Paul’s Testimony
Philippians 3:4–11
Contending for the faith is not easy. It’s an unpopular, perilous, thankless job. It is more pleasant to be an appeaser than an opposer.
The apostle Paul was no appeaser. He strongly opposed those who tried to subvert the doctrine of salvation by faith in Christ and stood steadfast against people who tried to undermine freedom in Christ by adding practices taught by heretical Judaizers. Paul could show the price he paid for his faith by the physical scars he received from stoning, scourging, and other struggles he faced preaching the gospel.
Paul strongly denounced the Judaizers, who taught that Gentiles needed to be circumcised to be saved, calling them “dogs” and “evil workers” whose faith relied on a “mutilation” of the flesh (Phil. 3:2).
Believers should not put confidence in the flesh as proof of their salvation (v. 3). Salvation comes by grace, a gift of God, not of any human work (Eph. 2:8–9).
Paul exposed the futility of the Judaizers’ teaching by giving his own transforming testimony.
Testimony Before Salvation
If anyone could have boasted of his or her Jewish heritage as evidence of salvation, it was Paul. He said, “If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so” (Phil. 3:4).
Paul then presented his exceptional, unrivaled testimony of being an Orthodox Jew before receiving Christ. It is probably the most thorough testimony in Scripture. If Jewish heritage could save a person, Paul would have deserved salvation more than most people for many reasons:
1. By ritual. Paul was “circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel” (v. 5), which the Law commanded of every newborn Jewish boy.
2. By race. Paul was not a proselyte to Judaism, like the Gentile Judaizers, but was born into “the stock of Israel” (v. 5; cf. Rom. 3:1–2; 9:4–5).
3. From a renowned tribe. Paul was “of the tribe of Benjamin” (Phil. 3:5). Benjamin was the younger of Jacob’s two sons with Rachel. (God renamed Jacob “Israel,” Gen. 32:28.) Benjamin was the smallest of the 12 tribes of Israel. The two southern tribes, Benjamin and Judah, remained faithful to the Davidic dynasty when the 10 northern tribes separated from them after King Solomon’s death. Saul, Israel’s first king, was from Benjamin (1 Sam. 9:1), as were Mordecai and Esther (Est. 2:5).
4. By relationship. Paul was “a Hebrew of the Hebrews” (Phil. 3:5), tracing his pure Hebrew ancestry back to Abraham through Jacob and Isaac. He held to the Hebrew language and culture in contrast to the Hellenistic Jews who adopted the Greek language and culture in the Diaspora (Acts 6:1). Paul had remained dedicated to the Orthodox teachings of Judaism and studied under the great Rabbi Gamaliel (22:3; 26:4).
5. By religion. Paul identified himself as “concerning the law, a Pharisee” (Phil. 3:5; cf. Acts 23:6; 26:5). Pharisees strictly observed both the written Law and the minutiae of the oral law. Paul advanced in Judaism far beyond his contemporaries (Gal. 1:14).
6. By reputation. “Concerning zeal, [Paul persecuted] the church” (Phil. 3:6). As a Pharisee, he served God zealously but also persecuted Christians zealously and worked to destroy the early church (Acts 26:9–11). He even consented to stoning Stephen, a Jewish man who was martyred for his faith in Christ (22:20).
7. By righteousness. “Concerning the righteousness which is in the law, [Paul was] blameless” (Phil. 3:6). He did not live a sinless, Jewish life; but he kept all the Law’s outward rules so completely that no one could accuse him of breaking the Mosaic Law or oral traditions required of a Pharisee.
Formerly known by the Hebrew name Saul, Paul had impeccable Jewish credentials that elevated him in the eyes of the Pharisees but did nothing to elevate him in the eyes of God. Saul was a sinful, sanctimonious, proud, and spiritually lost legalist in God’s eyes (cf. Lk. 18:9–14); and before he could please God, he needed to stop trusting in his self-righteousness and trust in Jesus the Messiah alone for salvation.
Testimony After Salvation
Saul met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. There, he learned he could not please God or acquire salvation merely by being born a Jew. He needed to receive Jesus as his Messiah (cf. Jn. 1:12–13). Through his interaction with the Lord, Saul repented of his sin and became born again, receiving new life in Christ (Acts 9:3–22). His name was changed to Paul, and his testimony changed in three major ways:
1. His priority. “What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ” (Phil. 3:7). The words gain and loss are accounting terms. Used here, they describe how Paul evaluated his life to that point. He called his Jewish qualifications “rubbish” (the Greek word means “dung” or “excrement”), something worthless and detestable compared to what he received in Christ (v. 8).
2. His passion. “[To] be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ” (v. 9). Paul valued God’s gift of righteousness through saving faith in Christ alone above any pseudo righteousness he could acquire by keeping the Jewish Law (cf. Rom. 3:21–26).
3. His purpose. “That I may know Him” (Phil. 3:10). The word know (Greek, ginosko) indicates Paul knew Christ not only intellectually but also experientially as he yielded his life to Him. Paul desired deeper knowledge and spiritual intimacy with Christ.
He wanted to experience many things concerning Christ and to know the “power of His resurrection” (v. 10). The strength and miraculous nature of Jesus’ resurrection were equaled in human history only by His incarnation. Paul longed to experience the fullness of Christ’s inexhaustive power.
The Jewish apostle also desired to become a joint heir in the “fellowship of His sufferings” (v. 10). Because of Jesus’ perfect righteousness, He was hated, persecuted, and crucified. The more Paul partnered with Jesus’ suffering, the more he experienced a deeper intimacy with Him and a greater compassion and love for the Lord and others.
After Paul’s conversion, God instructed Ananias to tell him how much he would suffer for Jesus’ sake (Acts 9:16). Yet, Paul never drew back from suffering for Christ.
His final desire was to be “conformed to His [Jesus’] death” (Phil. 3:10). The word conformed means to become like something or someone. Christ died to pay the price necessary to redeem sinners, which Paul could not do. But Paul could give his life to reach sinners with the gospel of Christ. As the apostle learned more about Jesus’ life, resurrection power, and suffering for righteousness, he became conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, or made like Him (Rom. 8:29).
Putting off his old self, Paul wanted a new life of humility and self-denial through Christ’s resurrection power. In so doing, Jesus’ life would be lived out through Paul for all to see and imitate.
The apostle completed his thought by saying, “If, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil. 3:11). Paul did not doubt he would be resurrected. He used the word if with assurance that he would join the resurrection of believers. This was Paul’s desire, assurance, and goal.
Paul’s desire to know Christ fully is wrapped up in his testimony, one filled with zeal, passion, and commitment. This Jewish man underwent an amazing transformation. He maintained unrivaled adherence to Orthodox Jewish teaching before meeting the risen Messiah on the Damascus road. Then he thoroughly submitted to the Lord Jesus Christ.
May Paul’s testimony become our testimony as we live our Christian lives for all to see.
