3:8 excellency. “Excellency” means “higher authority.” That is, the knowledge of Christ as Savior and Lord is higher than all the secular and religious knowledge Paul had learned in his scholastic training as a Pharisee. Similarly, it is higher than any knowledge one could ever acquire from modern science or philosophy, or from any other discipline.

3:8 dung. The Greek word skubalon basically means “refuse,” either human waste or garbage in general.

3:8 win Christ. “Win Christ”—that is, “be gain for Christ.” We should not only seek to gain Christ and His salvation for ourselves, but also to be profitable spiritually in His service.