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Philippians 03 General Notes
Structure and formatting
Philippians 3:4-8 contains a list of Paul's "qualifications" for being considered a righteous Jew. In every conceivable way, Paul was an exemplary Jew. He uses this to contrast with the greatness of knowing Jesus. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/righteous)
Special concepts in this chapter
Dogs
In the ancient Near East, dogs were used as an image to refer to people in a negative way. Not all cultures will use the term "dogs" in this way and some cultures may have positive connotations associated with dogs.
Resurrected Bodies
Very little is known about what people will look like in heaven. It is apparent from this chapter, people will have bodies and they will be free from sin. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/heaven and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/sin)
Important figures of speech in this chapter
Prize
Paul uses an extended illustration to describe the Christian life. The goal of the Christian life is attempting to grow in likeness to Christ until a person dies. This goal can never be perfectly achieved but must be strived for.