Sermon Series: Philippians, Part 17
We Are The Circumcision!?!?!?
Philippians 3:1-3
[Audio
file on Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/Philippians31-3]
1
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the
Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you
it is safe. 2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of
the concision. 3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in
the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Outline:
I. Please Allow Me to Repeat Myself (3:1)
II. The Three “Bewares” of the Apostle (3:2)
III. The Three Marks of the Circumcision (3:3)
I. Please Allow Me to Repeat Myself [1] (3:1)
Finally,
my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.
1. This is Not a Conclusion
— Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the
Lord
2. This is Not “Same Old, Same
Old” — To write the same things to
you
3. This is Not Paul Being a Pain
— to me indeed is not grievous, but for
you it is safe
“Please, allow me to introduce myself…” (Rolling Stones)
1. This is Not a Conclusion — Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord
Phil. 3:3 — For we are the circumcision,
which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in
the flesh.
Phil. 1:25 — And having this confidence,
I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of
faith;
Phil. 2:18 — For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.
Phil. 2:28 — I sent him therefore the
more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less
sorrowful.
Phil. 4:4 — Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
1 Th. 5:16 — Rejoice evermore.
2. This is Not “Same Old, Same Old” — To write the same things to you
2 Pet. 1:12 — Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always
in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the
present truth.
3. This is Not Paul Being a Pain — to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe
II. The
Three “Bewares” of the Apostle (3:2)
Beware
of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
1. Beware of Dogs
2. Beware of Evil Workers
3. Beware of the Concision
It should be attention getting that these three “bewares”
following hot on the heels of the word “safe” at the end of the previous verse.
Many folks, even many Christian folks, are uncomfortable with
warnings, negatives, and judgments, especially involving specific people, and
definitely when they are named. That did not stop the Apostle Paul, the
prophets in the Old Testament, the Apostle John, or the other New Testament
authors. That is to say that the warnings, negatives, and judgments we are
confronted with in the Scriptures are from our Lord, the Head of the Church,
through those He inspired by His Spirit to write such words.
When we got to conferences we are given name tags. When we
purchase certain products they come with warning labels. There are those we
must put warning labels on. There is a safety issue here. See verse 1. You are
not safe if you ignore the warnings in the Scriptures. What follows here in
verse 2 are not divorced from reality. These are not abstractions,
generalizations, or fictions. When the Philippians read these words, and
repeated them to one another, they knew exactly who Paul was warning them
against. The targets of the Apostle’s warnings had names and faces for them.
This is not ancient history. It should be the same for us as well.. These words
are just as relevant today, as they were in the Philippi of the 1st century
A.D.
1. Beware of Dogs
Paul, do you have something against
dogs?
Ps. 22:16 — For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked
have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
Ps. 22:20 — Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the
power of the dog.
Is. 56:10-11 — 10 His watchmen are blind: they are all
ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down,
loving to slumber. 11 Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have
enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their
own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
Rev. 22:15 — For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and
murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
It must be stated, and clearly understood, that beyond doubt or
argument, the Apostle is here describing human beings as “dogs.” He is doing
this in the same way, and for the same reason that David the inspired poet, and
Isaiah the inspired prophet did before him, and John the inspired revelator
would later write.
HCSB note: “An expression of
contempt for the unclean, those outside the people of God” [2]
“Dogs is a figurative reference to
false teachers whom Paul regards as just as filthy as dogs.”
Do folks in churches who call themselves Christians act like dogs?
Gal. 5:15 — But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that
ye be not consumed one of another.
2. Beware of Evil Workers
The presence of evil must not be
downplayed or ignored. We do so at our peril. There are those who work evil.
There is no nice way to say this. There is no sugar coating here. It must not
be dressed up, and made to look like something that it is not. In our world
today, and in every age since Adam and Eve’s in Eden, there exists good, and
there exists evil. There is need to be warned against people, those who do
evil. It must be pointed out that these were not historical characters in some
far distant land. For the Philippians these who names and faces. We have them
in our day, in our nation, on our televisions, computers, and radios.
2 Cor. 11:13 — For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming
themselves into the apostles of Christ.
Ps. 119:115 — Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the
commandments of my God.
3. Beware of the Concision [3]
NASB note: “Lit mutilation; Gr katatome” [4]
Lumina, op.
cit. — “Grk “beware of the mutilation.””
Rom. 2:28 — For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither
is that circumcision,
which is outward in the flesh:
Gal. 5:11-12 — 11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision,
why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased. 12
I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
III.
The Three Marks of the Circumcision (3:3)
For
we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
1. True Spiritual Worship — For we are the circumcision,
which worship God in the spirit
2. True Christian Joy — For we are the circumcision….and
rejoice in Christ Jesus
3. True Self Denial — For we are the circumcision….and have
no confidence in the flesh.
You may be familiar with the ministry of 9Marks. What the Apostle
Paul teaches here is not the “9Marks of the Church,” but the “3Marks of the
Circumcision.”
These “3Marks of the Circumcision” are stated as the basis for the
three “bewares” that preceded them in the previous verse.
1. True
Spiritual Worship — For we are the circumcision, which worship God in
the spirit
1) For we are the
circumcision [5]
The meaning of this identification
is unpacked for us in the three clauses which follow.
Phil. 3:5 — Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of
Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the
law, a Pharisee;
Dt. 30:6 — And the LORD thy God will circumcise
thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine
heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Rom. 2:29 — But he is a Jew, which is one
inwardly; and circumcision
is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not
of men, but of God.
Rom. 9:6 — Not as though the word of God hath
taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Gal. 6:12-15 — 12 As many as desire to
make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should
suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. 13 For neither they
themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised,
that they may glory in your flesh. 14 But God forbid that I should
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is
crucified unto me, and I unto the world. 15 For in Christ Jesus
neither circumcision
availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
(cp. also Gal. 3:6-4:7)
The meaning of this identification
is unpacked for us in the three clauses which follow. The first descriptive clause which explains the significance
of this identification, “the circumcision,” is a positive statement. This is
followed by another positive affirmation, and then a concluding negation is
added.
Some have attempted to show a correspondence
between these descriptions and the three “bewares” in the previous verse,
possibly indicating a chiastic structure involving verses 2-3. Bateman
concludes rightly concerning one such attempt that “The chiasm seems forced…”
He is assessing David E. Garland, “The Composition and Unity of Philippians,” Novum Testamentum 27 (1985), pp.
167-170. See Herbert W. Bateman, IV, “Were the Opponents at Philippi
Necessarily Jewish?,” Bibliotheca Sacra
155:617 (JAN 1998), pg. 54, note 50.
2) which worship God in the
spirit
ESV note: Some
manuscripts God in spirit [6]
NLT note: “Some manuscripts read worship God in spirit; one early
manuscript reads worship in spirit.”[7]
Rom. 7:6 — But now we are delivered from the law,
that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the
oldness of the letter.
Gal. 5:25 — If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Jn. 4:23 — But the hour cometh, and now is, when
the true
worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the
Father seeketh such to worship him.
Jude 20 — But ye, beloved, building up yourselves
on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
2. True
Christian Joy — For we are the circumcision….and rejoice in Christ Jesus
Phil. 3:1 — Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the
same things to you, to me indeed is
not grievous, but for you it is safe.
Phil. 1:1 — Paul and Timotheus, the servants of
Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the
bishops and deacons:
Phil. 3:12 — Not as though I had already
attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may
apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Rom. 8:39 — Nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Rom. 15:17 — I have therefore whereof I may glory
through Jesus Christ
in those things which pertain to God.
3. True
Self Denial — For we are the circumcision….and have no confidence in the
flesh.
“Grk “have no confidence in the
flesh.”
— Ibid.
This “vote of no confidence” in the flesh is the only
negative in the three descriptive clauses signifying the identification of “the
circumcision.” It stands markedly against the two previous positive
descriptions involving activities and spheres. This contrast may be highlighted
by paraphrasing the verse as follows: “We do worship God in the Spirit, and we
do rejoice in Christ Jesus, but we do no boast in the flesh.” This may even be
seen as a conclusion that is necessitated by the preceding two activities:
“Since we do worship God in the Spirit, and we do rejoice in Christ Jesus, it
is impossible that we would have any confidence in the flesh.” The converse
must also be seen as implicit here: “Those who have confidence in the flesh do
not worship God in the Spirit, and cannot rejoice in Christ Jesus.”
Select resources on
Phil. 3:3 follow.
_____________________________________________________________________________
“Another passage that ascribes
terminology used of Israel to the church is Philippians 3:3. While arguing
against his legalistic Jewish opponents, Paul points out that all believers in
Christ make up “the true circumcision.” According to Gerald F. Hawthorne this
verse shows that “the church of Jesus Christ… is the true Israel of God (Gal.
6:16), heir of all the rights and privileges belonging to it.”39 Commenting on this verse, the New Geneva Study Bible reads, “Paul
asserts that Christians are the true circumcision, i.e., the spiritual
Israel.””40
— Michael J.
Vlach, “Has The Church Replaced Israel In God’s Plan? A Historical and
Theological Survey of Replacement Theology,” Conservative Theological Journal 4:11 (APR 2000), pg. 16.
39 Gerald F. Hawthorne, Philippians,
Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 43 (Waco: Word Books, 1983), p. 126. According
to Ridderbos, “In these and similar pronouncements being a Jew and being
circumcised acquires a purely spiritual significance, and the natural and
empirical factors are not even taken into account any longer” Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline of His Theology , p.
335.
40 The New
Geneva Study Bible , General editor, R.C. Sproul
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), p. 1879.
_____________________________________________________________________________
“In Philippians 3:3 Paul states, “we are the
true circumcision.” Does the application of the term “circumcision” to the
church mean that the church is now the new Israel?
The
context of Philippians 3:3 does
not allow for this conclusion that Paul is identifying the church as spiritual
Israel. First, just two verses later, Paul uses the term “Israel” in its normal
sense of ethnic Jews. Second, Paul’s purpose in Philippians 3 is to
counter the false teaching of those who thought that physical circumcision was
necessary for salvation. He is not addressing the relationship between Israel
and the church or redefining the concept of Israel. He is rebuking those
teachers who based their salvation in the “flesh” (v. 3) instead of the
righteousness that is found in Christ (v. 9).
When
Paul states that “we are the true circumcision” he is drawing on the Old
Testament concept of spiritual circumcision of the heart (see Lev.
26:41; Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 9:25–26; Ezek. 44:7). Those
who are circumcised in heart are the “true circumcision.” They have believed in
God by faith in contrast to the “false circumcision” (3:2)—those who rely on
physical circumcision to save them. When Paul called the Philippians the “true
circumcision” he was not calling them “Israel,” he was identifying them as those
who had trusted in Christ by faith alone.”
— Michael J.
Vlach, “Has The Church Replaced Israel In God’s Plan? A Historical and
Theological Survey of Replacement Theology,” Conservative Theological Journal 4:11 (APR 2000), pp. 27-28.
_____________________________________________________________________________
“Second, there is no
incontrovertible evidence in the New Testament to support the church’s
supplanting national Israel and taking over its promises. Advocates of this
view cannot point to a single verse in the New Testament where the two terms
“Israel” and “church” are used as theological equivalents. Furthermore, the
church is never designated in the New Testament as the “new,” “true,” or
“spiritual” Israel. The three New Testament passages often cited in support of
including elect or saved Gentiles in the designation “Israel” are Romans
2:29, Galatians 6:16, and Philippians 3:3 (note the term
“Israel” does not actually appear in either Romans 2:29 or Philippians
3:3).
In Romans
2:29, Paul declares that a Jew is not one who has undergone the physical rite
but one who has experienced a “circumcision of the heart.” Paul’s statement has
been taken by many as a redefining of the expression “Jew” to mean anyone, Jew
or Gentile, who shares this inner circumcision.111 Paul’s
statement, however, can be understood, as in 9:6,
as simply contrasting a saved Jew as a subset of the larger category of ethnic
Jews, without any intent of including Gentiles within the designation.112
The same
may be said of Philippians 3:3. There Paul declares that he and his
readers, the majority of whom are Gentiles, are “the circumcision,” in contrast
to his Jewish opponents whose circumcision he describes in 3:2 as an
outward “mutilation.” Again, a number of interpreters understand Paul’s
statement as redefining “Jew” to refer to Christians, both Jews and Gentiles,
who partake of this circumcision.113 It
needs only to be noted, however, that Paul does not use the expression “Jew” in
this passage. To extrapolate from Paul’s statement a redefinition of “Jew” goes
beyond what the verse actually says.”
— R. Bruce
Compton, “Dispensationalism, The Church, And The New Covenant,”
Detroit Baptist Seminary Journal 8:1 (Fall 2003), pp. 36-37; R. Bruce
Compton, “Epilogue: Dispensationalism, the Church, and the New Covenant,” in Dispensational Understanding of the New
Covenant: 3 Views, ed. Mike Stallard (Schaumburg, IL: Regular Baptist
Books, 2012), pp. 267-268.
111 For example, Moo states, “But Paul goes
beyond any first-century Jewish viewpoint…in implicitly applying the term ‘Jew’
to those who were not ethnically Jews” (The
Epistle to the Romans, p. 175).
112 See, for example, C. E. B. Cranfield, The Epistle to the Romans, 2 vols., ICC
(Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1975, 1979), 1:176. Cranfield states: “Is he
[Paul] implying…that the Christian Church alone is the heir to all the
promises? Taken by themselves these verses would seem to be patient of such a
construction. They have certainly often been understood in this sense and Paul has
appeared as the father of those ‘who have denied to the Jewish people their
election privileges and promises,’ simply ‘transferring them to Christianity as
the new Israel of God.’ But these verses do not stand by themselves, and, if
they are to be interpreted in the light of 3.1-4 and also of 9.1-11.36, they
can hardly bear this meaning.”
113 For example, Moisés Silva states, “The
polemic of Philippians 3 begins with an unequivocal assertion of the great
spiritual reversal: Judaizers are the new Gentiles, while Christian believers
have become the true Jews” (Philippians,
The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary [Chicago: Moody Press, 1988], p. 170). See
also Gerald F. Hawthorne, Philippians,
WBC (Waco, TX: Word, 1983), p. 126.
_____________________________________________________________________________
On this issue also
see:
Oswald T. Allis, Prophecy
and the Church (Phillipsburg,
NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980), pp. 278-279.
Herbert W. Bateman, IV, “Were the Opponents at Philippi
Necessarily Jewish?,” Bibliotheca Sacra
155:617 (JAN 1998), pp. 39-61; esp. pp. 53-58.
David
A. deSilva, “No Confidence In The Flesh: The Meaning and Function of Philippians
3:2–21,” Trinity Journal 15:1 (Spring
1994), pp. 27-54; esp. pp. 32-36.
Carl
B. Hoch, Jr., All Things New: The
Significance of Newness for Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Books,
1995), pp. 220n15, 287-289.
Barry
E. Horner, Future Israel: Why Christian
Anti-Judaism Must Be Challenged, NAC Studies in Bible & Theology,
series ed. E. Ray Clendenen (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2007), pp. xix, 72,
171, 228, 265, 275-279.
Dan Lioy, “The Faith Journey Of Paul: An Exegetical
Analysis Of Philippians 3:1-14,” Conspectus 7:1 (MAR 2009), pp. 81-96;
esp. pp. 85-87.
O.
Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the
Covenants (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1980), pp. 147-166,
esp. pg. 161, s.v. Ch. 9, “The Seal
of the Abrahamic Covenant.”
O.
Palmer Robertson, The Israel of God:
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2000), pg. 44,
note 11.
Robert
L. Saucy, The Case for Progressive Dispensationalism:
The Interface Between Dispensational & Non-Dispensational Theology (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1993), pp. 202-205.
Robert
L. Saucy, The Church In God’s Program
(Chicago: Moody, 1972), pg. 173.
Eckhard
Schnabel, 40 Questions About The End
Times, 40 Questions Series, series ed. Benjamin L. Merkle (Grand Rapids:
Kregel, 2011), pg. 126.
Thomas
R. Schreiner, 40 Questions About
Christians and Biblical Law, 40 Questions Series, series ed. Benjamin L.
Merkle (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2010), pp. 50, 90, 124, 137.
Robert B. Strimple, “Amillennialism,” in Craig A. Blaising,
Darrell L. Bock, Kenneth L. Gentry Jr., and Robert B. Strimple, Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond,
gen ed. Darrell L. Bock, Counterpoints Series (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999),
pg. 90.
Conclusion:
Paul
will move on in the verses that follow (3:4-14) to present himself as an
example, even as he has held up Timothy, and Epaphroditus previously. The
pattern of Christ seen in the Carmen
Christi of 2:6-11 will continue to be worked out in his own life and
experiences.
Who
do we need to beware of?
Do
we exhibit the signs of the true circumcision?
[Sermon preached 9 APR 2017 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at
Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown, PA.]
Complete
Outline:
I. Please Allow Me to Repeat Myself (3:1)
1.
This is Not a Conclusion — Finally,
my brethren, rejoice in the Lord
2.
This is Not “Same Old, Same Old” — To
write the same things to you
3.
This is Not Paul Being a Pain — to
me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe
II. The Three “Bewares” of the Apostle (3:2)
1.
Beware of Dogs
2.
Beware of Evil Workers
3.
Beware of the Concision
III. The Three Marks of the Circumcision (3:3)
1. True Spiritual Worship — For
we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit
2. True Christian Joy — For
we are the circumcision….and rejoice in Christ Jesus
3. True Self Denial — For we
are the circumcision….and have no confidence in the flesh.
End Notes:
[1]
With no apologies to The Rolling Stones for the first line to their “Sympathy
for the Devil” (1968): “Please allow me to introduce myself…”
[2] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version (Nashville: Holman, 2009).
[3] “There is a significant wordplay
here in the Greek text. In v. 2 a rare, strong word is used to describe those
who were pro-circumcision (κατατομή, katatomh, “mutilation”; see BDAG 528
s.v.), while in v. 3 the normal word for circumcision is used (περιτομή,
peritomh; see BDAG 807 s.v.). Both have τομή (the feminine form of the
adjective τομός [tomo"], meaning “cutting, sharp”) as their root; the direction
of the action of the former is down or off (from κατά, kata), hence the
implication of mutilation or emasculation, while the direction of the action of
the latter is around (from περί, peri). The similarity in sound yet wide
divergence of meaning between the two words highlights in no uncertain terms
the differences between Paul and his opponents.”
— Lumina, op. cit.
[4] New American
Standard Bible: 1995 update ed. (LaHabra,
CA: Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1995).
[5]
See note 3.
[6] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001, 2016).
[7] Holy Bible: New
Living Translation, 3rd ed. (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007, 2013).
