1 Finally, my brothers,kch. 4:4; 1 Thess. 5:16 rejoice in the Lord.l[2 Pet. 1:12] To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.
2 Look out formPs. 22:16, 20; Isa. 56:10, 11; Rev. 22:15; [Gal. 5:15] the dogs, look out forn[2 Cor. 11:13] the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 ForoSee Rom. 2:29 we are the real circumcision,p[John 4:23] who worshipq[Gal. 5:25; Jude 20] by the Spirit of God andrRom. 15:17; [Gal. 6:14] glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 s2 Cor. 11:18 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 tSee Gen. 17:12 circumcised on the eighth day,u2 Cor. 11:22 of the people of Israel,vRom. 11:1 of the tribe of Benjamin,u2 Cor. 11:22 a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law,wActs 23:6; 26:5 a Pharisee; 6 xActs 22:3, 4; Gal. 1:13, 14 as to zeal,ySee Acts 8:3 a persecutor of the church;z[ver. 9] as to righteousness, under the law blameless. 7 Buta[Luke 14:33] whatever gain I had,b[Heb. 11:26] I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because ofc[2 Cor. 5:15] the surpassing worth ofdIsa. 53:11; Jer. 9:23, 24; John 17:3; 2 Pet. 1:3 knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake IeLuke 9:25 (Gk.) have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not havingfRom. 10:5; [ver. 6] a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, butgSee Rom. 9:30; 1 Cor. 1:30 that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 h[Eph. 4:13] that I may know him andi[Rom. 1:4; 6:5] the power of his resurrection, andj1 Pet. 4:13; See 2 Cor. 1:5 may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I maykActs 26:7 attain the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have alreadyl[1 Tim. 6:12, 19] obtained this ormHeb. 11:40; 12:23; [Heb. 5:9] am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do:n[Ps. 45:10; Luke 9:62; Heb. 6:1] forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal foro1 Cor. 9:24 the prize of the upwardp[Heb. 3:1; 1 Pet. 5:10]; See Rom. 8:28 call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who areq1 Cor. 2:6; See Matt. 5:48 mature think this way, and if in anythingr[Gal. 5:10] you think otherwise,s[John 7:17] God will reveal that also to you. 16 OnlytGal. 6:16 let us hold true to what we have attained.
17 Brothers,u[ch. 4:9]; See 1 Cor. 4:16 join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walkv1 Pet. 5:3 according to the example you have in us. 18 ForwSee 2 Cor. 11:13 many, of whom I have often told you and now tell youx[Acts 20:31] even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 y2 Cor. 11:15; [2 Thess. 1:9; 2 Pet. 2:1, 3] Their end is destruction,zSee Rom. 16:18 their god is their belly, anda[Hos. 4:7; 2 Cor. 11:12; Gal. 6:13; Jude 13] they glory in their shame, withbRom. 8:5; Col. 3:2 minds set on earthly things. 20 ButcSee Eph. 2:19 our citizenship is in heaven, anddActs 1:11 from it weeSee 1 Cor. 1:7 await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transformf[1 Cor. 15:43-53] our lowly bodyg[ver. 10; Col. 3:4]; See Rom. 8:29 to be like his glorious body,hSee Eph. 1:19 by the power that enables him eveni1 Cor. 15:28 to subject all things to himself.