 |
|
|
| |
 |
Humble Dependence |
|
| |
| |
"Not
only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss
for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything
away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may
gain Christ..." — Philippians 3:8 (TEV) |
|
| |
|
|
Just
like a child, the Apostle Paul was completely
unconcerned with the trappings of this world,
choosing instead to humbly place his entire life — every
material, physical, emotional, and spiritual
need — into the capable hands of his Heavenly
Father.
Capturing
Paul's Heart
When
reading scripture, it's easy to browse over a
passage and miss its message entirely. To hone
in on the essence of a passage, it's necessary
to stop, ask questions, and tap some additional
resources for greater depth. Here's what I mean:
Looking
at Philippians 3:8, what did Paul truly mean
when he spoke these words? What lay at the heart
of his life-altering decision to depend fully
on the Lord and reject all else? To find out,
let's examine our main passage's key phrases
under the microscope of the UBS
New Testament Handbook Series  ,
one of the most comprehensive word study reference
works available for PC Study Bible. |
|
| How
PC Study Bible helped this portion of
my study: |
|
Wherever you see this icon, click
it to view a screen shot from
PC Study Bible of the item described. |
|
|
To
get a clearer picture of the Apostle
Paul's humble dependence upon the
Lord, I used The
UBS New Testament Handbook Series to
quickly and easily break down the
key words and phrases in my main
passage. |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
PHRASE
|
EXCERPT
FROM THE UBS NEW TESTAMENT HANDBOOK
|
|
|
| Paul
uses a series of particles ("yes rather
even") as a forceful introduction for
an important statement. The combined force
of these particles indicates that his statement
in verse 7 is inadequate, and he feels constrained
to reinforce it. The force of these particles
has been expressed in various ways: JB "not
only that"; NEB "I would say more";
Brc "yes, and more than that"; TEV not
only those things. The TEV translation
makes explicit the fact that the things which
Paul counts as loss are not limited to those
already mentioned. "Nothing" can
compete with the supreme gain of knowing Christ.
The contrast between verses 7 and 8 is clearly
brought out in the TEV rendering: those
things vs. everything,
and loss vs. complete
loss. |
|
I
reckon everything as complete loss
|
|
"I
count everything I used to do as a complete
loss," or whatever I used to do is
now completely valueless in my reckoning.
|
|
for
the sake of what is so much more valuable
|
|
If
for the sake of is understood as cause,
one may translate this phrase as "because
of what is much more valuable." It
is also possible to interpret for the sake
of as introducing a type of goal, for example, "in
order to gain what is so much more valuable," "in
order to have what is so much more valuable," or "...what
is worth so much more."
|
|
the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord
|
|
Primarily,
this knowledge is not intellectual but experiential.
In this context, the knowledge of Christ
is personal and intimate, as the expression
my Lord shows, certainly more than an intellectual
apprehension of truth about Christ. Rather,
it is a personal appropriation of and communion
with Christ himself.
|
|
For
his sake I have thrown everything away
|
|
I
have thrown everything away should
not be understood in merely a physical
sense. One can translate this expression
as "everything I used to do has become
a complete loss," or "...has
become useless." Or one may shift
the figure somewhat by saying "I have
abandoned everything I used to do."
|
|
I
consider it all as mere garbage
|
|
The
intention is no doubt to declare Paul's considered
decision to do away with his old life. In
the light of this new evaluation, he now
sees everything as mere garbage. The Greek
word rendered garbage can mean either "excrement" (KJV "dung")
or "that which is thrown to the dogs," that
is, "rubbish" (JB NAB), "refuse" (RSV),
or "garbage" (NEB). In any case,
the idea is that of utter worthlessness and
disgust. I consider it all as mere garbage
may be rendered as "I count all this
as fit for the refuge heap," or, expressed
somewhat more idiomatically, "I throw
all of it into the street."
|
|
so
that I may gain Christ
|
|
The
motive of Paul's revaluation is to gain
Christ. The verb used here is a cognate
of the noun rendered profit in verse 7.
To gain Christ is best understood in the
sense of gaining a profit by personal appropriation
of Christ...It my be better in some cases
to translate "so that I may have the
advantage of being related to Christ," or "so
that I may have the value of belonging
to Christ."
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
What
Have We Learned?
By
breaking down our key passage into phrases,
then examining those phrases to capture their
individual meanings, the UBS New Testament
Handbook helped us gain a much clearer
picture of the extent to which the Apostle
Paul abandoned himself to Christ's will and
provision for his life, no matter what the
cost.
In
the next section of our study, we'll investigate
another aspect of child-like faith: having
a teachable heart. Keep
reading |
|
|
| Action
Step |
 |
|
|
|
| Make
a list of the major areas of your life — job,
family, friends, relationship with God, etc.
Go down the list and think about who holds
the reigns of that area, you or God? |
| Pray
about what adjustments need to be made. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| • |
TODAY'S
ENGLISH VERSION, First
Edition. Copyright © 1976, American Bible
Society. Used by permission. |
| • |
THE
UBS NEW TESTAMENT HANDBOOK SERIES. Copyright © 1961-1977,
United Bible Societies.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 USE
THIS STUDY
within PC Study Bible |
| To integrate
this study into your PC Study Bible Version 4 library: |
| 1 |
Click on
the file below. |
| 2 |
select "Open" or "Run" in
the file download window that appears.
|
| 3 |
Follow the instructions
on your screen. |
|
|
|
| (will
only work with PC Study Bible Version
4) |
|
|
Don't
have PCSB V4?
Try | Buy | Upgrade |
|
|
|
|
 DIG
DEEPER
with PC Study Bible |
| 1 |
HUMBLE
DEPENDENCE
A look at genuine, child-like dependence upon the Lord, as
seen in the life of the Apostle Paul. |
| 2 |
A
TEACHABLE HEART
When was the last time you just sat down at God's feet and
listened, just to find out what He might say? |
|
|
|
|
| An
in-depth commentary on the meaning and proper translation
of New Testament words and phrases. Complete 20 volume
set. Over 7,000 pages of expert linguistic analysis.
Written in easy-to-understand English. |
| Click
here to learn more» |
|
 |
Click
here if you'd like to find out more about PC Study Bible
from BIBLESOFT. |
|
|
Or
call 206.824.8360
M-F, 8am-5pm PT
and mention this study
|
|
|
