What is the context?
Paul has just listed the inherited and religious advantages that once gave him confidence. He now explains his changed judgment: what had counted as gain is loss compared with knowing Christ Jesus as Lord.
The word translated rubbish is skubalon (SKOO-bah-lon). Thayer’s lexicon includes refuse and dung. It is a strong comparison of value: those former grounds of confidence cannot compare with gaining Christ and being found in Him.
Paul contrasts righteousness derived from the law with righteousness from God through faith in Christ. His desire reaches into his whole relationship with the Lord: knowing His resurrection power, sharing His sufferings and being conformed to His death.
The paragraph looks toward resurrection from the dead. The next verses make clear that Paul has not reached the end of that pursuit. Knowing Christ gives direction to his present life and his future hope.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Christians commonly understand Paul as receiving righteousness from God through Christ rather than resting on his former credentials. Traditions describe that righteousness and its relationship to renewed life in different ways.
The Reformed Westminster Confession, 11.1–2, teaches that God accepts people as righteous because Christ’s obedience is credited to them and received through faith. It also teaches that this faith is accompanied by other graces and acts in love.
The Catholic Catechism, paragraphs 1987–1993, describes justification as forgiveness together with inner renewal through the Spirit. It grounds this gift in Christ’s saving death, received through faith and baptism. John Wesley’s note on verse 9 also emphasizes righteousness worked inwardly by God’s Spirit through faith, and understands the passage to concern growth in holiness as well as acceptance before God.
The BSB footnote to verse 9 also allows the wording through Christ’s faithfulness. The main translation reads through faith in Christ. Both belong to the discussion of how Paul describes righteousness received from God; neither wording supplies a reason to return to boasting in personal credentials.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
Romans 6:3–11 connects participation in Christ’s death with a new way of life and the promise of sharing His resurrection. It supplies a close parallel to the death-and-life pattern Paul desires here.
1 Corinthians 15:20–23 identifies the risen Christ as the firstfruits of those who have died and connects His coming with the resurrection of those who belong to Him. Knowing Christ reaches into God’s purpose to give His people life beyond death. That future hope gives weight to the present pursuit.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.