Philippians 3:8 8But to the contrary, I even count all things to be a loss on account of the surpassing excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and consider them garbage, in order that I may gain Christ.
Paul repeats the idea of loss and gain, indicating the importance of this illustration for him and his purpose in writing this letter. He makes this loss a conscience decision by counting everything he had accomplished in life as a garbage compared to knowing Jesus. The word for garbage (skybala) refers to the dirty, stinky stuff that accumulates in one’s trash can by the end of the week and stinks up the house. Not everything of Paul’s past was bad but it just came from the wrong source. He lived his old life by his own strength and understanding. He lived his new life by knowing Jesus Christ. There is an important comparison in this verse. When the old life is lined up with the new life in Christ, there is no comparison. Even the great things that Paul had accomplished or given in inheritance could not even make the lowest place on his list of importance.
The key thought of this verse is expressed in the phrase, surpassing excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. This was the goal of Paul’s life. This is more than intellectual knowledge, though we need to come to know Christ’s teachings. The type of knowledge of Christ Paul desired was personal, face-to-face (1:21), and experienced as love (Ephesians 3:19). While in this world, Paul could experience the love of Christ in increasing amounts through the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit. Surpassing (hyperechon) refers to something of the highest degree or height, like the tallest mountain peak. There is nothing greater to be experienced in this life than knowing Christ.
When all of Paul’s accomplishments were lined up in comparison to this knowledge, it was not even worth considering. He was willing to give up all things in order to gain this personal knowledge of Christ. The gain far outweighed the loss. Sadly, many people see becoming a Christian as a loss. They cannot do some activities or go to some places. They can eat or drink certain things or spend their money in certain things. Jesus laid out the options clearly in Luke 9:23-24, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”
This attitude is the core requirement for the sanctified life. It is not optional. It is not for the spiritual elite. It is for every follower of Jesus. We become God’s people not by regulations like circumcision or church attendance or any other religious activity, but by faith in Christ alone. If we think we have to do all this “stuff” to please God, we are in essences saying that Christ’s death on the cross was not enough to save us. This type of thinking says that we need to help out God by doing things to make ourselves righteous. We act like there are extra things we need to do for salvation. The false teachers who pushed circumcision believed they needed to follow the Jewish law. For us today, we think doing churchy things is enough. What is enough is to know Christ.
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