"Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ."
Philippians 3:8
Part 2
Yesterday:
“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss.”
“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ” (Philippians 3:7). These are all the things in verses five through seven.
“For the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord.”
To know Jesus, and to know about Him, is far superior to anything this world can give us.
“For whom I have suffered the loss of all things.”
Paul gave up everything he once held dear for Jesus!
Today:
“And do count them but dung.”
“Dung” is not a pleasant topic for our public discussion. Still, the meaning here in the New Testament is critical, and we do not want to miss its significance. It is interesting how the different versions have translated this word.
“dung” (KJV)
“less than nothing” (BBE)
“rubbish” (NASB)
“rubbish” (ESV)
“refuse” (ASV)
“worthless trash” (ERV)
“garbage” (CEV)
Robertson and Vincent both agree that our English word “dung” is translated from the Greek word that means “refuse.”
“… refuse. Either excrement or what is thrown away from the table; leavings…” “According to some it is a contraction…to throw to the dogs”[1] (Vincent).
“The word… means the vilest dross or refuse of any thing; the worst excrement”[2] (Clarke).
“In the question of justification before God, all reliance on birth, and blood, and external morality, and forms of religion, and prayers, and alms, is to be renounced, and, in comparison with the merits of the great Redeemer, to be esteemed as vile. Such were Paul’s views, and we may remark that if this was so in his case, it should he in ours” (Barnes).
What is the point here? Things that are valuable to us when we lose them or give them away is to suffer loss, and that is not always easy or pleasant. To count something as refuse means that when we lose it or throw it away, it means nothing and is worthless to us. Garbage is easy to cast off. Paul lumped everything that used to mean something to him, into a pile that now he calls “dung.” All these former “dear things” now are refuse to be cast out with the other rubbish. Those things mean nothing anymore! Why?
“That I may win Christ.”
We can gain the world, or we can gain Christ, but not both. Paul saw that the most essential thing to acquire is Jesus Christ!
“He who loses all things, and even himself, on account of Christ, gains Christ: Christ is His, and He is Christ’s…”[3] (JFB).
If I Gained the World But Lost the Savior[4]
by Anna Olander
If I gained the world, but lost the Savior,
Were my life worth living for a day?
Could my yearning heart find rest and comfort
In the things that soon must pass away?
If I gained the world, but lost the Savior,
Would my gain be worth the lifelong strife?
Are all earthly pleasures worth comparing
For a moment with a Christ-filled life?
Had I wealth and love in fullest measure,
And a name revered both far and near,
Yet no hope beyond, no harbor waiting,
Where my storm-tossed vessel I could steer;
If I gained the world, but lost the Savior,
Who endured the cross and died for me,
Could then all the world afford a refuge,
Whither, in my anguish, I might flee?
O what emptiness!—without the Savior
’ Mid the sins and sorrows here below!
And eternity, how dark without Him!
Only night and tears and endless woe!
What, though I might live without the Savior,
When I come to die, how would it be?
O to face the valley’s gloom without Him!
And without Him all eternity!
O the joy of having all in Jesus!
What a balm the broken heart to heal!
Ne’er a sin so great, but He’ll forgive it,
Nor a sorrow that He does not feel!
If I have but Jesus, only Jesus,
Nothing else in all the world beside—
O then everything is mine in Jesus;
For my needs and more He will provide.
[1] M.R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword. This is how he defines the word skubala from the Greek text.
[3] Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.
[4] “If I Gain the World but Lost the Savior.” Lyrics by Anna Olander (1861-1939). Hymn tune: ÖLANDER, Swedish.