The passage
      v4. Having warned the Philippians to keep clear of the "mutilators of the flesh" (members of the circumcision party, believers who saw their standing before God both maintained and progressed by a faithful attention to God's law), Paul points out that if anyone has status in the presence of God it is Paul himself.
      v5-6. Paul goes on to detail the quality of his legalistic righteousness: his race (Israel), religion (temple worship), the law, ritual and legal purity (Pharisaic traditions).
      v7. Yet, Paul states that he regards his religious purity, encapsulated in his obedience to the law, as nothing and this because of his association with Christ. He regards his "confidence in the flesh", v4, as mere refuse/valueless, for the sake of Christ.
      v8. In fact, as a believer, Paul regards "everything" of little value in comparison with the far greater worth, the supreme advantage, of knowing Christ; "knowing" in the sense of understanding and experiencing him. It is not just his religious purity that Paul regards as refuse, but "even of esteem and friendship and enjoyment and rest and relations", Greijdanus. Paul casts away everything, because first of all, to gain Christ is of far greater value.
      v9. Second, Paul sets aside his self-righteous purity because, to be found in Christ is of far greater value. He is happy to throw "everything" away and rely on the righteousness that is his in Christ - the right-standing that is his before God because of his union with Christ through faith.
      v10. Third, Paul is happy to set aside the "everything" because, to know Christ is of far greater value. Knowing Christ, that is, understanding and experiencing him, is realized in our identification with Christ's death and resurrection. When we identify with Christ in his crucifixion, our old life of separation from God, our state of loss, of sin and judgement, dies with him. When we identify with Christ in his resurrection, God's life-giving power enlivens us. As Vincent writes, "It is the power of the risen Christ as it becomes a subject of practical knowledge and a power in Paul's inner life." "As Christ was raised from the dead.......... we also might walk in newness of life."
      v11. It is this identification with Christ's death and resurrection that gives us our eternal hope.

The gift of surpassing greatness
      All I want is to know Christ in the power that is evident in his resurrection.
      When Tony Hancock, the English comedian, came to Australia, it was the end of the road for a brilliant man. He took his life in a motel room and left a note to all those who loved him; "things seem to go wrong too many times". He had reached the end. He could never surpass his brilliant pieces like the "Radio Ham." He could only go down from there. Life seems to have this shape to it. We all have a moment of beauty, of brilliance, and from this height we slip into regret. Yet, for a believer, there is a different perspective to life. Regret but reminds us of a brilliance which is eternal in its realization; a brilliance found in knowing Christ.
      What a wonderful word is "know". The Bible often uses it of the marriage relationship where "a man knows his wife." Is it not amazing that we are to see our relationship with Christ in the terms of such an intimate union? Since "God is love" we know him in his love for us, a love that is expressed in mercy. So, we strive to know Jesus in his forgiveness, and we respond toward this grace in repentance and faith. The intimacy of our union with Christ is something we have yet to experience in its fullness, yet even now we can taste of his love, and so we pant after it as a deer pants after streams of fresh water.

1. Knowing Christ in his death
      We know Christ when we participate in his death. We have died with Christ. Our old life is hid with him, on the cross, on the tree. Our sinfulness is no longer counted against us by God; the curse of sin no longer hangs over us. God no longer sees the stains of our sin when we are hidden in Christ.

2. Knowing Christ in his resurrection power
      We know Christ in the power that raised him to life. So many in the church today seek power: power to heal, power to witness, power to work miracles. Yet, the power we must seek is the power of the indwelling Spirit of Christ, renewing and enlivening our very beings. We have risen with Christ, and as we look to our risen Lord, so his life-giving power gives life to our mortal bodies. In his power, we can begin to live the Christ-like life.

v5
      peritomh/ oktahmeroV "circumcised on the eighth day" - with respect to / as to circumcision, an eighth day one. Circumcised when he was a week old, ie. he was circumcised in strict conformity with the law. Lev.12:3.
      ek genouV Israhl "of the people of Israel" - of race of Israel. Paul is an Israelite by birth.
      EbraioV ex Ebraiwn "a Hebrew of Hebrews" - Meaning, a Hebrew son of Hebrew parents.
      kata nomon FarisaioV "in regard to the law, a Pharisee" - according to [the] law a Pharisee. Although there is no definite article before "law", the Torah is intended. The way Paul approached the law, and particularly the way he strove to keep it, was according to the ethical and ceremonial purity of the sect of the Pharisees. That is, his standard of "righteousness" was high.

v6
      zhloV (oV) "zeal" - zeal, jealousy. The positive sense is intended here, ardor instead of envy. When it came to the traditions of Israel, Paul's zeal went as far as persecuting those who undermined those traditions.
      kata dikaiosunhn thn en nomw/ genomenoV amemptoV "as for legalistic righteousness, faultless" - according to / in relation to / with respect to the righteousness in [the] law, having become blameless. With respect to the upright behavior of a child of God achieved by means of attention to the demands of the law, Paul is exemplary (as far as Pharisaic standards are concerned). Note that the word "righteousness" has many meanings depending on the context. "Uprightness" is probably intended here, rather than: justice, doing right, what is right, what God requires, ritual purity, or Paul's favorite, a right-relationship with God.

v7
      alla "but" - A possible textual variant. However, nevertheless ...
      kerdh ..... zhmian "profit ..... loss" - Accountancy terms. Paul now regards the advantage of the law as no advantage.
      dia ton Criston "for the sake of Christ" - because of / on account of Christ. It would be normal to read dia followed by the accusative as "because of", ie. free grace in Christ is the reason why Paul now sees no advantage in the law, cf. NRSV. The NIV, along with the RSV and others, reads it as "for the sake of", "for Christ's sake", ie. Paul's desire to affirm Christ motivated him to change his perspective. "Because of" is to be preferred.

v8
      panta pro. "everything" - In v7 it was "whatever" (which things), referring to the religious inheritance of Israel as interpreted and applied by the strict sect of the Pharisees. The "everything" (all things) most likely applies to everything else that gives Paul standing / self worth, namely, Roman citizenship, status in society, wealth....
      to uJperecon (uJerecw) pres. part. "the surpassing greatness" - the rising above, the excellency. The participle here is best read as a substantive, a verbal phrase, "matchless greatness", "ultimate value", "supreme advantage",... indicating the worth of that for which Paul gave everything up.
      The following three genitives produce a rather complex sentence. "Matchless greatness" is qualified by "of the knowledge", which is qualified by "of Christ Jesus", which is qualified by "my Lord."
      thV gnwsewV (iV ewV) "of knowing" - of knowledge. Possibly an epexegetic genitive (exegeting / explaining the matchless greatness), but also possibly in apposition to "matchless greatness" which means that it is the knowledge, ie., they are the same thing. "Knowledge" is a highly charged word with many possible meanings and it is obviously important to identify Paul's intended sense because in comparison with it, everything else is "rubbish". Obviously not just intellectual information about God, possibly mystical union with the divine, although better, the Old Testament sense of "knowing", best illustrated in marriage where a man knows his wife. "Knowing" is an intimate personal union where the other is both understood and experienced. We know God in his gracious kindness and mercy toward us, a grace for which we reciprocate in repentance and faith.
      Cristou Ihsou " Christ Jesus" - of Christ Jesus. Most likely an objective genitive, ie. Christ is the object of the knowledge, he is the one who is known. Most commentators opt for an objective genitive, but it could still be subjective, ie. Christ does the knowing, and therefore, here Paul is expressing the wonder of being known by Christ.
      tou kuriou mou "my Lord" - the lord of me. "The Lord" is in apposition to "Christ Jesus", ie. both are identifiers of the same person, and "of me" is a possessive genitive. "This Lord, the knowledge of whom is of ultimate value, is my Lord." Paul expresses an intimate acquaintance with Christ which is quite unique in his writings.
      iJna Criston kerdhsw (kerdainw) aor. subj. "that I may gain Christ" - This is the first of three statements that define the motives for counting "everything a loss." The second is that Paul might "be found in him (Christ), not having a righteousness ......" v9, and that he might "know Christ and the power of his resurrection and ......" The use of the word "gain" is interesting. The word means to gain by one's activity, or investment - to earn, to gain, to make a profit* Obviously, Paul is continuing with the accountancy profit/loss imagery. Paul once strove to earn many things, now he recognizes only one worthwhile earner. Of course, the image should not be pushed to argue that we gain Christ though our own effort. The grammatical construction, hina with the aorist subjunctive, indicates a complete gaining is still in the future.

v9
      There is one's own kind of covenant compliance which relies on law obedience and there is God's kind of covenant compliance which relies on faith. Paul wants to be found in (in union with) Christ with the second, not the first, because the first doesn't work. In Philippians these two types of uprightness are identified by their qualifications:
      eureqw en autw/ "found in him (Christ)" - "To be found in him and to be justified are the same", Bonnard, here taking the "eschatological meaning of vindication at the divine court by possessing an acceptable righteousness", Martin.
      dikaiosunhn (h) "[not having] a righteousness" - righteousness. Probably not "old covenant righteousness", Fee, but just "uprightness" = "covenant compliance" = "right-standing before God", qualified by "of my own making" (self-righteousness)" and "that comes from the law". The problem with covenant compliance based on law is that it requires perfect obedience.
      emhn "of my own" - Expressing the origin of the righteousness that Paul does not want to have.
      thn ek nomou "comes from the law" - out of / comes from law. "Law" = "the law of Moses", "the Torah." Probably not expressing origin/source, although many commentators argue for "that comes from law", NRSV, so NIV, imaging "from God." It is not impossible for the same preposition to be used differently in one sentence. So here, most likely "based on observance of the law", NAB.
      alla "but" - Adversative.
      thn dikaiosunhn (h) "[having] the righteousness" - righteousness. Not "new covenant righteousness", Fee, just "uprightness".
      dia pistewV Cristou "through faith in Christ" - through the faithfulness of Christ (subjective genitive) OR that which is through faith in Christ (objective genitive). Subjective seems best, expressing the faithful obedience of Christ to the Father's will which serves as the basis of our justification. "Mediated through the faithfulness of Christ."
      ek qeou "from God" - out of / comes from God - The presence of the preposition indicates an ablative/partitive sense, "away from",expressing the origin/source, possibly author, of the righteousness Paul wants to have, as opposed to "my own" source. This certainly supports the idea of "gift". See The righteousness of God. "Which has God as its source", Cassirer.
      epi th/ pistei "based on faith" - on the basis of / which is based on faith.

v10
      tou gnwnai auton "I want to know Christ" - to know him. A genitive article followed by an infinitive may be read a number of ways. It may be an epexegetic infinitive, explaining the meaning of "faith", v9; faith involves knowing Christ. The construction can also produce a final clause, expressing purpose; "we believe so that we may know Christ". The construction can be read as expressing consequence, or result; "we believe with the result that we know Christ." Probably best read as a simple infinitive paralleling the previous subjective clauses: "to gain Christ", "to be found in Christ" and now, "to know Christ".
      kai "and" - It is generally felt that kai should not be read here as a simple conjunction, for it serves to tie the following two phrases with "know him". Both Goodspeed and Moffat suggest "I want to know him in the power of his resurrection" and also in participating in his sufferings." Christ is known in the power of his resurrection and in the sharing in his sufferings.
      thn dunamin thV anastasewV aoutou "power of his resurrection" - the power of the resurrection of him. The genitive, as usual, causes trouble. Is it a genitive of apposition, meaning that power and resurrection are the same; "the power that is his resurrection"? Is it a genitive of origin; "the power that emanates from his resurrection"? Most commentators lean toward the second possibility and therefore argue that Christ's resurrection is a source of power that attaches to a believer and empowers their life. Yet, it is quite likely that it is a descriptive genitive; "the power that is evident in his resurrection." Surely the power is God's power, the power that raised Christ to life, and it is this power that Paul wants to "know". Paul wants to understand and experience the life-transforming, renewing, enlivening... power that was operative in the resurrection of Christ, a power that is accessed through identification with (in) Christ in his resurrection. cf. Eph.1:19-20.
      koinwnian paqhmatwn autou "the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings" - participation of the sufferings of him. The definite articles with "power" and "resurrection" carry over to "fellowship" and "sufferings", indicating a close link between both phrases, although not necessarily suggesting they are one in the same. The link, of course, is the death and resurrection of Christ. Participation in Christ's sufferings does not mean suffering for the gospel as Christ suffered, but rather identification with Christ in his death on the cross. We die with Christ, we rise with Christ, cf. Rom.6:8.
      summorfizomonoV (summorfizw) tw/ qanatw/ outou "becoming like him in his death" - being conformed to the death of him. This participle clause is most likely epexegetical, ie. it explains, or amplifies, what is meant by "sharing in his sufferings." Paul is speaking about our identification with Christ in his death, Rom.6:6.