Paul was furious. The young house church he had planted in Philippi, the first church in Europe and home to Lydia, the jailer and his family, and a freed fortune-teller, was being told that faith in Jesus wasn't enough. False teachers insisted the Gentile believers also had to keep the Jewish law. Paul's answer is his own story.
By every religious measure, Paul had the perfect record: the right birth, the right rituals, the right zeal. He calls all of it loss, even rubbish, next to "the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." In this teaching we look at two things in Philippians 3:1–14. First, Paul's reversal of fortunes, as he trades his own righteousness for the righteousness that comes from God by faith. Second, his shift in ambition, as being loved by Christ makes knowing Christ the one goal of his life, even sharing in His sufferings.
