Christ our Object—Chapter 3

“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord” (Phil. 3:1). Circumstances seem to get us down, but if our eye is on the Lord, we can still rejoice. Paul had every cause to be discouraged, yet joy and rejoicing are ever-present themes throughout this epistle.
There is nothing in this scene for us. Though Paul could have boasted of his earthly credentials, he counted them as nothing (Phil. 3:8). To reach Christ in glory was the goal before him. Paul had not attained, neither was he perfected (Phil. 3:12). Here he anticipates that day when his body of humiliation would be fashioned like unto His glorious body (Phil. 3:21 JND). Paul was in this race that he might apprehend, seeing that he had been taken possession of by Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:12 JND). “I pursue, [looking] towards [the] goal, for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14 JND). Christ is our object.