NOTES for Ph 3:17-21

The apostle Paul is not afraid to hold himself up as an example. Is this presumption or self-confidence? No. It is an objective confidence in God’s grace. Paul understands what the Lord has granted him and can therefore allow himself to say, “Brothers, imitate me.” Imitate him in what? In following Christ. The chief thing Paul calls us to imitate is his understanding that “our citizenship is in heaven.” When we relate our actions to eternity, an entirely new dimension opens up. It is in this dimension that Paul invites us to think.