PHILIPPIANS CHAPTER 3:1-6

May 11, 2020

CONFIDENCE IN CHRIST CAUSES CONCENTRIC CIRCLES OF JOY

Philippians 3:1 (NIV) 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.

rejoice in the Lord. Cf. 4:4. Paul’s familiar theme throughout the epistle, which has already been heard in chaps. 1, 2. This, however, is the first time he adds “in the Lord,” which signifies the sphere in which the believers’ joy exists—a sphere unrelated to the circumstances of life, but related to an unassailable, unchanging relationship to the sovereign Lord.

MacArthur Study Bible note on verse 1

SUSAN: From where does this joy emanate? The Lord is the center of concentric circles (think the ripple effect when you toss a stone in the lake)! If we practice the presence of the Lord Jesus, we can stay in the impenetrable center of rejoicing. Nothing can deflate our joy. Joy does not depend on outward circumstances but on our inward relationship with Jesus, our Savior. If Jesus is our focus, if we develop our relationship with Him rather than getting distracted and distraught by the trials and troubles of our lives, we can maintain joy in the worst of times.

SUSIE: The fact that God has adopted us into His forever family (an adoption that cannot be revoked) gives us the ability to rejoice regardless of outward circumstances. Paul’s own situation is proof positive of this fact since he was writing this letter from prison, chained to a Roman guard! Of course, Paul viewed that guard as his captive audience for the gospel message.

SUSAN: Paul had given the Philippians previous instruction on dealing with their opponents—those who espouse false teaching—possibly in previous letters and in Philippians 1:27-30; but he says it is no trouble to reiterate those truths. He does not want them to fall prey to Judaizers and other false teachers.

Philippians 3:2 (NIV) Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh.

Philippians 3:2 (AMP) Look out for the dogs [the Judaizers, the legalists], look out for the troublemakers, look out for the false circumcision [those who claim circumcision is necessary for salvation]

SUSIE: Jews often referred to Gentiles, who they thought beneath them, as dogs. Dogs in those days were not house pets or handbag poodles. They were mangy mutts who roamed the streets scavenging for food among the garbage. There were dogs who helped herd and guard sheep or other tasks, but they were certainly not pampered pets.

SUSAN: Even Jesus, when dealing with the Syrophoenician woman who wanted Him to cast a demon out of her daughter, said it was wrong to throw the children’s (Jew’s) bread to dogs. She replied that even the dogs were able to eat the crumbs that fell from the master’s table. She was acknowledging that Jesus was LORD by using the term “Master.” 

Matthew 15:25-27 (ESV) But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

SUSIE: In this case, Paul is referring to the Jewish teachers who would require Gentile believers to adhere to every tenet of the Law—including circumcision—in order to be saved as dogs and evil doers (equating them with Gentiles). Salvation is by grace alone and requires no such thing as circumcision or other rituals. This is the reason he refers to them as “mutilators of the flesh.”  Circumcision of a man’s flesh would serve no true spiritual purpose for the Gentile believers and therefore would only be a mutilation. 

Circumcision has become a flash point for the early church. Some are teaching that non-Jews have to become Jews to follow Jesus completely, including circumcision, dietary regulations, keeping weekly and annual holy days, and other Jewish practices. Since the time of Abraham, circumcision has been the mark of the covenant with Abraham’s spiritual children. Things are changing: outsiders, non-Jews, are entering into the new covenant.

Do they enter by faith alone, or is it faith plus following God’s law for Israel? Paul’s answer is clear: it is faith alone that makes Jews and outsiders right with God. So he cautions the Philippians to watch out for those who would chastise them into a false circumcision. Real followers of Jesus know that salvation doesn’t come from the blade of a knife but from His cross.

The VOICE Translation note on verse 2

SUSAN: We are not saved by any type of works or obedience to the Law of Moses. We are saved by the grace of God through faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9) However, the evidence of our inward change will be outward works as the Holy Spirit within us convicts, instructs, and empowers us.

Q – Should we require new converts to totally “clean up their act” before being accepted for membership in the congregation? Did Jesus tell the father of the demon possessed boy to go give him a bath and make him behave before casting the demon out? (Matthew 17:14-21) What are some requirements churches try to put on new believers? How well do we accept people where they are in their walk with the Lord? Can we give the Holy Spirit time to turn the outward lives of new believers around instead of trying to take His job? Are we guilty of trying to remove a speck when we have a log in our own eye? OUCH! Stepping on our own toes here, and Susan doesn’t even have toes! Funny thing, though, she still feels them.

Matthew 7:3-4 (VOICE) Jesus: Why is it that you see the dust in your brother’s or sister’s eye, but you can’t see what is in your own eye? Don’t ignore the wooden plank in your eye, while you criticize the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eyelashes.

Philippians 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—

SUSIE: Those whose hearts have been circumcised—cut around—by Christ are the true believers. Jesus removes our heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 11:19-20 (CJB) and I will give them unity of heart. “I will put a new spirit among you.” I will remove from their bodies the hearts of stone and give them hearts of flesh; so that they will live by my regulations, obey my rulings and act by them. Then they will be my people, and I will be their God.

SUSAN: Jesus cuts into our hearts in order to sew the Holy Spirit into us so we can be one with Him. Jesus wants us to be like Him and the Father, that we may be one as He and the Father are One (John 17:21-23). The Lord fills us as His tabernacle to enable us to be the salt and light the illumines Him to the world. The unity Paul has been preaching serves as a positive witness to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit within us and our unity with Jesus.

John 17:21-23 (VOICE) Father, may they all be one as You are in Me and I am in You; may they be in Us, for by this unity the world will believe that You sent Me. All the glory You have given to Me, I pass on to them. May that glory unify them and make them one as We are one,  I in them and You in Me, that they may be refined so that all will know that You sent Me, and You love them in the same way You love Me.

Philippians 3:4-6 . . . though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 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;  as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

Philippians 3:4 (VOICE) If any try to throw around their pedigrees to you, remember my résumé—which is more impressive than theirs.

SUSIE: In verse 4, Paul is referring back to “confidence in the flesh” in verse 3. Paul states that we cannot depend upon the works of our flesh, our good deeds, our obedience to the Law of Moses to earn our salvation. Then he makes the case that excellence in the eyes of man is not good enough at all to God by presenting his own pedigree. Paul was a circumcised Jew from the same family line as the first king of Israel, Saul. He was a Pharisee, a group well known for adhering to the letter of the Law but not necessarily the heart of it (See Matthew 23:23). He was such a zealous Jew that he persecuted the Christians before he became one! He would be found blameless as far as his obedience to the Law.

Matthew 23:23 (NIV) Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.

SUSAN: Ritual is meaningless and empty if it has no connection to relationship with a Holy God through the sacrifice of His Son, the perfect Lamb, on the cross. Our deeds and traditions have no saving power. They are only an outflow of our changed heart due to our surrender and commitment to Jesus which was only accomplished by the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives wooing us to faith.

John 6:44 (NASB) No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

Q – Even if we could compare in greatness to the Apostle Paul would that be enough good works to get us a ticket into Heaven? How would you explain the only “requirement” for entrance into a right relationship with God to a non-believer? If you feel comfortable doing so, please leave your nutshell testimony and gospel presentation in the comments.

John 5:24 (CJB) Yes, indeed! I tell you that whoever hears what I am saying and trusts the One who sent me has eternal life — that is, he will not come up for judgment but has already crossed over from death to life!

John 5:24 (VOICE) I tell you the truth: eternal life belongs to those who hear My voice and believe in the One who sent Me. These people have no reason to fear judgment because they have already left death and entered life.

APPLY THIS TO YOUR LIFE:

  • When new believers join the church, do not expect them to instantly change what may be seen as offensive behaviors. Pray for the Lord to change them inside out. Offer to spend time discipling them and let the Word of God do the convicting.
  • Our good works will never earn us a place in Heaven. Only trust in Jesus can get us there. Be sure you are not measuring yourself compared to others instead of compared to the perfect life lived by our Lord.
  • This week, make an effort to let the concentric circles of Joy in the Lord flow outward from you bringing joy to others.