1Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not tiresome, but for you it is safe.
2Beware of the dogs; beware of the evil workers; beware of the false circumcision. 3For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh; 4though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If any other man thinks that he has confidence in the flesh, I yet more: 5circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6concerning zeal, persecuting the assembly; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless.
7However, I consider those things that were gain to me as a loss for Christ. 8Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, 10that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death, 11if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus.
13Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do: forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, think this way. If in anything you think otherwise, God will also reveal that to you. 16Nevertheless, to the extent that we have already attained, let’s walk by the same rule. Let’s be of the same mind.
17Brothers, be imitators together of me, and note those who walk this way, even as you have us for an example. 18For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, as the enemies of the cross of Christ, 19whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things. 20For our citizenship is in heaven, from where we also wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who will change the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working by which he is able even to subject all things to himself.
The Paul did not demean his call to be a servant of Jesus, he, nonetheless was thankful for his life as a Jew who was reared in the Pharisaic tradition according to Phil 3:5, 6; Gal 1:14; and 2 Cor 11:22. This background was invaluable in causing him to think and express himself in Old Testament categories and images, as well as the knowledge he had of the Hebrew Bible, manifested in approximately ninety references. As well, this Jewish background is seen in his understanding of the unity of God's acts in the Old Testament and the Christian gospel (Rom 1:2) in preparation for Jesus the Messiah.
In agreement with this being part of his life, his influence by Greek literary works was also of much value to him as well. The apostle knew the Greek language and had Greek training in rhetoric, philosophy, and literature is evident. Though he may not have been a professional rhetor (orator), his mode of expression reveals, at least at times, the influence of Greek rhetoric. There are minor examples of the Cynic-Stoic manner of argument called diatribe, a discourse conducted in a conversational style with a fictious opponent; sentence structure in a diatribe is short, questions are interjected; antithesis and parallel phrases often punctuate the development (cf Rom 2:1-20 and 1 Cor 9:2) Formerly many scholars considered such terms as "Lord," "Son of God," "flesh and spirit," "mystery," to the Hellenistic background of Paul, and Hellenistic Gnosticism is ascribed his use of "Adam" and "Man," the redeemer myth, pre-existence, etc. However, it is now recognized that these ideas were prevalent in first-century Palestinian Judaism. 3) Since Paul also lived 10 years in a Hellenistic climate, before his first mission, in such centers as Damascus, Tarsus, and Antioch, rather than the agrarian life of Palestine, Paul used images from the city culture, especially the Hellenistic one. He uses Greek political terminology (Phil 1:27; 3:20; Eph 2:19); alludes to Greek games (Phil 2:16; 3:14; 1 Cor 9:24-27; 2 Cor 4:8-9); uses Greek commercial terms (Phlm 18; Col 2:14) and legal terminology. (Gal 3:15; 4:1-2; Rom 7:1-3) and refers to the Hellenistic slave trade (1 Cor 7:22; Rom 7:14) and celebration in honor of the emperor (1 Thess 2:19).