The Letter of St. Paul
to
the
Philippians
Chapter
3
¹ To write the same things to you is not troublesome to me, and for you it is a safeguard.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verse 1)
Oh God my Father, listening to the same thing again and again does not hurt at all, for every time my state of mind changes and even the circumstances of my life. This is the case of when I pray every morning. You give me a new vision for the day and a new message to accompany me during that same day. Amen. Thank You, Jesus.
² Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! ³ For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh-⁴ even though I too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more; ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law blameless.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 2 to 6)
Oh God my beloved Father, even though we are both flesh and spirit, we are to side with the Spirit, and what is of the Spirit, for it is the Spirit that is of real value, for it is going to save our souls. The body is only a vessel which transports the body to where ever You wish to send us Amen. Even though as in the case of St. Paul he had a lot on which to boast, we are to retain our humility Amen.
⁷ Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verse 7)
Oh God my beloved Father, what is of gain in this world such as fame power and popularity along with wealth and other means are a hindrance in the spiritual world because they keep us tied to this material world. I pray oh Jesus, that in time You free us from these weights that are tied to our ankles hindering us from walking in the path of our salvation Amen.
⁸ More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 8 to 9)
Oh God my beloved Father, what is of the world is of the world and what is of God is of God. I pray that You help me in making the right choices in order to follow in Your footsteps and not according to the ways of the world Amen.
¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 10 to 11)
Oh God my Father, I wish that I become more like You and less like me, I would like You to teach me how to learn how to imitate You. I pray that I learn how to use scripture as my point of reference and not human feelings or reasoning Amen.
¹² Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verse 12)
Oh God, my Father, the only remaining goal in my life is to live my life not for myself but for You. I dedicate my life totally to You my God and Father. I pray that You help me live it according to Your holy Will Amen.
¹³ Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 13 to 14)
Oh god my beloved Father, I beg that You show me Your ways that I may follow You. I am living in a world of darkness am groping here and there to manage my way, my only aim is to follow the true way and ray of light that leads to my salvation. I pray that You teach me to obey Your ways so that Your righteousness will abide in me Amen.
¹⁵ Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. ¹⁶ Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 15 to 16)
Oh God, I thank You for tolerating us and our conflicting thoughts about the world and at times even of You, however, it is a must that we tolerate such views as long as they do not go against what You have taught us to hold as being the truth Amen.
¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verse 17)
Let us all have the common aim to imitate You, my God and Father. May this be the common goal that unites us as Christians Amen. Even though this is not an easy goal, if we pray for Your help and if it is according to Your will it will be done. Amen.
¹⁸ For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 18 to 19)
Oh God my beloved Father instead of judging such people I pray for them, for it is indeed heartbreaking that there still exists such people. I can only imagine the pain and anger that they may be or may have experienced in order to have such a negative mindset. They must be really hurt. I pray to You on their behalf my God and Father Amen.
²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ H will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 20 to 21)
Oh God, my blessed Father, although we are socially citizens of the world, in truth we are also citizens of heaven. We have dual citizenship. I pray that through our choices we choose to conform to what is according to Your will which is that of the Kingdom of Heaven Amen.
Oh, Father in heaven, my blessed and Holy Father, I would like to end this meditation on the third chapter of the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians with the following prayer:
Vincent Micallef a citizen of the world and a citizen of heaven. In humility and in truth I proclaim that I believe in You and in Your ability to transform me from a citizen of the world to a citizen of heaven, even if this requires going against my sinful nature. Any of you who have the same aim share your comments and your praises to His Holy Name. Amen
² Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of those who mutilate the flesh! ³ For it is we who are the circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh-⁴ even though I too, have reason for confidence in the flesh. If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more; ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law blameless.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 2 to 6)
Oh God my beloved Father, even though we are both flesh and spirit, we are to side with the Spirit, and what is of the Spirit, for it is the Spirit that is of real value, for it is going to save our souls. The body is only a vessel which transports the body to where ever You wish to send us Amen. Even though as in the case of St. Paul he had a lot on which to boast, we are to retain our humility Amen.
⁷ Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verse 7)
Oh God my beloved Father, what is of gain in this world such as fame power and popularity along with wealth and other means are a hindrance in the spiritual world because they keep us tied to this material world. I pray oh Jesus, that in time You free us from these weights that are tied to our ankles hindering us from walking in the path of our salvation Amen.
⁸ More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 8 to 9)
Oh God my beloved Father, what is of the world is of the world and what is of God is of God. I pray that You help me in making the right choices in order to follow in Your footsteps and not according to the ways of the world Amen.
¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 10 to 11)
Oh God my Father, I wish that I become more like You and less like me, I would like You to teach me how to learn how to imitate You. I pray that I learn how to use scripture as my point of reference and not human feelings or reasoning Amen.
¹² Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verse 12)
Oh God, my Father, the only remaining goal in my life is to live my life not for myself but for You. I dedicate my life totally to You my God and Father. I pray that You help me live it according to Your holy Will Amen.
¹³ Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 13 to 14)
Oh god my beloved Father, I beg that You show me Your ways that I may follow You. I am living in a world of darkness am groping here and there to manage my way, my only aim is to follow the true way and ray of light that leads to my salvation. I pray that You teach me to obey Your ways so that Your righteousness will abide in me Amen.
¹⁵ Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. ¹⁶ Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 15 to 16)
Oh God, I thank You for tolerating us and our conflicting thoughts about the world and at times even of You, however, it is a must that we tolerate such views as long as they do not go against what You have taught us to hold as being the truth Amen.
¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verse 17)
Let us all have the common aim to imitate You, my God and Father. May this be the common goal that unites us as Christians Amen. Even though this is not an easy goal, if we pray for Your help and if it is according to Your will it will be done. Amen.
¹⁸ For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 18 to 19)
Oh God my beloved Father instead of judging such people I pray for them, for it is indeed heartbreaking that there still exists such people. I can only imagine the pain and anger that they may be or may have experienced in order to have such a negative mindset. They must be really hurt. I pray to You on their behalf my God and Father Amen.
²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ²¹ H will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
(The third chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Philippians verses 20 to 21)
Oh God, my blessed Father, although we are socially citizens of the world, in truth we are also citizens of heaven. We have dual citizenship. I pray that through our choices we choose to conform to what is according to Your will which is that of the Kingdom of Heaven Amen.
Oh, Father in heaven, my blessed and Holy Father, I would like to end this meditation on the third chapter of the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians with the following prayer:
Vincent Micallef a citizen of the world and a citizen of heaven. In humility and in truth I proclaim that I believe in You and in Your ability to transform me from a citizen of the world to a citizen of heaven, even if this requires going against my sinful nature. Any of you who have the same aim share your comments and your praises to His Holy Name. Amen
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