mother (an inveterate collector) gave to us after one of my parents’ trips. Steve has done a great job whittling down the detritus; in fact, we just donated an old bed and dresser and night stand and he threw out big trash bags full of useless Knick-knacks that were hiding in the drawers of that long-disused dresser. Another charity group received a big stack of framed posters and photos as a donation, plus many, many books. Just the frames of the pictures themselves were composed of quite expensive materials, so we hope they are found useful. Previously, we got rid of a large baseball collection and college books and notebooks of school papers that we kept in bookcases downstairs, plus we got rid of the old bookcases (was I seriously thinking we would someday be nostalgic and look at old calculus tests?). Next up? A Disney collection! We’re in that stage of life called “downsizing”, eyeing a move in the next few years to a smaller senior independent living place. I have one word of advice (besides surrendering yourself to Jesus) for younger folks - don’t buy stuff and start “collections”!
We’re not quite hoarders, but we have a long ways to go before we are we are down to the basics. By the way, the word “rubbish” has an interesting origin in this passage:
Rubbish comes from the Greek noun σκύβαλον or skýbalon, (Strong’s G4657), with the following Biblical usages:
any refuse, as the excrement of animals, offscourings, rubbish, dregs
of things worthless and detestable
I also like this commentary from Our Daily Bread ministries, quoted in Precept Austin:
WHEN ALL IS LOST - Philippians 3:7-14 - What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. —Philippians 3:7
I was rummaging around my son's garage and found all the trophies he had won in his years of athletic competition. There they were in a box—about to be thrown out.
I thought of the blood, sweat, and tears that had gone into gaining those awards, yet now he was putting them in the trash. They no longer had any value to him.
It reminded me of a whimsical children's poem by Shel Silverstein called "Hector the Collector." It describes all the things that Hector collected over the years. He "loved them more than shining diamonds, loved them more than glistenin' gold." Then Hector called to all his friends, "Come and share my treasure trunk!" And all the people "came and looked and called it junk."
So it will be at the end of our lives. All our possessions—the things we've spent a lifetime working for—will be nothing but junk. That's when we'll surely know that the best things in life are not things.
But we can have the right perspective now, as Paul did. "What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ" (Philippians 3:7). We can keep a proper attitude about our possessions, because we possess the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord.—David H. Roper (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)
I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold,
I'd rather be His than have riches untold;
I'd rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today. —Miller
© Renewal 1950 Chancel Music, IncOur greatest riches are the riches we have in Christ.
The treasure and pearl of great price is not found in any material possession!!
Paul has one of his famous run-on sentences in this passage so you have to pick some of the pieces from his profound insights. Another key part of that passage is that Paul acknowledges that his righteousness is not from the Law but is from faith in Christ, so that he may know Him and the power of His resurrections and the fellowship of His sufferings. Paul is conformed to His death so that he, Paul, may also attain resurrection from the dead. I think Enduring Word hits it out of the ballpark with their commentary:
And be found in Him: Because Paul was in Him, he could renounce his own righteousness and live by the righteousness which is from God by faith. The foundation for his spiritual life was in what Jesus had done for him and not in what he had done, was doing, or would do for Jesus in the future.
The righteousness which is from God by faith: Paul here exposed the great difference between the legal relationship stressed by his opponents and his personal connection with Jesus Christ. The difference is between living and trusting in your own righteousness and living and trusting in God’s righteousness given through faith in Christ.
“He disowns his own righteousness as eagerly as other men disown their sins, and he highly esteems the righteousness which Christ has wrought out for us, which becomes ours by faith.” (Charles Spurgeon)
…
That I may know Him: This was the simple plea of Paul’s heart. It was a plea unknown to the legalist, who must necessarily focus on his own performance and status to find some kind of peace with God. But Paul wanted Jesus, not self.
To know Jesus is not the same as knowing His historical life; it is not the same as knowing correct doctrines regarding Jesus; it is not the same as knowing His moral example, and it is not the same as knowing His great work on our behalf.
We can say that we know someone because we recognize him: because we can distinguish what is different about him compared to other people.
We can say that we know someone because we are acquainted with what he does; we know the baker because we get our bread from him.
We can say that we know someone because we actually converse with him; we are on speaking terms with that person.
We can say that we know someone because we spend time in his house and with his family.
We can say that we know someone because we have committed our life to him and live with him every day, sharing every circumstance as in a marriage.
Yet beyond all this, there is a way of knowing Jesus Christ that includes all of these, yet goes beyond them.
“They tell me he is a refiner, that he cleanses from spots; he has washed me in his precious blood, and to that extent I know him. They tell me that he clothes the naked; he hath covered me with a garment of righteousness, and to that extent I know him. They tell me that he is a breaker, and that he breaks fetters, he has set my soul at liberty, and therefore I know him. They tell me that he is a king and that he reigns over sin; he hath subdued my enemies beneath his feet, and I know him in that character. They tell me he is a shepherd: I know him for I am his sheep. They say he is a door: I have entered in through him, and I know him as a door. They say he is food: my spirit feeds on him as on the bread of heaven, and, therefore, I know him as such.” (Charles Spurgeon)
And the power of His resurrection: Knowing Jesus means knowing this power, the new life that is imparted to us now, not when we die.
“He wants to know in an experiential way the power of Christ’s resurrection. That is, he wants to experience the same power that raised Christ from the dead surging through his own being, overcoming sin in his life and producing the Christian graces.” (Kenneth Wuest)
“I do not think, however, that Paul is here thinking so much of the power displayed in the resurrection, as of the power which comes out of it, which may most properly be called, ‘the power of his resurrection.’ This the apostle desired to apprehend and to know.” (Charles Spurgeon)
The power of His resurrection is an evidencing power. It is the evidence and seal that everything Jesus did and said was true.
The power of His resurrection is a justifying power. It is the receipt and proof that the sacrifice of the cross was accepted as payment in full.
The power of His resurrection is a life-giving power. It means that those who are connected with Jesus Christ receive the same resurrection life.
The power of His resurrection is a consoling and comforting power. It promises that our friends and loved ones who are dead in Christ live with Him.
And the fellowship of His sufferings: Knowing Jesus also means knowing this fellowship of His sufferings. It is all part of following Jesus and being in Christ. We can say that suffering is part of our heritage as the children of God; we get to be part of the family of suffering: If children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together (Romans 8:17).
Being conformed to His death: This reminds us that being in Christ also means being “in” His death. These words had particular relevance to Paul who faced possible martyrdom.
If, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead: Paul was not morbidly focused on suffering and death in the Christian life. He saw that they were a necessary way to the goal of resurrection life right now and the ultimate resurrection from the dead.
This was a goal that was worth any means to Paul. The suffering was worth it, considering the greatness of the goal of resurrection from the dead.
I may attain: Paul didn’t doubt that he was saved, but he did long mightily for the completion of his salvation through the resurrection of his body. It was something that he had not yet attained and longed for.
Remember that Paul wrote this having experienced more suffering than we will ever experience, and he wrote it from the custody of Roman soldiers. This wasn’t merely theological theory and ideas, but a lived-out connection with God.
WOW, that’s good! The Spurgeon quote on what we know about Jesus is worth repeating as a list:
A refiner
A washer
A clothier
A chain-breaker
A sovereign king
A shepherd
A door
A vital food
The power of His resurrection is an evidencing power (truth), a justifying power (payment in full), a life-giving power (we have the same thing as believers), and a consoling and comforting power (others who believe are in Him).
Paul got the better end of the bargain when he traded his comfortable Pharisee lifestyle for the difficulties of being an apostle of Christ, even as he languishes under house arrest in Rome. My next devotional examines Philippians 3:12-16 - Press on to the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus!
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Please help me to continue to walk away from the “treasures” of this life and trade those treasures in for the truth of the Resurrection. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 07/20/2025 to review the lexicon for rubbish.
Enduring Word commentary by David Guzik is used with written permission. Minor formatting changes have been made to improve readability.
Precept Austin was accessed on 07/20/2025 to review commentary for Philippians 3:7-11.