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— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
Paul pulls no punches in the start of this chapter. His target: the legalistic Jews of his time. Sometimes referred to as Judaizers, they were a sect of Jews who may have believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but also believed that a person had to become a Jew before they could become a Christian. In order to keep the law, a Christian, under the terms of the Judaizers, had to keep both the law and their Christian ideals. This would include circumcision. Why is this a problem? Can’t a Christian follower simply hedge his bet and adhere to the laws of many faiths in order to be truly “covered”? Remember, Paul is writing to safeguard his flock. Paul, acting as a shepherd, is teaching a great truth to both the Philippians and to us. When one becomes a Christian follower, that person becomes a follower of Christ. Being a follower of Christ has a few implications:
1.Christ is the main focus of your life (Luke 14: 25-27) 2.Christ died for your sins (1 Peter 2:24) 3.In dying for our sins, He created a new paradigm between us and God (Romans 8:1-39)
In this New Covenant, a follower of Christ is not responsible for the law of the Jewish nation. The law of love, forgiveness and righteousness is the new law. This illustrates the importance of understanding that Christ’s law is not based upon works but upon grace. Therefore, a Christian does not need to be circumcised via Jewish Law. The two items are incompatible.
This is what Paul is concerned with. Jewish legalists have stolen into the church and are confusing people. Paul’s warning is sharp. He notes three different types:
1.Dogs: Dogs is the same designation given to Gentiles by the Jews. By using this term, Paul is showing how reviled these people are. In the same way the Jews detested the Gentiles, Paul detests the legalists who insist of muddying the proper word of God. 2.Evildoers: Evildoers (or Evil workers in KJV) is a comment on the action of the legalists. An Evildoer is someone at work, choosing to work against the righteousness of God for their own motivations. 3.Mutilators of the Flesh: This is the very act of circumcision. In Paul’s assessment, this “work” has nothing to do with the circumcision of the heart (Romans 2:29). This inner circumcision is that of a changed, righteous and healed heart. Outward circumcision, therefore, has no value if the inner work hasn’t been done. According to Paul, this is simply mutilation.
If we are true followers, then there is a deep desire to serve God and others. When the spirit works within, there are outward signs of that inner working. It manifests itself in how we treat others, what we value and how we act. It doesn’t mean perfection, but it does mean that we begin to value what God values and those values reach outward, into other people’s lives. This power is always given back to the source - Christ.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
Paul looks at his past life, as a Jewish legalist, and recounts why he has reasons to put confidence in the world, in his flesh and circumstances:
1.Circumcised on the 8th day: Leviticus 12:3 lays out the rite for Jewish-born boys. 2.Of the people of Israel: Paul was an heir to God’s covenant. He was a descendant of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. 3.Tribe of Benjamin: Benjamin was a tribe in Israel with the distinction of giving Israel Saul, its first king (1 Samuel 9:1-2) and also was an ally to Judah during the split kingdom (1Kings 12:21). 4.Hebrew of Hebrews: Paul was a proud Hebrew, which was the original Jewish cultural and racial profile. It was the Jewish profile that came out of Egypt and wasn’t maligned by any of the mixed lines during the time of the Judges or during Greek influence. 5.In regard to the law, a Pharisee: The Pharisees were the spiritual leaders amongst the Jewish people. Pharisee means “to be separated”, which meant the Pharisees were an elite group that separated themselves from the Jewish masses. 6.As for zeal, persecuting the church: In Acts 8:1-3, Paul (known then as Saul, before his conversion), puts Stephen to death and begins tormenting the church. He is besieging the church all the way to the Road to Damascus, when he has his miraculous conversion. 7.As for righteousness based on the law, faultless: Based on the very tenants of the law Paul now finds in fault, as a Jewish Pharisee he kept all of the laws.
Based on this list, Paul was quite accomplished. He excelled in following the tenants of the law, excelled to a Pharisee and became quite zealous. But what was it worth?
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
Those gains Paul now counts as loss. Why? Weren’t they good things? Weren’t they beneficial to many? Perhaps, but they were done in the flesh of trying to please God with our works. When we try to please God via our accomplishments, we fall into the same trap. We are, in a sense, bargaining with God. If I do all of these good things, then God doesn’t have a choice but to accept me into His kingdom. But that isn’t how God operates. He requires the relationship first, and from he relationship all good works spring from it.
8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ
Everything Paul conquered in his past life, all that he achieved, Paul considers garbage. It was spent in a life devoid of Christ. Garbage in itself is bad, but Paul uses it to mean excrement. He sees the former life he was in as completely worthless and his gain of Christ in his life is everything.
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
Paul had to give up the prideful righteousness he had, based on his own life. This is something many of us are guilty of. We can fondly look to our accomplishments and call that a true and robust life. But what Paul discovered, and we need to, is that true righteousness is found through Christ. It means that we have to understand who Christ is, and as He works through us, we begin to understand what righteousness (doing right) really is. This is only through understanding Christ and developing a motivation based in love.
10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Paul truly wanted a relationship with Christ. He wanted to understand him and be a participant in his suffering. This is the difference between Paul and a legalist. A legalist most likely doesn’t yearn for a relationship with Christ, simply because a legalist doesn’t need the relationship; he only needs to complete the tasks of the law. In Paul’s assessment, understanding Christ and relating to Him meant he could understand the deeper issues of the spirit world, of death, and in that knowledge he could blaze toward it, realizing that the suffering he endured would be worth the ultimate prize.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Paul’s humility shows us that he, like us, hadn’t attained perfection by any means. He was still learning and growing in his knowledge and relationship with Christ. And even though he had not gained complete understanding, Paul’s reaction was to continue, to press on, to find the answers and do God’s will as he learned, grew and achieved through the foundation of Christ. In this, Paul realized the importance of looking forward, not back. Paul, like all of us, started from a place that wasn’t ideal and through trial and error grew to a place when it was time to meet Christ and follow. That place has tendrils that reach for us and aim to pull us backward, into the muck, the garbage, the excrement that we once lived in. But we are to press forward, remembering that all of those terrible examples helped form the person we are, and now, since meeting Christ, we now go forward, as a new person, with a new set of values and goals. In Paul’s prose, the prize is the goal. It is the attainable crown awarded to the victor, the person who forges forward and lives a life of work and righteousness.
Following Paul’s Example 15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
The maturity that Paul eludes to is that mind he spoke of in the previous verse: the mind that is made up to forge forward, to cement the relationship and let the fruits of the spirit flow forward. And if there is a stumble or a lack of trust, then it is Paul’s prayer that God will clarify. The unity of the church, of those around you, is important.
17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.
Unity of believers is important. This strengthens the individual and the body. Part of the responsibility of the body is to watch and help those around them, not in a legalistic way but a caring and loving way, so that the body can become strong through the individual ligaments (1 Corinthians 12)
18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.
One of the reasons for unity is to build up a strong resistance to satan and the worldly influences. There were many active enemies to the Christian church in Paul’s time, just as there are today. What Paul talks to in this passage is the motivation of the enemies of God. They have earthly motivations. They are not motivated by love.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Our citizenship is in Heaven. We, as Christians, believe Jesus will return and create a new paradigm on earth. Just as the Philippians were proud Roman citizens, we are citizens of heaven and should treat our life as “temporary aliens” in a land that is not our own. Does that mean we shouldn’t abide by the laws? No, we must abide by the laws. Does that mean we should force our views on others, like an alien may want to force their culture in the land they reside in? No. If we are to be the light to unbelievers, we must spread the word with grace and love until the return of Christ.s