Finally, my ¹fellow believers, continue to ^arejoice and delight in the LORD. To write the same things again is no trouble for me, and it is a safeguard for you.

2 Look out for the ^1adogs the Judaizers, the legalists, look out for the ^btroublemakers, look out for the ²false circumcision those who claim circumcision is necessary for salvation; 3 for ^awe who are born-again have been reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, set apart for His purpose and are the true circumcision, who ^bworship in the Spirit of God and ^cglory and take pride and exult in ^dChrist Jesus and place no confidence in what we have or who we are in the flesh— 4 though I myself ^amight have some grounds for confidence in the flesh if I were pursuing salvation by works. If anyone else thinks that he has reason to be confident in the flesh that is, in his own efforts to achieve salvation, I have far more: 5 ^acircumcised when I was eight days old, of the ^bnation of Israel, of the ^ctribe of Benjamin, a ^dHebrew of Hebrews an exemplary Hebrew; as to the observance of the Law, ^ea Pharisee; 6 as to my zeal for Jewish tradition, ^aa persecutor of the church; and as to ^brighteousness supposed right living which my fellow Jews believe is in the Law, I proved myself ^cblameless.

7 But ^awhatever former things were gains to me as I thought then, these things once regarded as advancements in merit I have come to consider as loss absolutely worthless for the sake of Christ and the purpose which He has given my life. 8 But more than that, I count everything as loss compared to the priceless privilege and supreme advantage of ^aknowing ^bChrist Jesus my Lord and of growing more deeply and thoroughly acquainted with Him—a joy unequaled. For His sake I have lost everything, and I consider it all garbage, so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him believing and relying on Him, not having any ^arighteousness of my own derived from my obedience to the Law and its rituals, but possessing that genuine righteousness which comes through faith in Christ, ^bthe righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 And this, so that I may ^aknow Him experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely and in that same way experience ^bthe power of His resurrection which overflows and is active in believers, and that I may share ^cthe fellowship of His sufferings, by ^dbeing continually conformed inwardly into His likeness even to His death dying as He did; 11 ¹so that I may ^aattain to the resurrection that will raise me from the dead.

12 Not that I have already ^aobtained it this goal of being Christlike or have already ^bbeen made perfect, but I actively press on ¹so that I may ^ctake hold of that perfection for which ^dChrist Jesus ^etook hold of me and made me His own. 1+@Cor 9:24; 1+@Tim 6:12 13 ¹Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: ^aforgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I ^apress on toward the goal to win the heavenly prize of the ^bupward call of God in ^cChrist Jesus. 15 All of us who are ^amature pursuing spiritual perfection should have this attitude. And if in any respect you have a ^bdifferent attitude, that too ^cGod will make clear to you. 16 Only let us ^astay true to what we have already attained.

17 Brothers and sisters, ^atogether follow my example and observe those who live by the ^bpattern we gave you. 18 For there are ^amany, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even ^bwith tears, who live as enemies of ^cthe cross of Christ rejecting and opposing His way of salvation, 19 whose fate is destruction, whose god is their ^abelly their worldly appetite, their sensuality, their vanity, and whose ^bglory is in their shame—who ^cfocus their mind on earthly and temporal things. 20 But we are different, because ^aour citizenship is in heaven. And from there we eagerly ^bawait the coming of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who, ^aby exerting that power which enables Him even to ^bsubject everything to Himself, will not only ^ctransform but completely refashion our earthly bodies ^dso that they will be like His ^eglorious resurrected body.

Finally, my brothers and sisters, ^arejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble for me, and it is a safeguard for you.

2 Beware of the ^adogs, beware of the ^bevil workers, beware of the ¹false circumcision; 3 for ^awe are the true ¹circumcision, who ^bworship in the Spirit of God and take ^cpride in ^dChrist Jesus, and put no confidence in the flesh, 4 although ^aI myself could boast as having confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he is confident in the flesh, I have more reason: 5 ^acircumcised the eighth day, of the ^bnation of Israel, of the ^ctribe of Benjamin, a ^dHebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, ^ea Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, ^aa persecutor of the church; as to the ^brighteousness which is in the Law, found ^cblameless.

7 But ^awhatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss ¹in view of the surpassing value of ^2aknowing ^bChrist Jesus my Lord, ³for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having ^aa righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, ^bthe righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may ^aknow Him and ^bthe power of His resurrection and ^1cthe fellowship of His sufferings, being ^dconformed to His death; 11 if somehow I may ^aattain to the resurrection from the dead.

12 Not that I have already ^1agrasped it all or have already ^bbecome perfect, but I press on if I may also ^ctake hold of that ²for which I ^dwas even taken hold of by ^eChrist Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: ^aforgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I ^apress on toward the goal for the prize of the ^bupward call of God in ^cChrist Jesus. 15 Therefore, all who are ^1amature, let’s have this attitude; and if in anything you have a ^bdifferent attitude, ^cGod will reveal that to you as well; 16 however, let’s keep ^1aliving by that same standard to which we have attained.

17 Brothers and sisters, ^ajoin in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the ^bpattern you have in us. 18 For ^amany walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even as I ^bweep, that they are the enemies of ^cthe cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their ^1aappetite, and whose ^bglory is in their shame, who ^chave their minds on earthly things. 20 For ^aour ¹citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly ^bwait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who will ^atransform the body of our lowly condition into ^bconformity with ¹His ^cglorious body, ^dby the exertion of the power that He has even to ^esubject all things to Himself.