`But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ' (Phil. 3:7).

With these words Paul turns from any ground of confidence in the flesh that at any time he may have held,

gladly to relinquish every real and imagined advantage for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord.

The depth of the apostle's feeling is revealed in little grammatical points and items of emphasis. For instance

`gain' is really plural, whereas loss instead of being in the plural, and so rendering the passage ordinary, is in the

singular. Then the apostle does not say that these things `are' but `were' gain - it is all a matter of the past. The

word `loss' is put by the apostle at the very end of the sentence for the sake of emphasis. Paul is here making out,

perhaps, the most wonderful balance sheet ever prepared by man. Here is his `profit and loss' account. Here is

Paul's estimate. Six times does the apostle use the verb hegeomai, and these occurrences are important enough to

justify their inclusion here.

`Let each esteem other better than themselves (2:3).

`Who ... thought it not robbery to be equal with God' (2:6).

`Yet I supposed it necessary to send ... Epaphroditus' (2:25).

`Those I counted loss for Christ' (3:7).

`Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss' (3:8).

`And do count them but dung' (3:8).

It will be seen that these references fall into two groups. The exercise of this discrimination on the behalf of

others, and the exercise of this discrimination both by Christ Himself and by the apostle.

A (2:3).

The esteeming of the things of others as of prior importance.

B (2:6).

Christ's attitude to being on equality with God.

The esteeming of the needs of the Philippians.

B (3:7,8). Paul's attitude to whatever he once prized under the law.

We have already seen the parallel that exists between Philippians and Hebrews, we shall not therefore be

surprised - but recognize with joy the consistency of Truth - to find that Hebrews contains the words translated

`esteem' six times also, other epistles of Paul containing but one occurrence each. In Hebrews 11:24-26 we have the

example :

`By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; choosing rather

to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach

of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward'.

`When he was come to years'. In every other occurrence of megas in the epistles of Paul, as in the rest of

Hebrews, the word is translated `great'. The word seems to have been chosen in order that a two-fold truth might be

Moses had become great, so great that he could have become heir to the throne of Egypt had he so chosen. Yet

he voluntarily exchanged such dazzling greatness for a long life of labour and reproach. This use of the word megas

is justified by a reference to the LXX of Genesis 26:13. There is, however, warrant for the Authorized Version, the

Revised Version endorsing it by the translation `when he had grown up'. An instance from classical Greek is found

in Homer's Odysseus 2 verse 314, where Telemachus, the son of Odysseus, who was an infant when his father left

for Troy, after twenty years, says :

`I was an infant but now I am grown up' (nun epe de megas eimi).

This is the only possible rendering of genetai megas in the LXX of Genesis 38:11, `be grown'. Moses' act is set

over against that of his parents when he was a babe. Hebrews places the position of a babe over against that of the

`perfect', or arriving at adulthood, and so by these interrelated references we see that Moses had reached `perfection',

as the term is used both in Hebrews and in Philippians.