What does Philippians 3:4 mean?

Though Paul identified with those who believe by faith, he had all of the proper Jewish credentials. There was no more qualified individual, in terms of the Old Testament and Jewish tradition, than Paul. In other words, if someone were to judge Paul's spirituality on the basis of Judaic requirements, he had the right areas covered. This section is not Paul's attempt to prove his own worth by works. On the contrary, Paul is making that point that nobody can be truly justified by anything other than faith. Even his own impressive resume, expounded in verses 5–6, is not enough.

Paul precedes his laundry list of credentials by noting that his Jewish accomplishments far surpass those of his spiritual opponents, who sought to justify themselves by the law. Yet Paul teaches that these traits are unimportant for those who seek to truly know God. He counts them as "loss" for the sake of Christ (Philippians 3:7). His goal was to know the power of the resurrection and sufferings of Christ (Philippians 3:9–10). He had not reached that status yet, but continued to pursue this way of life (Philippians 3:12). Further, Paul called others to imitate his way of life to please God (Philippians 3:17).