“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ — Paul's loss is not theoretical but lived: he has suffered material loss (apobolia) for Christ. 'Count them as rubbish' (skybala) is deliberately crude: what was prized becomes dung. The goal (hina) is gaining Christ—not achievement but possession, relationship. The irony: losing everything to gain Christ is the ultimate gain. This inverts the usual economy.
Church Fathers on Philippians 3:10
In our contests with heretics, we must make the attack with minds in vigor, that they may be able to give exact attention. I will therefore begin nay present discourse where the last ended. And what was that? Having enumerated every Jewish boast, both those from his birth, and those that were from choice, he added, “Howbeit, what things were gain to me, these have I counted to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I suffered the loss of…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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