(Re: *Calvinism's idea of *perseverance)
Calvinism's mistaken doctrine of once-saved-always-saved through assured perseverance unwittingly ends up logically requiring that Christians are robots. For if Christians cannot choose to do evil to the point where they can ultimately lose their salvation, then they no longer have free will. Also, the mistaken doctrine of assured perseverance unwittingly ends up logically requiring that a Christian can have no present assurance that he is truly saved. For if a Christian who does not persevere to the end was never truly saved, then no Christian can presently have the assurance that he is truly saved because no Christian can know if he will persevere to the end. Down the road, he could fail to persevere and so end up showing that he was all along only a fake Christian, a self-deceived hypocrite.
(Re: *Assurance of present salvation)
But under true, Biblical doctrine, every believer in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, John 20:31) can know that he is presently saved (1 John 5:13; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4), if, after he became a Christian, he repented from his sins (1 John 3:6) and confessed them to God (1 John 1:9). And he can be sure that as a saved person, he can never be separated from the love of God, so long as he loves God (Romans 8:28-39), which means to obey Him (1 John 5:3, John 14:21-24). And no matter how many tests a Christian fails during his lifetime, sometime subsequent to his initial repentance, even if he fails and commits sin seventy-times-seven times in a single day (Matthew 18:21-22, Luke 17:4), he can be sure that so long as he sincerely repents from every act of sin and confesses it to God, he will be completely forgiven (1 John 1:9). He will lose his salvation ultimately only if he wrongly employs his free will to do something like committing a sin without repentance (Hebrews 10:26-29; 1 Corinthians 9:27, Luke 12:45-46), or becoming utterly lazy without repentance (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a, Romans 2:6-8), or committing apostasy (Hebrews 6:4-8, John 15:6; 2 Timothy 2:12).
(See also the "repentance" section of Hebrews 10:26 below)
--
*Philippians 3:2-3 / *Philip. 3:2 / *Philip. 3:3 -
The word "concision" is translated from the original Greek word "katatome" (G2699), which can mean the "mutilation", and which was the apostle Paul's hyperbolic term for those who mistakenly teach that the physical circumcision of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law is required for salvation from hell (Acts 15:1,5, Galatians 5:2-12); while in Philippians 3:3 the "circumcision" (peritome: G4061) refers to the spiritual circumcision which all water-immersion (burial) baptized Christians have undergone (Colossians 2:11-13, Romans 2:29).
Nothing in the context of Philippians 3:2 requires that the apostle Paul is referring only to Jews in Philippians 3:3. Instead, in Philippians 3:3, "we" refers to the Jew Paul (Acts 22:3, Romans 11:1) and his both Gentile and Jewish Christian "brethren" in the Lord (Philippians 4:1), whom he is addressing in Philippians 3:1-2, just as both Gentile and Jewish Christians are included in the "us" in Philippians 3:15, in the "we" and "us" of Philippians 3:16, in the "our" and "we" of Philippians 3:20, and in the "our" of Philippians 3:21.
In Philippians 3:2-16 the point is to contrast the spiritual circumcision of all water-immersion (burial) baptized Christians (Philippians 3:3, Colossians 2:11-13, Romans 2:29), whether Jews or Gentiles, with the spiritual worthlessness, under the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, of the Old Covenant Mosaic law's physical circumcision, and the keeping of all of the rest of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Philippians 3:5-16).
(See also the "Law" section of Ephesians 2:15 above)
--
*Philippians 3:6 / *Philip. 3:6 -
Before he came into faith, the apostle Paul was "blameless" with regard to the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Philippians 3:6) in the sense of his self-righteousness, "mine own righteousness" (Philippians 3:9), as opposed to being righteous in the sight of God, which required faith, even in Old Covenant times (Galatians 3:11, Philippians 3:9, Habakkuk 2:4).
--
*Philippians 3:9 / *Philip. 3:9 -
This contrasts Christian faith with non-Christian, Mosaic law-keeping. It is not contradicting the necessity of works of faith for ultimate salvation (Romans 2:6-8; 1 Thessalonians 1:3).
--
*Philippians 3:11-15 / *Philip. 3:11 -
This refers to both the future resurrection of the obedient Christian dead of all times into physical immortality (1 Corinthians 15:52-53), and to how the apostle Paul was making sure that he would attain to it by being careful to continue to diligently follow Jesus Christ. Attainment is actually arriving at the goal. Christians' own actions will determine whether or not they will attain ultimate salvation from hell (Romans 2:6-8, James 2:24, Hebrews 5:9).
(See also the "Ultimate salvation" section of Ephesians 2:8 above)
--
*Philippians 3:12-15 / *Philip. 3:12 -
(*Perfect)
This passage shows how Christians can at the same time be in one sense not yet perfect, and in another sense already be perfect:
Philippians 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect [teleioo: G5048]: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 ¶Let us therefore, as many as be perfect [teleios: G5046], be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
(See also Matthew 5:48 above)
--
*Philippians 3:19 / *Philip. 3:19 -
(Re: Destruction / G0684 = annihilation?)
No, see Matthew 7:13 above.
--
*Philippians 3:20 / *Philip. 3:20 -
The original Greek word (politeuma: G4175) translated as "conversation" can mean "citizenship" (Strong's Greek Dictionary). The citizenship of Christians is currently in heaven (Philippians 3:20) because the literal city of New Jerusalem is currently in heaven (Hebrews 12:22, Galatians 4:26), and Christians become citizens of New Jerusalem through their faith in the New Covenant of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:22-24, Galatians 4:24-26, Matthew 26:28).
But in the future, the New Jerusalem, which is God the Father's house (John 14:2), will descend from heaven to a New Earth (Revelation 21:1-3), as in a new surface for the earth. So the citizenship of Christians will then be on the New Earth. Also, even before the time of the New Earth, at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming He will establish the Kingdom of God physically on the present earth, during the future Millennium, along with the physically resurrected Church (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29, Psalms 66:3-4, Psalms 72:8-11, Zechariah 14:3-21). So at that time, the citizenship of Christians will also be on the present earth.
--
*Philippians 3:21 / *Philip. 3:21 -
(Re: Will Christians who suffered wounds in a martyr's death retain those wounds in their resurrection bodies, like Jesus Christ's resurrected body retained His crucifixion wounds: John 20:24-28?)
Yes, they could (cf. Luke 6:40).
~
(Re: So Christian martyrs who had their face blown away with a shotgun blast will be in a resurrected "perfect" body with a blown-away face, and decapitated Christians will spend eternity carrying around their "glorified" but still decapitated heads?)
No, it will not have to be that graphic. For just as Jesus Christ's crucifixion wounds probably were not still flowing with blood and pus at the time of His resurrection (John 20:24-28), like they could have while He was on the Cross (John 19:34), so any martyrdom wounds on Christians' resurrection bodies (cf. Luke 6:40) could be healed to the point where they will not look as bad as they did when those Christians died. So a blown-away face after its resurrection could merely have some pockmarks on it, as a remembrance of what happened to it for the sake of Christ. And a beheaded Christian could keep his head on his resurrection body, but with a red-scar ring around his neck, as a record of his brave martyrdom.
~
(Re: What about organ transplants? Whose resurrected body gets the liver, the kidney, the heart? The donor or the recipient?)
Each resurrected body could have a regeneration of its original parts.
--
*Philippians 4:5b / *Philip. 4:5b -
The original Greek word (eggus: G1451) translated as "at hand" can refer to something being near to something else in a place (Luke 19:11, John 3:23, John 6:19). So Philippians 4:5b can refer to the Lord Jesus Christ's spiritual presence being with Christians, in any place, and also at any time (Matthew 28:20b).
--
*Philippians 4:6-7 / *Philip. 4:6 -
See 1 Peter 5:7 below.
--
*Philippians 4:13 / *Philip. 4:13 -
Christians are not feeble (Philippians 4:13), for Jesus Christ gives them more than enough strength to continue in the Christian faith (Hebrews 12:2), to continue to do good works (John 15:4-5), to continue to repent from sins (John 8:34-36), and to overcome (Revelation 12:11), to the end (Matthew 24:13), by their own choice. But there is no assurance that they will choose to do these things to the end (1 Timothy 4:1, Matthew 25:26,30, Hebrews 10:26-29, Revelation 21:7-8).
(See also the "NOSAS" section of Hebrews 3:6 below)
--
*Colossians 1:12 / *Col. 1:12 -
The original Greek word (hikanoo: G2427) translated as "meet" can mean "able" (2 Corinthians 3:6).
--
*Colossians 1:15 / *Col. 1:15 -
Here, "firstborn" means first in the sense of supremacy (Colossians 1:16), not chronology. For Jesus Christ was born, and so became the Son of God, only when Luke 1:35 was fulfilled at the time of Luke 2:11 in the first century AD, which was some 4,000 years after the birth of Cain in Genesis 4:1. A similar, non-chronological use of "firstborn" is found in Psalms 89:27, Jeremiah 31:9, and Exodus 4:22.
~
In Colossians 1:15, every "creature" means every created thing (Colossians 1:16). So Colossians 1:15 means that Jesus Christ is supreme over every created thing, not just humans (Mark 4:41, Matthew 8:16).
(See also Romans 8:19 above)
--
*Colossians 1:16-18 / *Col. 1:16 -
(See Matthew 28:18 above)
As God the Word, Jesus Christ was the Creator of everything in heaven and earth (Colossians 1:16-18, John 1:1,3). And in the first century AD, He became a flesh-and-bones human being (John 1:14; 2 John 1:7) so that He could suffer and die on the Cross for our sins, rise physically from the dead on the third day (Hebrews 2:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4), and become our eternally-human high priest/mediator (Hebrews 7:24-26; 1 Timothy 2:5).
After His resurrection into immortality in His fully-human flesh and bones body (Luke 24:39), Jesus Christ the man was given ultimate spiritual authority over heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18). He ascended bodily into heaven (Acts 1:9-10) and is now there ruling spiritually over everything (1 Peter 3:22, Ephesians 1:20-23, Colossians 2:10,15, Philippians 2:9).
But He will not take ultimate, de facto, physical authority over the earth until His future, Second Coming, when, still as a flesh-and-bones human being (Zechariah 13:6, Zechariah 12:10-14), He will descend from heaven (Revelation 19:11-21, Zechariah 14:3-4, Acts 1:11-12) to reign on the earth (Psalms 72:8-11, Zechariah 14:9-21) with a rod of iron with the physically resurrected Church for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29, Psalms 2, Psalms 66:3-4, Micah 4:1-4, Luke 1:32, Isaiah 9:6-7).
After His 1,000-year reign and subsequent events (Revelation 20:7-10, Ezekiel chapters 38-39), Jesus Christ will physically resurrect everyone who was not physically resurrected at His Second Coming, and He will judge them at that time (Revelation 20:11-15). Everyone who has ever lived will have to bow down before Him and admit that He is Lord of everything (Philippians 2:10-11, Acts 10:36).
--
*Colossians 1:18 / *Col. 1:18 -
(Re: Was Lazarus resurrected into immortality before Jesus Christ was?)
No, see John 11:43 above.
--
*Colossians 1:20 / *Col. 1:20 -
The original Greek word (pas: G3956) translated as "all" can mean "all manner of" (Acts 10:12). Jesus Christ has reconciled all manner of people to Himself (Revelation 5:9b), but not absolutely all people (Matthew 7:14, Matthew 22:14). For reconciliation requires faith in Jesus (John 3:36, Romans 3:25-26), and not all people have that (2 Thessalonians 3:2). Also, only elect individuals are given God's miraculous gift of faith in Jesus (Acts 13:48b, Ephesians 2:8, John 6:65). Nonelect individuals and fallen angels will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone to suffer God's wrath forever (Matthew 25:41,46, Revelation 20:10,15, Revelation 14:10-11, Mark 9:45-46).
(See also Romans 9:11 above)
--
*Colossians 1:22b / *Col. 1:22b -
This applies to Christians only if they have repented from every act of sin which they have committed, and confessed it to God (1 John 1:9), not if they are committing unrepentant sin (Hebrews 10:26-29).
(See Hebrews 10:26 below)
--
*Colossians 1:23 / *Col. 1:23 -
This means that Christians have to continue to have faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel if they are to be ultimately saved from hell. For they can wrongly employ their free will to be moved away from this faith (Hebrews 3:6,12,14; 1 Timothy 4:1, Luke 8:13), to the ultimate loss of their salvation (Hebrews 6:4-8).
(See Hebrews 6:4 below)
--
*Colossians 1:25 / *Col. 1:25 -
(Re: An age of grace?)
See section 2 of Ephesians 1:21 above.
--
*Colossians 1:26 / *Col. 1:26 -
(Mystery)
See Ephesians 3:4 above.
--
*Colossians 1:29 / *Col. 1:29 -
See 2 Corinthians 5:9 above.
--
*Colossians 2:5a / *Col. 2:5a -
See 1 Corinthians 5:3 above.
--
*Colossians 2:6-7 / *Col. 2:6 -
Here, "walk" can be figurative of good works in addition to faith (Matthew 7:21), just as "walked" in Colossians 3:7 is figurative of sinful works (Colossians 3:5-7).
Also, Colossians 2:6-7 does not mean that Christians can continue in unrepentant sin and expect to be saved from hell in the end. For unrepentant sin is opposed to faith in Jesus Christ; it is an outright denial of Him (Titus 1:16, John 14:24).
--
*Colossians 2:8 / *Col. 2:8 -
The original Greek word (stoicheion: G4747) translated as "rudiments" can mean "principles" (Hebrews 5:12).
(See also Galatians 4:3 above)
--
*Colossians 2:11-13 / *Col. 2:11 -
This means that under the New Covenant, the water-immersion (burial) baptism of Christians into Jesus Christ is a spiritual circumcision. It makes Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, spiritually circumcised Jews (Romans 2:29, Philippians 3:3).
~
(Re: Spiritual circumcision is an Old Testament concept which refers to the putting away of sin)
The New Testament/New Covenant spiritual circumcision is the putting away of sin through the water-immersion (burial) baptism of Christians into Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:11-13, Romans 6:4-12, Philippians 3:3, Romans 2:29).
--
*Colossians 2:14-17 / *Col. 2:14 -
This and Ephesians 2:15-16 refer to the abolishing of the letter of the entire Old Covenant Mosaic law (Romans 7:6, Hebrews 7:18-19), including the letter of its Ten Commandments, which were, like the rest of the law, written and engraven in stones (2 Corinthians 3:6-18, Deuteronomy 4:13, Deuteronomy 27:8).
The "ordinances", or "statutes" (Hebrew: choq: H2706), of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Malachi 3:7, cf. Colossians 2:14) refer to its "commandments" (Amos 2:4, cf. Ephesians 2:15).
(See also the "Law" section of Ephesians 2:15 above)
~
(Re: If Jesus nailed away His instructions, then what do we follow?)
Jesus Christ nailed away the letter of the entire Old Covenant Mosaic law (Colossians 2:14-17, Romans 7:6), and replaced it with His even better, New Covenant/New Testament law (John 14:15, John 1:17, Hebrews 7:22, Matthew 5:20-48).
(See the "stricter" section of Matthew 5:19 above)
--
*Colossians 2:15 / *Col. 2:15 -
Here the original Greek word (apekduomai: G0554) translated as "spoiled" does not mean that Satan has been "disarmed", or "bound". For he still employs spiritual weapons (Ephesians 6:16), and he is still walking about freely on the earth seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).
Colossians 2:15, like the similar Hebrews 2:14-15 and 1 John 3:8b, makes no reference to the "binding" of Satan with a chain and his being "shut up", that is, enclosed within, the literal Bottomless Pit by an angel (Revelation 20:1-3). For this will not occur until Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Revelation 19:7 to 20:3).
In Hebrews 2:14 the original Greek word (katargeo: G2673) translated as "destroy" can simply mean "to make of none effect" (Romans 4:14b). Hebrews 2:14 means that Jesus Christ's death for our sins made Satan's power of none effect spiritually over obedient Christians. Similarly, in 1 John 3:8 the original Greek word (luo: G3089) translated as "destroy" can simply mean "to break" (Ephesians 2:14). 1 John 3:8 means that Jesus came to break Satan's workings from having any spiritual effect over obedient Christians.
Colossians 2:15, Hebrews 2:14-15, and 1 John 3:8b do not contradict that Satan, when allowed by God, can still wield his power physically over even obedient Christians, even to the point of killing them (Revelation 2:10, Revelation 12:9,17, Revelation 13:4-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6). Similarly, Colossians 2:15, Hebrews 2:14-15, and 1 John 3:8b do not contradict that Satan can still wield his deceiving spiritual power over both disobedient Christians and non-Christians (2 Corinthians 4:4; 2 Corinthians 11:3,14-15; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 13:14, Revelation 19:20, Revelation 20:10), whereas during the future Millennium, Satan will not be able to deceive anyone (Revelation 20:3).
(See also Matthew 12:25 above)
--
*Colossians 2:16-17 / *Col. 2:16 -
This means that under the New Covenant all foods are in themselves okay for all Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, to eat. For it means that Christians should not let anyone judge them regarding what meat they eat (Colossians 2:16), because the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law was a mere shadow of things to come (Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 10:1, Hebrews 9:10-11), and it was blotted out by Jesus Christ on the Cross (Colossians 2:14-17).
(See also Romans 14:14 above)
~
(Re: Is Colossians 2:16 referring only to offerings?)
No, Colossians 2:16 does not refer to meat and drink "offerings", but means that Christians are not to judge each other over not keeping the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law regarding what meats could not be eaten because they were "unclean" (Leviticus 11:47). Under the New Covenant, Christians do not have to avoid eating certain meats, but can eat all meats (1 Timothy 4:4-5, Mark 7:18-19, Romans 14:14,20,22).
(Re: Sabbath days)
Colossians 2:16-17 also means that Christians are not to judge each other over not keeping the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic-law's sabbath days, which included the one-day-a-week, resting-from-work sabbath (Exodus 31:13-15). Under the New Covenant, Christians do not need to esteem only one day of the week, but can esteem every day of the week (Romans 14:5). For Christians are to rest from their own works, as in those done apart from abiding in Jesus Christ (John 15:4-5), every day of the week (Hebrews 4:3,10, Luke 9:23, Matthew 11:28-30).
(See also the "Sabbath" section of Ephesians 2:15 above)
--
*Colossians 2:19 / *Col. 2:19 -
The original Greek word (sundesmos: G4886) translated as "bands" can mean "ligaments" (Strong's Greek Dictionary).
(Compare section 2 of Exodus 36:38 above)
--
*Colossians 3:5 / *Col. 3:5 -
The original Greek word (akatharsia: G0167) translated as "uncleanness" can mean "impurity" (Strong's Greek Dictionary).
The Greek word (pathos: G3806) translated as "inordinate affection" can mean "lust" (1 Thessalonians 4:5).
The Greek word (epithumia: G1939) translated as "concupiscence" can mean "longing".
Taken as a whole, Colossians 3:5 seems to include both sexual sins and sins of greed, with "fornication" and "uncleanness" referring to sexual sins; "inordinate affection" and "evil concupiscence (longing)" referring to both improper longing for sex and material goods; and then "covetousness" referring to improper longing for material goods. Note the apostle Paul's similar connection of sexual sins with sins of greed in Ephesians 5:5-6. That is, both Colossians 3:5-6 and Ephesians 5:5-6 refer to our wrongly longing for more than we truly need, both sexually and materially.
Advertisers today of course are well aware of this connection. For example, flip through any of today's glossy magazines filled with advertisements (such as those provided in the weekend editions of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times), and see how they appeal to both an excessive desire for sex and for material goods; and often in the same advertisement, such as by combining a picture of a very sexy woman wearing the item for sale, whether it be a piece of clothing or jewelry, worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Also, it is curious that in such magazines, there are an extraordinary number of advertisements for expensive watches. And these advertisements almost always include only a picture of the watch itself. No sexy woman is required. Could this be because the watch itself symbolizes the desire underlying all of the other advertisements? That is, could this be a desire to live forever? For a watch represents time, as in time to keep on living, just as sex represents life continuing on, for it brings forth new life, in babies. And material goods represent the continuance of life, as they are required to maintain life. So could our basic desire for more sex, more material goods, and more watches, simply be a desire for more time to live? And could this be an expression of our fear of death?
[Hebrews 2:15]
That is, could it be our fear of death which brings us into bondage to sexual sins and sins of greed?
-
Next entry / Prior / Table of Contents
Dec 20, 2018
Calvinism's mistaken doctrine of once-saved-always-saved through assured perseverance unwittingly ends up logically requiring that Christians are robots. For if Christians cannot choose to do evil to the point where they can ultimately lose their salvation, then they no longer have free will. Also, the mistaken doctrine of assured perseverance unwittingly ends up logically requiring that a Christian can have no present assurance that he is truly saved. For if a Christian who does not persevere to the end was never truly saved, then no Christian can presently have the assurance that he is truly saved because no Christian can know if he will persevere to the end. Down the road, he could fail to persevere and so end up showing that he was all along only a fake Christian, a self-deceived hypocrite.
(Re: *Assurance of present salvation)
But under true, Biblical doctrine, every believer in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, John 20:31) can know that he is presently saved (1 John 5:13; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4), if, after he became a Christian, he repented from his sins (1 John 3:6) and confessed them to God (1 John 1:9). And he can be sure that as a saved person, he can never be separated from the love of God, so long as he loves God (Romans 8:28-39), which means to obey Him (1 John 5:3, John 14:21-24). And no matter how many tests a Christian fails during his lifetime, sometime subsequent to his initial repentance, even if he fails and commits sin seventy-times-seven times in a single day (Matthew 18:21-22, Luke 17:4), he can be sure that so long as he sincerely repents from every act of sin and confesses it to God, he will be completely forgiven (1 John 1:9). He will lose his salvation ultimately only if he wrongly employs his free will to do something like committing a sin without repentance (Hebrews 10:26-29; 1 Corinthians 9:27, Luke 12:45-46), or becoming utterly lazy without repentance (Matthew 25:26,30, John 15:2a, Romans 2:6-8), or committing apostasy (Hebrews 6:4-8, John 15:6; 2 Timothy 2:12).
(See also the "repentance" section of Hebrews 10:26 below)
--
*Philippians 3:2-3 / *Philip. 3:2 / *Philip. 3:3 -
The word "concision" is translated from the original Greek word "katatome" (G2699), which can mean the "mutilation", and which was the apostle Paul's hyperbolic term for those who mistakenly teach that the physical circumcision of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law is required for salvation from hell (Acts 15:1,5, Galatians 5:2-12); while in Philippians 3:3 the "circumcision" (peritome: G4061) refers to the spiritual circumcision which all water-immersion (burial) baptized Christians have undergone (Colossians 2:11-13, Romans 2:29).
Nothing in the context of Philippians 3:2 requires that the apostle Paul is referring only to Jews in Philippians 3:3. Instead, in Philippians 3:3, "we" refers to the Jew Paul (Acts 22:3, Romans 11:1) and his both Gentile and Jewish Christian "brethren" in the Lord (Philippians 4:1), whom he is addressing in Philippians 3:1-2, just as both Gentile and Jewish Christians are included in the "us" in Philippians 3:15, in the "we" and "us" of Philippians 3:16, in the "our" and "we" of Philippians 3:20, and in the "our" of Philippians 3:21.
In Philippians 3:2-16 the point is to contrast the spiritual circumcision of all water-immersion (burial) baptized Christians (Philippians 3:3, Colossians 2:11-13, Romans 2:29), whether Jews or Gentiles, with the spiritual worthlessness, under the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, of the Old Covenant Mosaic law's physical circumcision, and the keeping of all of the rest of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Philippians 3:5-16).
(See also the "Law" section of Ephesians 2:15 above)
--
*Philippians 3:6 / *Philip. 3:6 -
Before he came into faith, the apostle Paul was "blameless" with regard to the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Philippians 3:6) in the sense of his self-righteousness, "mine own righteousness" (Philippians 3:9), as opposed to being righteous in the sight of God, which required faith, even in Old Covenant times (Galatians 3:11, Philippians 3:9, Habakkuk 2:4).
--
*Philippians 3:9 / *Philip. 3:9 -
This contrasts Christian faith with non-Christian, Mosaic law-keeping. It is not contradicting the necessity of works of faith for ultimate salvation (Romans 2:6-8; 1 Thessalonians 1:3).
--
*Philippians 3:11-15 / *Philip. 3:11 -
This refers to both the future resurrection of the obedient Christian dead of all times into physical immortality (1 Corinthians 15:52-53), and to how the apostle Paul was making sure that he would attain to it by being careful to continue to diligently follow Jesus Christ. Attainment is actually arriving at the goal. Christians' own actions will determine whether or not they will attain ultimate salvation from hell (Romans 2:6-8, James 2:24, Hebrews 5:9).
(See also the "Ultimate salvation" section of Ephesians 2:8 above)
--
*Philippians 3:12-15 / *Philip. 3:12 -
(*Perfect)
This passage shows how Christians can at the same time be in one sense not yet perfect, and in another sense already be perfect:
Philippians 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect [teleioo: G5048]: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 ¶Let us therefore, as many as be perfect [teleios: G5046], be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
(See also Matthew 5:48 above)
--
*Philippians 3:19 / *Philip. 3:19 -
(Re: Destruction / G0684 = annihilation?)
No, see Matthew 7:13 above.
--
*Philippians 3:20 / *Philip. 3:20 -
The original Greek word (politeuma: G4175) translated as "conversation" can mean "citizenship" (Strong's Greek Dictionary). The citizenship of Christians is currently in heaven (Philippians 3:20) because the literal city of New Jerusalem is currently in heaven (Hebrews 12:22, Galatians 4:26), and Christians become citizens of New Jerusalem through their faith in the New Covenant of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:22-24, Galatians 4:24-26, Matthew 26:28).
But in the future, the New Jerusalem, which is God the Father's house (John 14:2), will descend from heaven to a New Earth (Revelation 21:1-3), as in a new surface for the earth. So the citizenship of Christians will then be on the New Earth. Also, even before the time of the New Earth, at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming He will establish the Kingdom of God physically on the present earth, during the future Millennium, along with the physically resurrected Church (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29, Psalms 66:3-4, Psalms 72:8-11, Zechariah 14:3-21). So at that time, the citizenship of Christians will also be on the present earth.
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*Philippians 3:21 / *Philip. 3:21 -
(Re: Will Christians who suffered wounds in a martyr's death retain those wounds in their resurrection bodies, like Jesus Christ's resurrected body retained His crucifixion wounds: John 20:24-28?)
Yes, they could (cf. Luke 6:40).
~
(Re: So Christian martyrs who had their face blown away with a shotgun blast will be in a resurrected "perfect" body with a blown-away face, and decapitated Christians will spend eternity carrying around their "glorified" but still decapitated heads?)
No, it will not have to be that graphic. For just as Jesus Christ's crucifixion wounds probably were not still flowing with blood and pus at the time of His resurrection (John 20:24-28), like they could have while He was on the Cross (John 19:34), so any martyrdom wounds on Christians' resurrection bodies (cf. Luke 6:40) could be healed to the point where they will not look as bad as they did when those Christians died. So a blown-away face after its resurrection could merely have some pockmarks on it, as a remembrance of what happened to it for the sake of Christ. And a beheaded Christian could keep his head on his resurrection body, but with a red-scar ring around his neck, as a record of his brave martyrdom.
~
(Re: What about organ transplants? Whose resurrected body gets the liver, the kidney, the heart? The donor or the recipient?)
Each resurrected body could have a regeneration of its original parts.
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*Philippians 4:5b / *Philip. 4:5b -
The original Greek word (eggus: G1451) translated as "at hand" can refer to something being near to something else in a place (Luke 19:11, John 3:23, John 6:19). So Philippians 4:5b can refer to the Lord Jesus Christ's spiritual presence being with Christians, in any place, and also at any time (Matthew 28:20b).
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*Philippians 4:6-7 / *Philip. 4:6 -
See 1 Peter 5:7 below.
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*Philippians 4:13 / *Philip. 4:13 -
Christians are not feeble (Philippians 4:13), for Jesus Christ gives them more than enough strength to continue in the Christian faith (Hebrews 12:2), to continue to do good works (John 15:4-5), to continue to repent from sins (John 8:34-36), and to overcome (Revelation 12:11), to the end (Matthew 24:13), by their own choice. But there is no assurance that they will choose to do these things to the end (1 Timothy 4:1, Matthew 25:26,30, Hebrews 10:26-29, Revelation 21:7-8).
(See also the "NOSAS" section of Hebrews 3:6 below)
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*Colossians 1:12 / *Col. 1:12 -
The original Greek word (hikanoo: G2427) translated as "meet" can mean "able" (2 Corinthians 3:6).
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*Colossians 1:15 / *Col. 1:15 -
Here, "firstborn" means first in the sense of supremacy (Colossians 1:16), not chronology. For Jesus Christ was born, and so became the Son of God, only when Luke 1:35 was fulfilled at the time of Luke 2:11 in the first century AD, which was some 4,000 years after the birth of Cain in Genesis 4:1. A similar, non-chronological use of "firstborn" is found in Psalms 89:27, Jeremiah 31:9, and Exodus 4:22.
~
In Colossians 1:15, every "creature" means every created thing (Colossians 1:16). So Colossians 1:15 means that Jesus Christ is supreme over every created thing, not just humans (Mark 4:41, Matthew 8:16).
(See also Romans 8:19 above)
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*Colossians 1:16-18 / *Col. 1:16 -
(See Matthew 28:18 above)
As God the Word, Jesus Christ was the Creator of everything in heaven and earth (Colossians 1:16-18, John 1:1,3). And in the first century AD, He became a flesh-and-bones human being (John 1:14; 2 John 1:7) so that He could suffer and die on the Cross for our sins, rise physically from the dead on the third day (Hebrews 2:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4), and become our eternally-human high priest/mediator (Hebrews 7:24-26; 1 Timothy 2:5).
After His resurrection into immortality in His fully-human flesh and bones body (Luke 24:39), Jesus Christ the man was given ultimate spiritual authority over heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18). He ascended bodily into heaven (Acts 1:9-10) and is now there ruling spiritually over everything (1 Peter 3:22, Ephesians 1:20-23, Colossians 2:10,15, Philippians 2:9).
But He will not take ultimate, de facto, physical authority over the earth until His future, Second Coming, when, still as a flesh-and-bones human being (Zechariah 13:6, Zechariah 12:10-14), He will descend from heaven (Revelation 19:11-21, Zechariah 14:3-4, Acts 1:11-12) to reign on the earth (Psalms 72:8-11, Zechariah 14:9-21) with a rod of iron with the physically resurrected Church for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 2:26-29, Psalms 2, Psalms 66:3-4, Micah 4:1-4, Luke 1:32, Isaiah 9:6-7).
After His 1,000-year reign and subsequent events (Revelation 20:7-10, Ezekiel chapters 38-39), Jesus Christ will physically resurrect everyone who was not physically resurrected at His Second Coming, and He will judge them at that time (Revelation 20:11-15). Everyone who has ever lived will have to bow down before Him and admit that He is Lord of everything (Philippians 2:10-11, Acts 10:36).
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*Colossians 1:18 / *Col. 1:18 -
(Re: Was Lazarus resurrected into immortality before Jesus Christ was?)
No, see John 11:43 above.
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*Colossians 1:20 / *Col. 1:20 -
The original Greek word (pas: G3956) translated as "all" can mean "all manner of" (Acts 10:12). Jesus Christ has reconciled all manner of people to Himself (Revelation 5:9b), but not absolutely all people (Matthew 7:14, Matthew 22:14). For reconciliation requires faith in Jesus (John 3:36, Romans 3:25-26), and not all people have that (2 Thessalonians 3:2). Also, only elect individuals are given God's miraculous gift of faith in Jesus (Acts 13:48b, Ephesians 2:8, John 6:65). Nonelect individuals and fallen angels will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone to suffer God's wrath forever (Matthew 25:41,46, Revelation 20:10,15, Revelation 14:10-11, Mark 9:45-46).
(See also Romans 9:11 above)
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*Colossians 1:22b / *Col. 1:22b -
This applies to Christians only if they have repented from every act of sin which they have committed, and confessed it to God (1 John 1:9), not if they are committing unrepentant sin (Hebrews 10:26-29).
(See Hebrews 10:26 below)
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*Colossians 1:23 / *Col. 1:23 -
This means that Christians have to continue to have faith in Jesus Christ and His Gospel if they are to be ultimately saved from hell. For they can wrongly employ their free will to be moved away from this faith (Hebrews 3:6,12,14; 1 Timothy 4:1, Luke 8:13), to the ultimate loss of their salvation (Hebrews 6:4-8).
(See Hebrews 6:4 below)
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*Colossians 1:25 / *Col. 1:25 -
(Re: An age of grace?)
See section 2 of Ephesians 1:21 above.
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*Colossians 1:26 / *Col. 1:26 -
(Mystery)
See Ephesians 3:4 above.
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*Colossians 1:29 / *Col. 1:29 -
See 2 Corinthians 5:9 above.
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*Colossians 2:5a / *Col. 2:5a -
See 1 Corinthians 5:3 above.
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*Colossians 2:6-7 / *Col. 2:6 -
Here, "walk" can be figurative of good works in addition to faith (Matthew 7:21), just as "walked" in Colossians 3:7 is figurative of sinful works (Colossians 3:5-7).
Also, Colossians 2:6-7 does not mean that Christians can continue in unrepentant sin and expect to be saved from hell in the end. For unrepentant sin is opposed to faith in Jesus Christ; it is an outright denial of Him (Titus 1:16, John 14:24).
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*Colossians 2:8 / *Col. 2:8 -
The original Greek word (stoicheion: G4747) translated as "rudiments" can mean "principles" (Hebrews 5:12).
(See also Galatians 4:3 above)
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*Colossians 2:11-13 / *Col. 2:11 -
This means that under the New Covenant, the water-immersion (burial) baptism of Christians into Jesus Christ is a spiritual circumcision. It makes Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, spiritually circumcised Jews (Romans 2:29, Philippians 3:3).
~
(Re: Spiritual circumcision is an Old Testament concept which refers to the putting away of sin)
The New Testament/New Covenant spiritual circumcision is the putting away of sin through the water-immersion (burial) baptism of Christians into Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:11-13, Romans 6:4-12, Philippians 3:3, Romans 2:29).
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*Colossians 2:14-17 / *Col. 2:14 -
This and Ephesians 2:15-16 refer to the abolishing of the letter of the entire Old Covenant Mosaic law (Romans 7:6, Hebrews 7:18-19), including the letter of its Ten Commandments, which were, like the rest of the law, written and engraven in stones (2 Corinthians 3:6-18, Deuteronomy 4:13, Deuteronomy 27:8).
The "ordinances", or "statutes" (Hebrew: choq: H2706), of the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Malachi 3:7, cf. Colossians 2:14) refer to its "commandments" (Amos 2:4, cf. Ephesians 2:15).
(See also the "Law" section of Ephesians 2:15 above)
~
(Re: If Jesus nailed away His instructions, then what do we follow?)
Jesus Christ nailed away the letter of the entire Old Covenant Mosaic law (Colossians 2:14-17, Romans 7:6), and replaced it with His even better, New Covenant/New Testament law (John 14:15, John 1:17, Hebrews 7:22, Matthew 5:20-48).
(See the "stricter" section of Matthew 5:19 above)
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*Colossians 2:15 / *Col. 2:15 -
Here the original Greek word (apekduomai: G0554) translated as "spoiled" does not mean that Satan has been "disarmed", or "bound". For he still employs spiritual weapons (Ephesians 6:16), and he is still walking about freely on the earth seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).
Colossians 2:15, like the similar Hebrews 2:14-15 and 1 John 3:8b, makes no reference to the "binding" of Satan with a chain and his being "shut up", that is, enclosed within, the literal Bottomless Pit by an angel (Revelation 20:1-3). For this will not occur until Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Revelation 19:7 to 20:3).
In Hebrews 2:14 the original Greek word (katargeo: G2673) translated as "destroy" can simply mean "to make of none effect" (Romans 4:14b). Hebrews 2:14 means that Jesus Christ's death for our sins made Satan's power of none effect spiritually over obedient Christians. Similarly, in 1 John 3:8 the original Greek word (luo: G3089) translated as "destroy" can simply mean "to break" (Ephesians 2:14). 1 John 3:8 means that Jesus came to break Satan's workings from having any spiritual effect over obedient Christians.
Colossians 2:15, Hebrews 2:14-15, and 1 John 3:8b do not contradict that Satan, when allowed by God, can still wield his power physically over even obedient Christians, even to the point of killing them (Revelation 2:10, Revelation 12:9,17, Revelation 13:4-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6). Similarly, Colossians 2:15, Hebrews 2:14-15, and 1 John 3:8b do not contradict that Satan can still wield his deceiving spiritual power over both disobedient Christians and non-Christians (2 Corinthians 4:4; 2 Corinthians 11:3,14-15; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 13:14, Revelation 19:20, Revelation 20:10), whereas during the future Millennium, Satan will not be able to deceive anyone (Revelation 20:3).
(See also Matthew 12:25 above)
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*Colossians 2:16-17 / *Col. 2:16 -
This means that under the New Covenant all foods are in themselves okay for all Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, to eat. For it means that Christians should not let anyone judge them regarding what meat they eat (Colossians 2:16), because the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law was a mere shadow of things to come (Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 10:1, Hebrews 9:10-11), and it was blotted out by Jesus Christ on the Cross (Colossians 2:14-17).
(See also Romans 14:14 above)
~
(Re: Is Colossians 2:16 referring only to offerings?)
No, Colossians 2:16 does not refer to meat and drink "offerings", but means that Christians are not to judge each other over not keeping the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law regarding what meats could not be eaten because they were "unclean" (Leviticus 11:47). Under the New Covenant, Christians do not have to avoid eating certain meats, but can eat all meats (1 Timothy 4:4-5, Mark 7:18-19, Romans 14:14,20,22).
(Re: Sabbath days)
Colossians 2:16-17 also means that Christians are not to judge each other over not keeping the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic-law's sabbath days, which included the one-day-a-week, resting-from-work sabbath (Exodus 31:13-15). Under the New Covenant, Christians do not need to esteem only one day of the week, but can esteem every day of the week (Romans 14:5). For Christians are to rest from their own works, as in those done apart from abiding in Jesus Christ (John 15:4-5), every day of the week (Hebrews 4:3,10, Luke 9:23, Matthew 11:28-30).
(See also the "Sabbath" section of Ephesians 2:15 above)
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*Colossians 2:19 / *Col. 2:19 -
The original Greek word (sundesmos: G4886) translated as "bands" can mean "ligaments" (Strong's Greek Dictionary).
(Compare section 2 of Exodus 36:38 above)
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*Colossians 3:5 / *Col. 3:5 -
The original Greek word (akatharsia: G0167) translated as "uncleanness" can mean "impurity" (Strong's Greek Dictionary).
The Greek word (pathos: G3806) translated as "inordinate affection" can mean "lust" (1 Thessalonians 4:5).
The Greek word (epithumia: G1939) translated as "concupiscence" can mean "longing".
Taken as a whole, Colossians 3:5 seems to include both sexual sins and sins of greed, with "fornication" and "uncleanness" referring to sexual sins; "inordinate affection" and "evil concupiscence (longing)" referring to both improper longing for sex and material goods; and then "covetousness" referring to improper longing for material goods. Note the apostle Paul's similar connection of sexual sins with sins of greed in Ephesians 5:5-6. That is, both Colossians 3:5-6 and Ephesians 5:5-6 refer to our wrongly longing for more than we truly need, both sexually and materially.
Advertisers today of course are well aware of this connection. For example, flip through any of today's glossy magazines filled with advertisements (such as those provided in the weekend editions of the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times), and see how they appeal to both an excessive desire for sex and for material goods; and often in the same advertisement, such as by combining a picture of a very sexy woman wearing the item for sale, whether it be a piece of clothing or jewelry, worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Also, it is curious that in such magazines, there are an extraordinary number of advertisements for expensive watches. And these advertisements almost always include only a picture of the watch itself. No sexy woman is required. Could this be because the watch itself symbolizes the desire underlying all of the other advertisements? That is, could this be a desire to live forever? For a watch represents time, as in time to keep on living, just as sex represents life continuing on, for it brings forth new life, in babies. And material goods represent the continuance of life, as they are required to maintain life. So could our basic desire for more sex, more material goods, and more watches, simply be a desire for more time to live? And could this be an expression of our fear of death?
[Hebrews 2:15]
That is, could it be our fear of death which brings us into bondage to sexual sins and sins of greed?
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