Date: 12/26/18
Lesson #21
Title: Rejoice In The Lord And Beware Of Those Who Place Confidence In The Flesh
• “Special Notes” and “Scripture” are shown as endnotes.
• NIV Bible is used throughout unless noted otherwise.
Scripture: Philippians 3:1-3 (NIV)
(1) Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. (2) Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. (3) For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh
Introduction
We come to a passage that some will say is one of the most amazing passages in the history and life of Paul. We get a little inkling here of the passion in this man's heart for the Savior. But before he talks about that, he takes up the question of what the flesh can do and doesn't do. In other words, we are going to see things that hinder our knowing Christ.
If I were to give you a theme for chapter three, I would say "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering." This is Christian experience—to know Him. Not so much to know about Him, but to really know—Him. This is experimental knowledge.
Commentary
(3:1) Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.
Paul starts the chapter with certain things that hinder our really experiencing knowing Christ. In verse 1 he is saying, "I don't mind writing to you about these things because for you, “it is a safeguard." He then adds, “My brethren, rejoice in the Lord.”
You know, it's easy to rejoice in the things of life. It's easy to rejoice when you get what you want. It's easy to rejoice when you have your own way. But here the basis for rejoicing for a Christian never changes: "Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, rejoice." He always has a good reason to rejoice. It never changes. We are not to rejoice in gifts or accomplishments or service, but we are to rejoice in Him.
You know, we're too often affected by our circumstances, and when our circumstances are not very good, we whine and we grumble; we're not very good people to be with, are we, anyone of us? We get so occupied with ourselves; and, when circumstances are not very good, we expect everyone to sympathize with us—and, in fact, we sympathize with ourselves. But, my friend, when Christ is the source of our joy, we can rejoice regardless of our circumstances. Circumstances were bad, but, you see, the ground for his joy hadn't changed. So Paul says, “Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord!” ["Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord."] I say again, these dear Philippians had suffered for the Gospel. Their circumstances were pretty tough, but so was Paul's. He had been in jail and beaten up in Philippi, and now he's in Rome, and he's chained to soldiers. Yet he could say "Finally, my brethren{1], rejoice in the Lord, and to write to you is not going to be a hard thing because I have you in my heart." What a tremendous place the people of God had? in this man's heart.
You know, I find so many Christians who are in great, great need due to the tests and trials of life. Some are in very, very difficult circumstances; and yet Paul says, they are no worse than mine. I'm a prisoner of Jesus Christ, I'm here at Rome chained to soldiers, I've been beaten up, and I’ve been persecuted. Yet he could say, "Finally, my brethren{1], rejoice in the Lord.”
(3:2) Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh.
Watch out for those dogs
Here is more repetition, the threefold "watch out" [“beware” is a better word to use here.] and one of the most dramatic warnings in Scripture.
The term “Dogs” applies to those who have unholy tastes and desires; Jesus warned the multitude about them in the Sermon on the Mount: "Do not give what is holy to dogs . . .” (Matthew 7:6). Furthermore, the status of dogs in that ancient culture was a far different thing from what it is in our own. The dog in America today is a loved and appreciated creature, but the dog was held to be most contemptible in ancient times. Dogs in the east are mostly without masters; they wander uninhibited in the streets and fields, and feed upon the internal organs and entrails of an animal [offal], and even upon corpses; compare 1 Kings 14:11; 1 Kings 16:4; 1 Kings 21:19. They are believed to be unclean, and to call anyone a dog is a much stronger expression of contempt there than it is here; 1 Samuel 17:43; 2 Kings 8:13. The Jews called the Gentiles “dogs,” because the Gentiles were not included in the covenant? they called them Dogs; and themselves, the children of the Most High. Now, they are cast out of the covenant and the Gentiles were taken in; therefore they are the dogs, and the Gentiles the children. The Muslims called Jews and Christians by the same name. The term “dog” also is used to denote a person that is shameless, impudent, evil, scowling, dissatisfied, and contentious, and is evidently the meaning employed here. The prophet Isaiah compared the false shepherds of Israel to dumb dogs, lazy dogs, and greedy dogs (Isaiah 56:9-11).
those evildoers,
Referring, doubtless, to the same persons that he had characterized as dogs. The reference is to Jewish teachers, whose doctrines and influence he regarded only as evil. We do not know what was the nature of their teaching, but we may presume that it consisted, most of all, in urging the obligations of the Jewish rites and ceremonies; in speaking of the advantage of having been born Jews: and in urging a compliance with the Law in order to obtain justification before God. In this way, their teachings tended to set aside the great doctrine of salvation by the merits of the Redeemer.
“Dogs ... evildoers ... concision [Those who mutilate the flesh]...” Many believe that these are not three classes of enemies but three designations of one class, that class being rather effectively identified by the word "concision," which is a derogatory reference to circumcision and points squarely at the Judaizers who were the most active of the Gospel enemies of that era. The cutting or excision; the circumcision: the word is used by the apostle to degrade the pretensions which the Jews made to sanctity by the cutting of their flesh. Circumcision was an honorable thing, for it was a sign of the covenant; but since they now had rejected the new covenant, their circumcision was rendered uncircumcision, and is termed a cutting, by way of degradation. The secular, nationalistic Jews were also enemies but when Paul referred to them, his references to circumcision were more respectful. But the thing that infuriated him was the insistence that the rite is enforced on Gentile Christians in order to make them “full Christians.”
those mutilators of the flesh.
Some Bible scholars are of the opinion that there are three classes of Gospel enemies in this verse. “Those mutilators of the flesh” clearly refers to the "Unbelieving Jews” who are radical and vicious in their opposition to the Gospel of Christ; Jewish hostility was violent beyond measure in Macedonia (Acts 17). If this view should be accepted, then the three classes of enemies would be:
• dogs ... those of unholy desires and appetites.
• the unbelieving Jews who tried to exterminate the gospel.
• the concision ... the believing Jews who sought to pervert the gospel.
(3:3) For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh
For it is we who are the circumcision,
We who are Christians possess and observe the true doctrine of circumcision. We have that which was intended to be secured by this rite, for we are led to renounce the flesh and to worship God in the spirit. The apostle in this verse teaches that the ordinance of circumcision was not designed to be a mere outward ceremony, but was intended to be emblematic of the renunciation of the flesh with its corrupt nature and to lead to the pure and spiritual worship of God. In this, he has undoubtedly stated its true propose. Those who now insisted that it is a necessary component of salvation, and who made salvation depend on its mere outward observance, had lost sight of this object of the rite. But this, the real aim of circumcision, was attained by those who had been led to renounce the flesh, and who had devoted themselves to the worship of God; see the notes on Romans 2:28-29 at page 116.
we who serve God by his Spirit,
The oldest manuscripts read, “worship by the Spirit of God”; our religious service is rendered by the Spirit (John 4:23-24{2]). Legal worship was outward and consisted in outward acts, restricted to certain times and places. Christian worship is spiritual, flowing from the inner workings of the Holy Spirit, and not from certain isolated acts, but embracing all of life (Romans 12:1). In the former, men trusted in something human, whether it descended from the theocratic nation, or the righteousness of the Law, or mortification of “the flesh.”
See the notes on Genesis 17:10-14 on page 118.
who boast in Christ Jesus,
That is, we boast of Jesus Christ, but not the law, which is the ground of their boasting. We have, through Him, renounced the flesh; we have become the true worshippers of God, and have thus attained what was originally thought to be the consequence and benefit of circumcision, and all the other rites of religion. “We are the (real) circumcision.”
and who put no confidence in the flesh
That is, in our own corrupt nature; or in any ordinances that relate merely to the flesh. We do not depend on circumcision for salvation or on any external rites and forms whatsoever?on any advantage of rank, or blood. The word “flesh” here seems to refer to every advantage which any may have due to birth; to any external conformity to the Law, and to everything which unaided human nature can do to bring about salvation. Or, we cannot rely on any of these things for salvation; none of them will constitute a ground for hope. Our hope resides in Jesus Christ.
Both the Judaizers and the unbelieving Jews supported their opposition to Christianity by appealing to their circumcision as proof of their standing within the covenant of Abraham. They called themselves "the circumcision,” which they thought was enough to prove that they were descendants of Abraham and the only objects of God's favor. Here Paul challenged them.
Scripture and Special Notes
[1} My brethren? He willingly repeats the title of brethren, to show the respect he had for them, and to enhance that which he was about to communicate to the Philippians.
[2} “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24)
Circumcision Must Occur On The Inside Of A Christian (Romans 2:28-29)
28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;
In God’s reckoning, a true Jew is not simply a man who has Abraham’s blood flowing in his veins or who has the mark of circumcision in his body. A person may have both these things and be the scum of the earth morally. The Lord is not swayed by external considerations of race or religion; He looks for inward sincerity and purity.
Frequently people speak of “Christians” as a term to indicate the opposite of heathen. In another sense, true believers in the Lord are called Christians. Paul is making the case that not all who are called Jews are truly Jewish. Possession of the law does not make one Jewish. Circumcision does not make one Jewish. Even birth in a Jewish family does not make one Jewish. Paul says that two things are necessary to be truly Jewish: First, to be born of Abraham through Isaac (that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh); and the second is found in the next verse.
29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
Second, to be truly Jewish a person has to be spiritually in tune with Abraham’s God (circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit.). The Mosaic Law had already taught that circumcision was of the heart. “Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer” (Deut. 10:16).
No one can claim to be Jewish who is not born in the line of Abraham through his son Isaac. But to the requirement of outward circumcision (ancestry from Abraham), Paul adds the requirement of the circumcision of the heart. This spiritual or ethical circumcision is seen throughout the Scriptures, e.g., “uncircumcised lips”—“And Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, “The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” (Ex 6:12); “uncircumcised ear”—“To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, And they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them; They have no delight in it” (Jer. 6:10);“uncircumcised heart”— “And that I also have walked contrary to them and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt” (Lev 26:41). The Jew who is born out of the seed of Abraham through Isaac yet does not have his heart circumcised in the way that Abraham did, that is, “to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart” (Deut 30:6), is not truly a Jew. He is a Jew outwardly, but not inwardly. He is born of Abraham, but not born again by the Spirit of God. The only true Jew is one who is a Jew by race and a believer by God’s grace. Therefore, birth alone cannot make a Jew righteous. The designation Jew is derived from Judah (The Hebrew meaning is “praise.”), one of Jacob’s sons and one of the 12 tribes of Israel.
Chapter 2 does not teach that all believers are Jews, or that the church is the Israel of God. Paul is talking about those who are born of Jewish parentage and is insisting that the mere fact of birth and the ordinance of circumcision are not enough. There must also be inward faith in and commitment to Jesus Christ.
Circumcision Appointed (Genesis 17:10-14)
10 This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised;
This covenant was one that involved great blessings to the world in all future ages, yet it is not made with the world, but with Abraham. God will give the world blessings but it will be through Him. Surely these things were designed to show plainly the great principle on which our salvation should rest. It was the purpose of God to save perishing sinners: yet his covenant is not originally with them, but with Christ. With Him, it stands firm, and for his sake, they are accepted and blessed. Even the blessedness of Abraham himself, and all the rewards conferred upon him was for Christ’s sake. Abraham was justified, as we have seen, not by his own righteousness, but by faith in the promised Messiah.
11 and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
Circumcision (cutting away the male foreskin) is the badge of the covenant. The Israelites did not circumcise themselves in order to become members of the covenant. They did this because they had the covenant from God. Circumcision occupied the same place that good works occupy for the believer today. You do not perform good works in order to be saved; you perform good works because you have been saved. That makes all the difference in the world. The thing that put them under the covenant wasn’t circumcision, but circumcision was the badge of it, the evidence of it. Abraham’s part in the covenant was to mark each male in his house with the sign of the covenant.
Circumcision was practiced elsewhere in the world and in the ancient Near East, especially in Egypt and Canaan. Assyrians and Babylonians, however, refused to have any part in it. Note that David scornfully refers to Goliath as an “uncircumcised Philistine.” (1 Sam. 17:26). But here, in this appearance of God to Abraham, it achieved a new meaning; it too would remind Abraham and his descendants of the everlasting covenant. This religious and theocratic significance of identifying the circumcised as belonging to the physical and ethnical lineage of Abraham (Acts 7:8; Rom. 4:11) was entirely new. Without revelation, the rite would not have had this distinctive significance; thus, it remained a theocratic distinctive of Israel (v. 13). There was also a health benefit; since disease could be kept in the folds of the foreskin, removing it prevented that. Historically, Jewish women have had the lowest rate of cervical cancer. But the symbolism had to do with the need to cut away sin and be cleansed. It was the male organ which most clearly demonstrated the depth of depravity because it carried the seed that produced depraved sinners. Thus circumcision symbolized the need for a profoundly deep cleansing to reverse the effects of depravity.
12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generations, he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant.
It is important to note that circumcision was not a “sacrament.” The performance of it did not convey a spiritual blessing to the recipient. An eight-day-old baby boy (Lev. 12:3{1]) would not even understand what was going on; and when he got older, the ritual would have to be explained to him. It was the obedience of the parents that was important; for if they did not obey God in this matter, their son would be cut off from his people (v. 14). The covenant people must bear the mark of the covenant. Not only were Abraham and Isaac and his posterity by Isaac to be circumcised, but also Ishmael and the bondservants and anyone who worked for a wage.
Scripture reference and special notes for verse 12
{1] And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.
13 He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
Again, circumcision is the badge of the covenant. They did not have to do this in order to get the covenant; God had already made the covenant with them. I trust you will see this because it is so important. The same thing is true today. A great many people think that, if they join the church or are baptized, they will be saved. No, my friend, you don’t do those things to get saved. If you are saved, I think you will do both of them—you’ll join a church, and you’ll be baptized—but you don’t do that to get saved. We need to keep the cart where it belongs, following the horse, and not get the cart before the horse. For in fact, in the thinking of many relative to salvation, the horse is in the cart today.
Unfortunately, the Jewish people eventually made this ritual a means of salvation. Circumcision was a guarantee that you were accepted by God. (Some people today place the same false confidence in baptism, communion, and other religious rites that can be very meaningful if rightly used.) They did not realize that circumcision stood for something much deeper: the parent’s relationship with God. God wants us to “circumcise our hearts” and be totally devoted to Him in love and obedience (Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4; Rom. 2:28-29[1]).
Romans 4:9-12{2] makes it clear that the physical operation had nothing to do with Abraham’s eternal salvation. Abraham had believed God and received God’s righteousness before he ever was circumcised (Gen. 15:6{3]). Circumcision was not the means of his salvation but the mark of his separation as a man in covenant relationship with God. The legalistic element in the early church tried to make circumcision and obedience to the Law a requirement for salvation to the Gentiles, but this heresy was refuted (Acts 15:1-35). In his Galatian Epistle, Paul argues convincingly for salvation by grace alone.
Scripture reference and special notes for verse 13
{1] For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
{2] For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
{3] And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
14 And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant."
The fact that there were those who disobeyed (practically the entire nation disobeyed when they came out of the land of Egypt) did not count against the covenant. That disobedience simply meant that the individual would be cut off (separated from his people), because of his disobedience. Being cut off from the covenant community usually meant being banned or ostracized, and the loss of secular benefits stemming from being part of the special, chosen, and theocratic nation, which is the meaning here; but at other times the person was put to death, as in Exodus 31:14-15{6]. However, as far as the nation is concerned, no individual or group could destroy this covenant which God had made with Abraham and his descendants. It is an everlasting covenant. The man who had broken the covenant was cut off, but the covenant stood. That is how marvelous it is.
Elsewhere scripture refers to circumcision as a symbol of separation, purity, and loyalty to the covenant. Moses said that God would circumcise the hearts of His people so that they might be devoted to Him (Deut. 30:6). And Paul wrote that “circumcision of the heart” (i.e., being inwardly set apart “by the Spirit”) evidences salvation and fellowship with God (Rom. 2:28-29; Rom. 4:11.). One must turn in confidence to God and His promises, laying aside natural strength. Unbelief is described as having an uncircumcised heart (Jer. 9:26{5]; Ezek. 44:7-9).
What does all this mean to Christian believers today? The seal of our salvation is not an external rite but the presence of an internal witness in the person of the Holy Spirit of God (Eph. 1:13{1]; 4:30; Rom. 8:9, 16). We have experienced a “spiritual circumcision” (Col. 2:9-12{2]) that makes us part of the “true circumcision” (Phil. 3:1-3{3]). When we trusted Christ to save us, the Spirit of God” performed spiritual surgery that enables us to have victory over the desires of the old nature and the old life. Circumcision removes only part of the body, but the true “spiritual circumcision” puts off “the body of the sins of the flesh” (Col. 2:11) and deals radically with the sin nature. Believers today are not sealed with a physical mark; they receive the Holy Spirit as the seal at the time of their conversion (Eph. 4:30).
The “spiritual circumcision” is accomplished at conversion when the sinner believes in Christ and is baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13{4]). This baptism identifies the believer with Christ in his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, and also in His circumcision (Col. 2:11-12{2]; Luke 2:21). It is not “the circumcision of Moses” but “the circumcision of Christ” that is important to the believer.
All the descendants of Abraham became known as the “circumcision” (Acts 10:45) and Gentiles were called the “uncircumcision” (Eph. 2:11). It is also the sign and seal of the righteousness which Abraham had by faith (Rom. 4:5). But then the words “circumcision” and “circumcised” took on a variety of meanings. “Uncircumcised lips” (Ex. 6:12) signified a lack of skill in public speaking. “Uncircumcised ears” and “uncircumcised hearts” spoke of failure to hear, love, and obey the Lord (Lev. 26:41; Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 6:10; Acts 7:51). “Uncircumcised in flesh” (Ezek. 45:7) meant unclean.
In the New Testament, “the circumcision of Christ” (Col. 2:11) refers to His death on a cross. Believers are circumcised through their identification with Christ; Paul speaks of it as “the circumcision made without hands in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh” (Col. 2:11). This circumcision speaks of death to the fleshly nature. It is true positionally of every believer but should be followed by a practical mortifying of the sinful deeds of the flesh (Col. 3:5). The apostle speaks of believers as the true circumcision (Phil. 3:3), in contrast to a group of Jewish legalist known as “the circumcision” (Gal. 2:12).
Abraham immediately obeyed God and gave every male of his household the mark of the covenant. No doubt, when he told them his new name, he also explained what this ritual meant.
