| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. | 1Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith. |
| 2Watch out for those dogs, those workers of evil, those mutilators of the flesh! | 2Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. |
| 3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— | 3For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, |
| 4though I myself could have such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: | 4though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! |
| 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; | 5I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. |
| 6as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless. | 6I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. |
| 7But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ. | 7I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. |
| 8More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ | 8Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ |
| 9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith. | 9and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. |
| 10I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death, | 10I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, |
| 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. | 11so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! Pressing toward the Goal |
| 12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. | 12I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. |
| 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, | 13No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, |
| 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus. | 14I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. |
| 15All of us who are mature should embrace this point of view. And if you think differently about some issue, God will reveal this to you as well. | 15Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. |
| 16Nevertheless, we must live up to what we have already attained. | 16But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. |
| 17Join one another in following my example, brothers, and carefully observe those who walk according to the pattern we set for you. | 17Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. |
| 18For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. | 18For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. |
| 19Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things. | 19They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. |
| 20But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, | 20But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. |
| 21who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body. | 21He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control. |
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