Philippians 3:8-21

New International Reader's Version

⁸ Even more, I consider everything to be nothing compared to knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. To know him is worth much more than anything else. Because of him I have lost everything. But I consider all of it to be garbage so I can know Christ better. ⁹ I want to be joined to him. Being right with God does not come from my obeying the law. It comes because I believe in Christ. It comes from God because of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ better. Yes, I want to know the power that raised him from the dead. I want to join him in his sufferings. I want to become like him by sharing in his death. ¹¹ Then by God’s grace I will rise from the dead.

¹² I have not yet received all these things. I have not yet reached my goal. Christ Jesus took hold of me so that I could reach that goal. So I keep pushing myself forward to reach it. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I don’t consider that I have taken hold of it yet. But here is the one thing I do. I forget what is behind me. I push hard toward what is ahead of me. ¹⁴ I push myself forward toward the goal to win the prize. God has appointed me to win it. The heavenly prize is Christ Jesus himself.

Following Paul’s Example

¹⁵ So all of us who are grown up in the faith should see things this way. Maybe you think differently about something. But God will make it clear to you. ¹⁶ Only let us live up to what we have already reached.

¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, join together in following my example. You have us as a model. So pay close attention to those who live as we do. ¹⁸ I have told you these things many times before. Now I tell you again with tears in my eyes. Many people live like enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ The only thing they have coming to them is death. Their stomach is their god. They brag about what they should be ashamed of. They think only about earthly things. ²⁰ But we are citizens of heaven. And we can hardly wait for a Savior from there. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ He has the power to bring everything under his control. By his power he will change our earthly bodies. They will become like his glorious body.