Paul was under house arrest and chained to a Roman soldier when he wrote these words to his beloved Philippians. In this epistle, he presents practical Christian experience based on the knowledge of Christ: 1. Christ our life in chapter one; 2. Christ our example in chapter two; 3. Christ our object in chapter three; 4. Christ our strength in chapter four. The apostle had given up everything from his former life which a man could glory in: religious learning and prestige, as well as cultural and religious heritage. He did so, counting them but loss (literally, “dung”) in exchange for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. Indeed, it was this “surpassing worth” (esv) of Christ which motivated him in letting go of all in which the natural man could boast.

It was “Christ Jesus my Lord” who had won Paul’s heart—this anointed Man in the glory who had died for him even though he had been zealously dedicated to opposing His interests, even to the arrest and murder of Christians. He had been armed with letters from the high priest in Jerusalem for this mission, but he had been arrested by the High Priest in heaven and given a new mission—“What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10). He would make the excellent name of Christ known to the nations. He was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, and the “accomplishments” of his old life were but trash in comparison.

Paul would eventually stand before Nero’s judgment bar as a criminal. But, it has been said, “The day would come when, in the Empire, men would call their sons ‘Paul’ and their dogs ‘Nero.’” May we, too, confess Christ Jesus as “my Lord.”