I. Intro
A. ?Two Australian sailors staggered out of a London pub into a dense fog and looked around for help. As they steadied themselves, they saw a man coming into the pub but evidently missed the military medals flashing on his dress uniform. One sailor blurted out, “Say, bloke, do you know where we are?” The officer, thoroughly offended, snarled in response, “Do you men know who I am?” The sailors looked at each other, and one said to the other, “We’re really in a mess now. We don’t know where we are, and he don’t know who he is.”
B. Finally?! What has Paul been talking about?
1. He started by recognizing that they were saints in Christ (1:1)
2. He told them He thanked God for them and was confident God had a work in them He was committed to finish (1:2-11)
3. He bragged about their steadiness in ministry out of love (1:12-18)
4. He reminded them that living is Christ—but dying is gain (1: 19-30)—a preface for what he’s about to talk about in ch.3
5. He taught them their continued service is rooted in the example of Jesus (2:1-10)
6. He explained that they were to serve as lights in a dark world by their love and faithfulness to the Word (2:11-18)
7. He cited two living examples of joyful, faithful service: Timothy and Epaphroditus (2:19-30)
II. Remember Where Your Joy Lies (v.1)
A. “Finally”—Paul is transitioning, not about to wrap things up
1. “My brothers”—not children; Paul says they are past the point of him teaching them as a parent—they’ve matured to being more like apprentices, or even colleagues: the goal of any such relationship
2. “Rejoice in the Lord”—Paul returns to the theme of joy and argues God is the source, distinct from life circumstances, making it as reliable as God (joy ? happiness)
3. “The same things”—what he’s about to talk about, he’s already mentioned in Philippians 1:27-30
a. Biblical joy is best understood in the context of suffering and difficulty; joy in trials are a uniquely Christian thing
4. “Safe for you”—Paul says review will help secure and protect what they’ve learned from false teachers
III. Don’t Feed the Animals (v.2)
A. “Dogs”—as Paul goes from city to city, he’s often followed by Judaizers—the false teachers Paul just mentioned; like wild scavengers
1. Jews often referred to Gentiles as “dogs,” but Paul is turning it around here and applying it to the Judaizers, Jews who said Christianity MUST be practiced in true Judaic form
2. No culture tolerates stray animals; they carry disease and pestilence—that’s what Paul says these false teachers are bringing
B. “Evildoers”—though the Judaizers thought themselves righteous because of their strict law-keeping, Paul says they worship their own fleshly service and detract from Jesus’ complete work
C. “Mutilate”—katatomé; literally, “to cut down (off)”
1. A “true Jew” was circumcised (peritomé), which means “to cut around”—this practice served as a symbol that marks the person as belonging to a separate people and spiritual kingdom
2. Paul is accusing these false teachers as not belonging to anything but their own fleshly rituals, and is saying the “Jewishness” they prided themselves for, in this mutilation, makes them like the idol worshipers in the Old Testament (prophets of Baal, for example) and actually puts them outside the Law
III. The True Circumcision (v.3)
A. “THE circumcision”—Paul argues that true circumcision is not about a physical procedure that symbolizes purity and cleanness of heart, they have actually been cleaned and purified by God (Romans 2:25-29)
B. “Worship by the Spirit of God”—or, “worship God in the Spirit”—Paul says a true believer first and foremost renders spiritual worship (Rom.12:1)
C. “Glory in Christ”—or “rejoice in Christ,” meaning “to boast with exultant joy”—Jesus gets all the credit for all that we are
D. “No confidence in the flesh”—we don’t count on our human abilities, skills, knowledge, rank, genes, denomination, ritual, or anything material, to distinguish us—Christ Alone! (Romans 3:20)
IV. Conclusion
A. Our joy in Christ is much deeper, more permanent, and in view of a better destiny than any happiness we’ll experience in this world and life
B. Don’t let anyone bring some false dogma that robs you of your joy—some spiritual truths may make us sad, or we may not like them in our flesh, but if they are for our eternal good, they will bring joy. Fake religiosity will not do that; it’ll just tell you you’re better than someone else because of something you DID instead of who you ARE in Christ.
C. If you are truly IN CHRIST, experiencing His power, you are in His family; no earthly association can take that from you, disqualify you, or offer itself as the means by which you receive your joy and your everlasting life
D. It’s Christ Alone who secures your future—that’s where your joy comes from!
