But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
Parallel translations
- WEB However, I consider those things that were gain to me as a loss for Christ.
- KJV But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
- NKJV But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.
- NASB But whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ.
- NLT I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Whatever gains Paul once prized he now counts as loss for Christ's sake. Knowing Christ outweighs every former advantage.
Overview
Paul reverses his ledger: the credentials he just listed are reclassified from assets to losses. The turning point is Christ, whose surpassing worth changes everything. This is the great exchange at the heart of the gospel, trading self-righteousness for Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Luke 14:33In the same way, any one of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple.
- Matt 16:26What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
- Matt 13:44–46The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.
- Luke 14:26“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.
- Prov 13:8Riches may ransom a man’s life, but a poor man hears no threat.
- Phil 3:8–10More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
- Luke 17:31–33On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind.
- Gen 19:17As soon as the men had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Do not look back, and do not stop anywhere on the plain! Flee to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
- Gal 2:15–16We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile “sinners”
- Job 2:4“Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life.
- Gal 5:2–5Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
- Luke 16:8The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the sons of light.
- Gen 19:26But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
- Phil 3:4–6though I myself could have such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more:
- Prov 23:23Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding.
- Acts 27:38After the men had eaten their fill, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
- Acts 27:18–19We were tossed so violently that the next day the men began to jettison the cargo.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The one who, being in the form of God, emptied himself to the point of death on a cross and was exalted to the name above every name — the joy and prize of the believer.
How Philippians 3:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.