Philippians 3: Points to Ponder
V5: “circumcised the eighth day, … of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews;
as to the law, a Pharisee.”
Paul further identifies himself as a member of the proud family of Benjamin, the youngest of Jacob's children, so therefore holding a special place in Jacob's heart, born of Rachel. He alone, among Jacob's children, was born in the land of promise. His character was understood by early Christian learned men as fulfilling the prophecy of Genesis 49:27, which speaks of Benjamin being a ravenous wolf who, in the morning devours the prey, and in the evening divides the spoils (predicting perhaps the zeal of Paul in persecuting Christians before his conversion).
As a Pharisee, Paul studied at the knee of Gamaliel, a great Rabbi. Paul was a master of the OT, and no man could “out Pharisee” Paul, which shows the wisdom God brought to convert him to His service. Paul blazed the way for Gentiles to the gospel, and constructed the argument against the circumcision of the flesh. Paul was well aware that Moses himself taught in Deuteronomy (our 30:6) that “... the Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, to love the Lord thy God...”.
V9: “... not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God...”.
The problem that Paul faced was to counter the argument that had lasted 1500 years that simply by being born Jewish guaranteed salvation under Yahweh, and that the more the law was obeyed, the greater the reward on the last day. In the Jewish faith, righteousness was derived from the blood inherited from Abraham. Paul agreed that righteousness was inherited from blood, but that it arrived ONLY from the blood shed by Jesus Christ, which established the eternal family of faith.
Paul is clear and leaves no shadow on this point as he will teach the Roman church in Romans 3:10, which quotes Psalm 53:1:
THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NO NOT ONE
The root of our problem before God is a lack of the righteousness necessary to stand justified before a perfect and holy God. Paul lays his finger precisely on this issue to the Jews in his perfect choice of words in this verse describing them as thinking they had righteousness derived from the law, when the law grants none. Paul is in full spiritual battle mode here when he teaches that no law observed by man calls forth the righteousness to enter a relationship with God. The law of Moses was only our schoolmaster, pointing forward to the One who would be the only one to be able to fulfill it, Christ. So therefore Paul recognizes only the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. What is the clear and full gospel teaching on this matter?
Romans 3:20:
“THEREFORE BY THE DEEDS OF THE LAW THERE SHALL NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED”