Filipi 3:15

3:15 Therefore let those of us who are “perfect” embrace this point of view. ¹  If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways. ² 

Filipi 2:5

2:5 You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, ³ 

Filipi 1:6

1:6 For I am sure of this very thing, ⁴  that the one ⁵  who began a good work in ⁶  you will perfect it ⁷  until the day of Christ Jesus.

Filipi 1:9

1:9 And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight

Filipi 1:22

1:22 Now if I am to go on living in the body, ⁸  this will mean productive work ⁹  for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer: ¹⁰ 

Filipi 1:19

1:19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance ¹¹  through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Filipi 1:25

1:25 And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress ¹²  and joy in the faith, ¹³ 

Filipi 1:28

1:28 and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is ¹⁴  a sign of their ¹⁵  destruction, but of your salvation – a sign which ¹⁶  is from God.

Filipi 1:7

1:7 For ¹⁷  it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, ¹⁸  since both in my imprisonment ¹⁹  and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace ²⁰  together with me.

[3:15]  ¹ tn Grk “those of us who are ‘perfect’ should think this,” or possibly “those of us who are mature should think this.”

[3:15]  sn The adjective perfect comes from the same root as the verb perfected in v. 12; Paul may well be employing a wordplay to draw in his opponents. Thus, perfect would then be in quotation marks and Paul would then argue that no one – neither they nor he – is in fact perfect. The thrust of vv. 1-16 is that human credentials can produce nothing that is pleasing to God (vv. 1-8). Instead of relying on such, Paul urges his readers to trust God for their righteousness (v. 9) rather than their own efforts, and at the same time to press on for the prize that awaits them (vv. 12-14). He argues further that perfection is unattainable in this life (v. 15), yet the level of maturity that one has reached should not for this reason be abandoned (v. 16).

[3:15]  ² tn Grk “reveal this to you.” The referent of the pronoun “this” is the fact that the person is thinking differently than Paul does. This has been specified in the translation with the phrase “the error of your ways”; Paul is stating that God will make it known to these believers when they are not in agreement with Paul.

[2:5]  ³ tn Grk “Have this attitude in/among yourselves which also [was] in Christ Jesus,” or “Have this attitude in/among yourselves which [you] also [have] in Christ Jesus.”

[1:6]  ⁴ tn Grk “since I am sure of this very thing.” The verse begins with an adverbial participle that is dependent on the main verb in v. 3 (“I thank”). Paul here gives one reason for his thankfulness.

[1:6]  ⁵ tn The referent is clearly God from the overall context of the paragraph and the mention of “the day of Christ Jesus” at the end, which would be redundant if Christ were referred to here.

[1:6]  ⁶ tn Or “among.”

[1:6]  ⁷ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text but has been supplied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[1:22]  ⁸ tn Grk “flesh.”

[1:22]  ⁹ tn Grk “fruit of work”; the genitive ἔργου (ergou) is taken as an attributed genitive in which the head noun, καρπός (karpos), functions attributively (cf. ExSyn 89-91).

[1:22]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “what I shall prefer.” The Greek verb αἱρέω (Jairew) could also mean “choose,” but in this context such a translation is problematic for it suggests that Paul could perhaps choose suicide (cf. L&N 30.86).

[1:22]  sn I don’t know what I prefer. Paul is here struggling with what would be most beneficial for both him and the church. He resolves this issue in vv. 24-25.

[1:19]  ¹¹ tn Or “salvation.” Deliverance from prison (i.e., release) is probably what Paul has in view here, although some take this as a reference to his ultimate release from the body, i.e., dying and being with Christ (v. 23).

[1:19]  sn The phrase this will turn out for my deliverance may be an echo of Job 13:16 (LXX).

[1:25]  ¹² tn Grk “for your progress.”

[1:25]  ¹³ sn Paul’s confidence in his release from prison (I know that I will remain and continue with all of you) implies that this Roman imprisonment did not end in his death. Hence, there is the likelihood that he experienced a second Roman imprisonment later on (since the belief of the early church was that Paul died under Nero in Rome). If so, then the pastoral letters (1-2 Tim, Titus) could well fit into a life of Paul that goes beyond any descriptions in the book of Acts (which ends with Paul’s first Roman imprisonment). Some have argued that the pastorals cannot be genuine because they cannot fit into the history of Acts. But this view presupposes that Paul’s first Roman imprisonment was also his last.

[1:28]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “which is,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 27.

[1:28]  sn The antecedent of the pronoun This is conceptual, most likely referring to the Philippian Christians standing firm for the gospel. Thus, their stand for the gospel is the dual sign of their opponents’ destruction and of their own salvation.

[1:28]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “to them.”

[1:28]  sn Paul uses the dative “to them” (translated here as their) to describe the coming destruction of the gospel’s enemies, but the genitive “your” to describe the believers’ coming salvation. The dative accents what will happen to the enemies (called a dative of disadvantage [see ExSyn 143-44]), while the genitive accents what the believers will possess (and, in fact, do already possess, as v. 29 makes clear).

[1:28]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “this.” The pronoun refers back to “a sign”; thus these words have been repeated for clarity.

[1:7]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Just as.” The sense here is probably, “So I give thanks (v. 3) just as it is right for me…”

[1:7]  ¹⁸ tn Or possibly “because you have me in your heart.”

[1:7]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “in my bonds.” The meaning “imprisonment” derives from a figurative extension of the literal meaning (“bonds,” “fetters,” “chains”), L&N 37.115.

[1:7]  ²⁰ tn The word “God’s” is supplied from the context (v. 2) to clarify the meaning.