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Our past, present, and future in Christ
Philippians 3:4–14 is part of the lectionary readings for the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, which is October 4th. Paul began the chapter with the exhortation to his readers to “rejoice in the Lord” (v. 1). Joy is a major theme that is stressed throughout the apostle’s letter (1:4, 18, 25; 2:2, 17–18; 3:1; 4:1, 10). In 3:1, Paul encouraged his fellow Christians to rejoice because they belonged to the Lord Jesus. Their awareness of their baptismal union with the Son would enable the apostle’s readers to resist the legalistic tendencies of his doctrinal adversaries. Paul referred to the antagonists as “dogs” (v. 2), those who do “evil,” and “mutilators of…