Philippians 3:1-3To: Philippians Main MenuTo: Grace Notes Home Page Philippians 3:1Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.Chapter 3 begins a series of exhortations to live the Christian life. The first exhortation challenges believers to place no confidence in the flesh (3:1-14). FINALLY, MY BRETHREN, REJOICE IN THE LORD Before imploring the Philippians to not deposit confidence in the flesh, he charges them to "Rejoice in the Lord." Rejoice is a theme of the epistle. Evidently the Philippians needed to develop a joy orientation. Paul comes back to this over and over. Christians today require this challenge often. Discouragement makes headway easily. Yet joy in the Lord is quickly defeats discouragement. Steering attention toward him rather than toward our circumstances releases focus upon problems. PRINCIPLE: To change the focus of our orientation is the principle of displacement. If the nucleus of our thinking is upon failure, failure becomes our orientation. If we change the core of our thinking to contemplate the Lord, he becomes our ambition. Whether success comes our way grows more irrelevant to us. If we place the Lord at the center point of our thinking lesser things seem trivial. APPLICAITON: The prevailing philosophy among Christians is "If you are healthy, I'm happy," "When everything is going right and coming up roses, I'm happy." However, when reverses prevail, that happiness evaporates. When we are misunderstood and not appreciated, can we rejoice then? If we rest our orientation toward life on perpetual positive circumstances, we put ourselves in a desperate situation. We cannot rejoice in our circumstances all the time but we can rejoice in our Lord ceaselessly (4:4). If we displace joy in the Lord for the hope of ongoing stable circumstance, vulnerability to changing conditions no longer disrupt our balance. FOR ME TO WRITE THE SAME THINGS TO YOU IS NOT TEDIOUS "To write the same things" is repetition. When Paul was in Philippi he had divulged to them many of the same points in the book of Philippians at that time. The word "tedious" means slow, tardy or slothful. Repetition is a drag. To go back over truth again and again is to plod and slog slowly through detail. Most people consider this drab, dull and monotonous. Paul calls it "safe." He says, "I never tire of telling you to focus on the Lord. I do not weary to remind you that source of your joy is the Lord." That is not tedious; it is safe. We know so much more than we ever live. We hear so much more than we ever believe. Repetition is indispensable to implant truth into life. "For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little" (Isaiah 28:10). That is the way we learn. Growth is a process. Cultivation of truth entails many applications to life. A veteran pastor said, "When I first began to preach I was so afraid to repeat myself. Now I am afraid I won't!" How much of a message do people understand? How much do they retain? Would they recognize it if they heard it in a slightly different form? BUT FOR YOU IT IS SAFE The word "safe" means firm, fixed, immovable. Repetition is a safe precaution. It keeps people from falling and affords safety and support. Those who communicate truth must go over it again and again to impart it in a way that will make its reality stick. If they inculcate the Word it will have greater likelihood of permanence. Peter carried the same philosophy of ministry, "For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you" (II Peter 1:12,13). PRINCIPLE: Repetition of the application of truth affords stability to living out the Christian life. APPLICATION: If we lived as much Bible as we have learned, the quality of our Christian lives would be dramatically different. We know what is right, we live what is wrong. We are willfully blind to translate truth into experience. For many of us truth is an intellectual exercise, not a life condition. For truth to be transposed into our lives it demands many applications. Do you have enough truth to apply? Is truth real in your heart? Philippians 3:2Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutiliation!"BEWARE OF DOGS, BEWARE OF EVIL WORKERS, BEWARE OF THE MUTILATION!." The first part of this chapter contrasts man's righteousness and God's righteousness. In himself, man has no righteousness before God. Man's spiritual bankruptcy is rooted in the essence of God. God's essence is absolute. He is 100% righteous. Man cannot attain 99.9% righteousness and relate to an absolute God. Any attempt, therefore, to measure up to God's righteousness by man's righteousness ends in a veto by God. Present day fashionable religion is operation bootstraps--man's attempts to please God by his righteousness rather than through Jesus' death upon the cross. This is why the three bewares of this verse surface at this point in the epistle. BEWARE OF DOGS We have all seen signs on the front fence "Beware of Dogs." In that case literal dogs are in view. This is not a command to beware of animals. Here the dogs is a metaphor for false teachers. The dogs in the first part of the verse are similar to "evil workers" and "the mutilation" of the latter part of the verse. These three categories are all people. They are called dogs because they act like dogs. Dogs were not pets in the first century. They were a hated animal. Man's best friend in our day was an enemy in that day. The dog was a pariah. It ranged through the streets, often in packs, rummaging through garbage. They were vicious snapping and snarling at anyone who came close. They were not domestic animals. The dog to the first century person was a low life. As a dog tears and devours so false teachers tear and devour the work of Christ. They attempted to consume his work of grace. False teachers are brutes. They are animal-like. People who put God in their debt are brute beasts, dogs who savagely attack those who live by the grace of God. PRINCIPLE: It is the nature of some people to reject the grace of God. Not only to they repudiate grace but they attack those who live by it. They attack grace with vicious legalism. APPLICATION: False teachers try to influence Christians to live in the streets with them eating garbage. In packs they attack passer byes. Are you intimidated to not live by grace? Do you feel you must go back to some form of works to gain God's approval? Are you free to rest solely upon the work of Christ, not only for salvation, but the Christian life? "Dogs" would love for you to live in the streets with them. They would enjoy your presence in the garbage dumps of legalism if you would just join them. Beware! Three descriptions of false teachers surface in verse two. We have already examined "Beware of dogs." All three portraits involve false teachers. A warning is given for each characterization--"Beware." BEWARE OF EVIL WORKERS The second description of false teachers is that they are evil workers. They were religious workers. Their religion was deceitful work. It was deceitful because it distorted the true gospel and Christian life. Paul again calls religious workers deceitful, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Jesus Christ" (II Cor. 11:13). Their legalism was an evil work. It was a facade for a real relationship with the Lord. They were absorbed in self righteousness and human effort. They work hard at enslaving others into their chains of pride. Pride corrupted their work. This is a warning against the legalistic message. BEWARE OF THE MUTILATION This phrase reveals the message of these false teachers. The mutilation is a reference to circumcision. The word "mutilation" comes from two words, "to cut" and "down." It means to cut off. This probably means the removal of the foreskin. Paul is using this phrase contemptuously for the Jewish circumcision in contrast to true spiritual circumcision of the heart (v.3). The Word of God views any form of legalism as "dogs", "evil work" and "mutilation." Legalism is self effort verses God's effort. It glories in the energy of the flesh and the endeavors of man. It mutilates the Christian way of life. The grace of God glorifies God because God does the doing. "As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these would compel you to be circumcised" (Gal. 6:12). PRINCIPLE: Legalism is no benign tumor. It is a cancerous tumor which will terminate a dynamic spiritual life. Beware! APPLICATION: Are you caught up in what you offer God? Are you impressed with yourself? Do you view yourself as a spiritual superstar? Are you loaded with rules which make you look good? Are you out to impress others? Beware! Self righteousness plunders a powerful Christian life which looks to God to provide in grace. Philippians 3:3For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, rejoicve in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.The legalistic and the grace ways of life are polar opposites. The reason for such rough language in verse two is because of the dangerous impact of legalism on the Christian approach to life. An alarm, a summons to vigilance is in order (v.2). A danger threatens the very essence of Christianity. The thesis that we are to earn credit with God by works negates the grace principle. It puts God in man's debt. God becomes obligated to man because of all his deeds. The grace principle, however, sets forth the thesis that God makes the provisions and enablement for the Christian life. This verse gives three hallmarks of those who are born again. FOR WE ARE THE CIRCUMCISION Paul accepts circumcision but only a certain kind. It is a circumcision of the heart rather than the penis. It is spiritual rather than physical. The Judaizers believed in ritual. They made a virtue of a ritual. Their religious ritual was the physical act of circumcision. Christianity is spiritual circumcision, not physical. Spiritual circumcision is part of our status before God eternally, "In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ (that is, the circumcision which Christ made to us on the cross)" (Col. 2:11). WHO WORSHIP GOD IN THE SPIRIT This is the first earmark of a Christian: he worships God. The Lord Jesus mentioned this is in John 4:24, "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." The Holy Spirit is in charge of the worship department. Genuine worship ties to dynamic fellowship with the Holy Spirit. We are poor worshipers because we relate so poorly to the Holy Spirit. Worship in genuine Christianity is in the Spirit. It is inward, not outward. Outward form does not constitute true worship. Worship is love. We do not worship well because we do not love well. To love God is to adore him, magnify him, praise and honor him. It is to give him first place. PRINCIPLE: True worship centers is a genuine relationship with God. APPLICATION: Do you worship God? "Well, he knows that I love him." That is what men say to their wives, "She knows that I love her." Yes, she wants to hear it over and over. "I have not told my wife in years but she knows I love her." But, how does she know it? Does she read minds? By the same token we do not such good worshipers either. After contrasting legalism with the grace way of life in the first two statements, Paul turns to who statements which amplify "worship God in the Spirit:" 1. Rejoice in Christ Jesus, 2. Have no confidence in the flesh. REJOICE IN CHRIST JESUS The theme of rejoicing in the Lord never becomes tiresome to Paul. Celebrating Jesus' person and work was a conspicuous characteristic of his dynamic life. Though he faced a mountain of trials and confronted with major problems, he never lost sight of the Lord. The word "rejoice" means to speak loud, vaunt oneself, brag or even boast, glory or exult. This term is used both in a good and a bad sense in the New Testament. Here it is used in the good sense. The phrase "in Christ Jesus" indicates our position before God in Christ. It is our status in God's eyes. Our status is the same as that of Jesus Christ. He is perfect righteousness, so we are perfect righteousness in our position (not in our experience) before God. This is a statement which counters legalism. Legalism tries to impress God by what man does. Grace accepts the provision of God by what Jesus Christ has done. These two viewpoints are radical opposites. The focal point of grace is Jesus Christ. Our rejoicing has its focal point in him, not in our ability to live up to God's expectations. Our boast is not in ourselves; it is in Jesus Christ and his work. The reason for the three "bewares" of verse two is that it minimizes the work of Christ and maximizes the work of the believer. We do not "brag" about ourselves we "brag" about Jesus Christ; we do not "glory" in ourselves; we "glory in Christ Jesus." AND HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH The word for "no" is a strong term in the Greek. Those who live by grace do not have an ounce of confidence in the flesh. Paul was not persuaded that the flesh could earn any credit in God's eyes. Both his salvation and Christian walk were dependent upon the grace of God. The "flesh" is our sin capacity. There is nothing in the flesh that can impress God. There is nothing intrinsically in us that God wants or can use. That is difficult to take. It injures our pride. We chafe because we believe somehow we can earn credit before God. We have the idea that God should be impressed that we are Christians and living the Christian life. No, the only person God is impressed with is Jesus Christ. That is why we "rejoice in Christ Jesus." God places no higher value on a Christian's "flesh" than on a non-Christian's "flesh." Paul began this verse with "We are the circumcision." The flesh has been circumcised positionally in Christ. The flesh never gets better. It never improves. As well, our position in Christ never improves. Ours standing before God in Christ is perfect from the moment we receive Christ. That is why we rejoice in him. Even after years of godly living the flesh is not one whit better than the day we became a Christian. God can only be glorified by Christ Jesus. PRINCIPLE: God is always glorified by what Christ has done, not by what we have done. That is why we "rejoice in Christ Jesus." APPLICATION: Christian should have "no" confidence in the flesh. God did not say "little." No, less that a little--none. God bypasses it totally. God gives us a new capacity but he never improves the old one. He does not squirt perfume on the sin capacity, convert it or refine it. So why should we be in the business of trying to improve the sin capacity? Our focus should not be on the flesh but on Jesus Christ and his work. Contrary to much to today's Christianity which places so much emphasis upon "self image" and "reaching your potential," God declares not to trust the flesh. On the contrary, we are to reach outside ourselves to trust in, put confidence in, lean upon, rejoice in the Lord. Is self improvement or the Lord your focal point? We are not to rejoice in friends for they prove untrue. We should not rejoice in good grades or business success because it is not possible to live an ideal life. As Paul's life was filled with trouble so every Christian will face many reverses. An orientation which expects perfection will only find it in Christ. All other pursuits of life drop away to those are Christ oriented. A flash light is no longer needed in the mid-day sun. ---------- Copyright © 1995, Dr. Grant Richison. All rights reserved. There is no charge for Grace Notes Materials. 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