3:7
So why, being such a well qualified Jew, was Paul now preaching and living the gospel? Paul goes on to explain why. First of all, all these “gains” he now considers loss, i.e. to be of no value, and he does so “for the sake of Christ”. Note the personal connection. The gospel is not a philosophy, it is about the person of Jesus Christ. The Pharisees and other religious leaders failed because they refused, or were unable, to recognise who Christ was.
3:8
Paul now considers Christ to be worth infinitely more than anything else at all. Christ is the pearl of great price (Matt 14:46). Paul now devotes everything to the goal of knowing Christ. He will give up anything if it means knowing Christ better. Indeed, Paul had lost much, following Christ has cost him dearly, but he considered everything he had lost as garbage (the Greek can actually be translated as “dung”).
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