and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith, (Philippians 3:9)

Paul described his new aspirations in three ways: gaining Christ and being found in him (v.9), having Christian righteousness (v.9), and attaining resurrection from the dead (vv.10, 11).

The concept of being found in Christ refers to the return of Christ and the judgment day.^[1] Paul is saying that when he stands before God, it will be apparent that he had “gained” Christ in his life. His desire was always to be righteous; after his conversion on the Damascus road, Paul understood that it was not his own self-righteousness that counted, but the righteousness of Jesus Christ. His being made right before God did not depend on what he did; it was obtained only through Jesus Christ. Christ brings righteousness through faith in Christ (imputed)^[2], not from works of the law. Paul is probably using the term here in the way that the Old Testament looked at righteousness. The Old Testament often looked at righteousness and salvation as synonymous. While it is true to say that God accepts sinners, it does not mean that he accepts sin. We might say that a Doctor will accept a patient, but not the patient’s disease. Just as a Doctor accepts the patient with the view of making him well, God accepts the sinner with the view of making him righteous.

 

This righteousness will only be perfected at the parousia^[3] – the return of Christ for his holy ones. It is in process now in the believer, but will be completed at the return of Christ.

The Greek word (πίστις pistis) translated as faith two times means a firm persuasion or conviction in this verse.  Vine says it is a conviction based upon hearing.^[4] The first time we see “through faith in Christ,” the use of the word dia in this section translates the concept that the righteousness we have is through the firm persuasion or conviction in Jesus that we hold. Paul uses this same type of viewpoint in Galatians 2: 20 – “…and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

The second translation of (πίστις pistis) in this verse has the definite article before it, which signifies the idea of the instructed persuasion/conviction.

An essential understanding that we need is to realize that faith does not save in and by itself. The realization of our salvation comes by having faith in the correct object, and the correct object of faith is Jesus Christ. Faith in any other object (works, deeds, myself, etc.), even faith itself, will not provide a person’s salvation. So, our righteousness must be based upon the finished work of Christ and not on any other form.

More in-depth Insights

And be found in him. Paul was joined to Christ by his living faith. When the time came to be judged as to the worthiness of salvation, Paul would have been joined to Jesus and dependent on Christ’s ransom sacrifice for salvation, not Paul’s merits. – John 6:56.

Not having a righteousness of my own. Paul’s righteousness when he went by Saul before meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus was self-righteousness, “a righteousness of the law.” He was relying on himself and his works under he Mosaic Law for salvation. After he became a Christian, he no longer looked to himself for a righteous standing before God or salvation, he looked to Christ.

From the law; The “righteousness of the law” referred to here is the Mosaic Law, which was what God’s people had to depend on for 1,600 years, and Saul/Paul was dependent upon until he became a Christian. Under the Mosaic Law, there was no way of being perfect in one’s obedience to it. The Law served as a tutor (guardian, guide) leading to Christ and his ransom sacrifice. So, the “righteousness of the law” was meant to be temporary from the beginning and in vain after Jesus Christ came and gave his life in our place. Seeking salvation the “righteousness of the law” is futile because it falls short of truly having a righteous standing before God. The “righteousness of the law” covered over the sins of the Jewish people giving them a relatively good standing. The ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ removed Adamic sin and gave God’s people an absolute righteous standing. All dependence on one’s own works is useless.

But one through faith in Christ. Under Jesus Christ, God’s people are justified by their active faith in him.

The righteousness from God based on faith. Righteousness comes from God, as he is our foundation. God is the determiner of our being forgiven, to be declared righteous. Once declared righteous, God will treat the sinner as though he never sinned in the first place. God has forgiven us for anything we might have done. Isaiah tells us that God ‘took all of our sins and cast them behind his back.’ (Isaiah 38:17) In other words, they can no longer be seen. Micah tells us that God has “cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19) In other words, our sins can no longer be retrieved. The Psalmist tells us that “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12) Yes, our sins have been removed to the greatest distance possible from God, to the point where he will recall them no more. We need to do the same. We need not waste our precious life being concerned about our former sins because God is not even thinking of such things when he thinks of us.

God is the cause of all the grace that will be conveyed to the person, making him holy, pure, clean. Any righteousness that the Christians have is from God, and the way to salvation is by being declared righteous by God, not by one’s own perceived righteousness. The righteousness from God is full, complete, lacking in nothing, as though one would have to make an effort to work out was flawed, tainted, and utterly inadequate to save the person from Adamic sin and acts of human imperfection.

Believing In [Trusting In] the Son

John 3:16 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that whoever believes in [trusting in] him will not be destroyed but have eternal life.

John 3:36 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

³⁶ The one believing in [trusting in] the Son has eternal life, but the one who disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Believe, faith, Trust in: (Gr. pisteuo) If pisteuo is followed by the Greek preposition eis, (“into, in, among,” accusative case), it is normally rendered “trusting in” or “trust in.” (John 3:16, 36; 12:36; 14:1) The grammatical construction of the Greek verb pisteuo “believe” followed by the Greek preposition eis “into” in the accusative gives us the sense of having faith into Jesus, putting faith in, trusting in Jesus. – Matt. 21:25, 32; 27:42; John 1:7, 12; 2:23–24; 3:15-16, 36; 6:47; 11:25; 12:36; 14:1; 20:31; Acts 16:31; Rom. 4:3.

A Grammar of New Testament Greek series, by James Moulton, says, “The importance of the difference between mere belief … and personal trust.”[5] Both these senses can be conveyed using the Greek word pisteuo. The context helps us to identify the different senses of the meaning of pisteuo. Then again, we also have the different grammatical constructions that convey what the Bible author meant by his use of the word. When pisteuo is simply followed by a noun in the dative case, it is merely rendered as “believe,” such as the chief priest and elders response to Jesus at Matthew 21:25, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ However, in Romans 4:3, we have pisteuo followed by a noun in the dative in the Updated American Standard Version, yet it is rendered “For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham put faith in God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (The ASV, RSV, ESV, NASB, and others have “Abraham believed God”)

If pisteuo is followed by the Greek preposition epi, “on,” it can be rendered “believe in” or believe on.” At Matthew 27:42, it reads, “we will believe in him [i.e., Jesus].” In Acts 16:31, it reads, “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved …” (KJV, UASV similarly) What is the difference between “believing in Jesus” and “believing on Jesus”? Believing in Jesus is merely acknowledging that he exists while believing on Jesus is to accept absolutely, have no doubt or uncertainty, trust in, put faith in or trust in, and exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is NOT so much something Christians have, but rather something Christians do.

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[1] Holman Bible Editorial Staff, ed., HCSB Study Bible (Kindle Locations 147153-147159), ed. Holman Bible Editorial Staff (B&H Publishing Group Kindle Edition, 2010).

[2] Imputation is used to designate any action or word or thing as reckoned to a person. Thus in doctrinal language (1) the sin of Adam is imputed to all his descendants, i.e., it is reckoned as theirs, and they are dealt with therefore as guilty; (2) the righteousness of Christ is imputed to them that believe in him, or so attributed to them as to be considered their own; and (3) our sins are imputed to Christ, i.e., he assumed our “law-place,” undertook to answer the demands of justice for our sins. In all these cases the nature of imputation is the same (Romans 5:12-19; Compare Philemon 1:18, 19).

http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/imputation

[3]  Parousia means “to be with, or presence.” In Theology, it is a visible coming of Jesus Christ to raise the righteous dead and catching up the living believers with Him. The reader is encouraged to see Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, ed. Walter A. Elwell (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1984). Pages 1080-1083 for more information on this topic.

[4] W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger and William White, Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1996). Page 222.

[5] James Moulton, A Grammar of New Testament Greek, Vol. 1: Prolegomena (London, England: T & T Clark International, 2006), 68.