Background Notes
Exultation and joy in the Lord are repeated themes in
Philippians. In our last section it was
an appropriate response to difficulties as an underscore to our message of good
news while “walking the talk.” We are to exult even in difficult situations because
the Lord uses our joyful response to make us shine in the dark world we
temporarily live in.
Joy Sees the Hand
of God in Trying Circumstances Philippians 3:1
In 3:1 Paul points out that we are to rejoice in the Lord. Notice that this attitude of rejoicing is a
safety device for them as well. Instead
of despairing and abandoning their faith they are to recognize the hand of the
Lord in the most trying of circumstances.
The focus is not on the circumstance but on the Lord’s provision.
Pointing Out Posers
Philippians 3:2
In 3:2 they are to “beware” of certain opponents. They are not to fear them but are to notice
them. The word “beware” is an ordinary
word that usually means to “see.” But it
can also mean to point out, to look at, or to watch. Most translations take their cue from the
context to add the nuance of caution because these are people who counterfeit
the work of God with their own fakes.
So, they are posers that must be pointed out. What do they look like? In Philippi, there were three signs Paul
pointed out.
First, they are tagged idiomatically as “dogs.” This is not permission to call people who
oppose the message of the Bible dogs! The New Testament term “dogs” was a
common cultural metaphor in those days for someone who was part of the local
scene but was really an outsider. Not
because they were poor or homeless or even a leper but because they weren’t part of the religious community. For the Jewish community it referred to
Gentiles. For Christians, it referred to unbelievers. Notice that dogs wanted to live in the house,
eat at the table with everyone else and sleep with their owners if they were
allowed but they were not people. They
could eat the crumbs that fell from the table, but they didn’t get a place at
the table. We are to look out for people
who are brought into the church and given a voice there but are not really believers. We don’t ban them or abuse them, but we are
very careful when listening to their advice.
So “dogs” here seems to be a general term that indicates
someone who is not from the community of faith but hangs around. But how do you identify people who aren’t
really believers? In Matthew 7, Jesus
said we recognize false teachers by their fruit. And in the same passage, Jesus said that the
false teachers were “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” They acted like sheep. They dressed like sheep. So, “fruit” doesn’t mean their deeds or their
works so much as their words that give them away. Their fruit was in their message.
In 3:2 they are further tagged as “evil workers” or “evil
teachers.” Their message—their fruit—was
evil. So, it is a counterfeit message. They dress like sheep and act like sheep but
they are not teaching the Word. And
their result (if not their intent) is evil.
I suppose they might have even fooled themselves into thinking that
their teaching was true and good. Paul
was once like that before he met the Messiah.
They may well be victims of other false or evil teachers themselves. Notice
Paul does not say these are your enemies but rather these are purveyors of
something evil. Look out for what
they want to serve you.
The third tag in 3:2 is literally “the concision” or “those
who mutilate the flesh.” This is a
mocking reference to a botched circumcision.
In Jewish religion the boys were circumcised on the eighth day by a
trained “mohel” (pronounced “moil”). Circumcision
was instituted in God’s covenant with Abraham.
This physical sign was evidence of participation in the Abrahamic
covenant and was given to the Jewish nation. Jesus, too, was circumcised properly to
fulfill the Jewish Law (Luke 2). Matthew
5 tells us that the Law was fulfilled in Jesus.
But some Jewish Christians traveled about telling Gentile believers that
they also needed to be circumcised in order to become a Christian. That was a misunderstanding of the purpose of
circumcision and of the gospel message of grace (Titus 3:5). In Acts 15, the apostles gathered together in
Jerusalem and put that phony issue to rest once and for all. But Gentiles are to be careful not to
deliberately offend their Jewish neighbors who may be fellow believers, although
they do not need to become Jews in order to be saved. But that didn’t stop the traveling teachers
(sometimes called Judaizers) from setting up circumcision tents and trying to
get the Gentiles to submit to their teaching.
Paul called on the Philippian believers to beware of these
Judaizers that he calls the Concision—the failed circumcision. Look out for them. Why was it so dangerous?
Old Covenant
Circumcision Has Been Replaced Philippians 3:3-6
In verse 3, Paul lays out his inspired comeback to these
false messages. We are the “true
circumcision” because we worship God in the Spirit and exult or rejoice in
Jesus and we don’t need any physical or fleshly credentials. The Spirit of God has replaced old Jewish
credentials. This reference to
worshipping God in the Spirit was first mentioned in Jesus’ conversation with
the woman at the well in John 4. He told
her that God is seeking those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth
rather than a reliance on Samaritan or Jewish rituals. No longer do we have to be in a specific sacred
building to be in contact with God. Rituals
do not substitute for what Christ has already accomplished.
Having the Spirit of God dwelling in us and energizing our
worship of the Father is not necessarily an outward spectacle. But it is something that God sees, and He
knows what is in our heart as we submit to Him and adore Him. Worshiping in the Spirit is something meant
for God to see and enjoy. We don’t need
stained glass, or rituals, or sacred music to worship.
At this point Paul goes into a lengthy sidebar of all those
Jewish credentials that he has. According
to the credentials, he outranks all of these traveling teachers and fake
mohels.
Counting Old Covenant
Credentials as a Liability Philippians 3:7-9
But he has learned that all of that religious cred is a big
fat liability where the Lord is concerned.
It is too easy to think of our access to God as relying on things we
have done instead of what Christ has completed on our behalf. Whatever seems to be a religious plus as far
as things I have done (Christian privilege?), Paul calls it “dung.” In Greek it was not just a word for trash,
but it was chosen for its barnyard shock value.
That’s all the physical human body produces—excrement. It may have some value in this world—but he counts it as dung as far as
eternity and spiritual value is concerned.
Why? In verse 9 he says he wants to be sure that his trust
or reliance is totally on Christ and the righteousness He provides and nothing
else. Our own righteousness may have
some value in this life. But Paul says
that our standing before God must be presented to the world not as the good
deeds we have done, but as the result of the faithfulness of Christ who died in
our place and His own righteousness was put on our account.
The Philippians had none of Paul’s Jewish cred. So, Paul counted it as a liability lest they
substitute anything else for Christ. This
is why we exult in the Lord—not in
our own actions.
Next time we will examine our response to Christ’s
faithfulness.
© 2018 Eric Thimell
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