Philippians - Chapter 3
Warnings of false teachers & giving all for Christ
Paul warns against false teachers:
Chapter 3 begins with the word “finally” which lends some evidence to the letter being several letters cobbled together as this chapter actually starts the last half of the book, not its end.
Paul repeats some earlier thoughts but shows he understands that repetition sometimes is necessary to emphasize certain points. He tells the believers to rejoice in spite of their difficult circumstances and warns them about division in the church.
Paul goes further than ever before in his direct tone in his warnings concerning those causing discord as he tells them to lookout for:
“dogs”: this name is not a reference to family pets but rather wild and dirty animals and was normally a derogatory term used by Jews to describe Gentiles, so Paul throws the term back at the Jewish troublemakers.
“evil workers”: these who were sowing ill will actually thought they were spreading good will by being good Jews and insisting upon Jewish customs being honored, but Paul says they are evil and are corrupting the true gospel.
“those who cause injury”: Paul uses another of his wonderful word pictures by the uses of the word concision. The Jews were proud of their circumcision, which was known to mean “cutting around”. Paul knew that Leviticus 21:5 prohibited the cutting of the body so he uses a word that means “cutting to pieces” referring to the fact that these Jews were causing injury against the will of God. Paul did not preach adherence to ceremony but rather circumcision of the heart for Christ.
Paul’s advantages:
In terms of advantages of those who trust in the flesh, Paul says his advantages from his family are many:
He was circumcised at 8 days old, so his parents obeyed the command to Abraham, which was before the gospel. He was Jewish from his beginning.
He belonged to Israel by birth and therefore as a Jew had a special relationship with God, as part of the chosen people.
He was from the tribe of Benjamin, and his tribal father was the son of Rachel, loved by Jacob. The first king, Saul, was of his tribe and Jerusalem was within the territory of his tribe.
He was a pure Hebrew, speaking Hebrew & Greek and had studied under Gamiliel, the famous Jewish teacher. He was a Pharisee, the most strict Jews, obeying all the details of the faith before he was converted.
He had defended the Jewish faith by trying to destroy the Christian faith and he had not forgotten his efforts to stop his new faith in earlier days.
He was “without blame” in observing the law.
7-11:
Knowing Christ
After conversion, Paul gave up all his advantages of the Jewish faith and thought of them as bad debts or loss for Christ.
To know Christ was of far greater advantage with greater benefits than all those he knew before.
Paul had no goodness of his own. His right relationship with God did not come from the law of Moses. Paul looked forward to the day of judgment when he would be completely united in Christ. His one aim now was to know Christ in a close way because:
Just as God raised Jesus from the dead, He raises believers together with Christ in renewed life.
When we struggle against sin, we share in the pain and troubles known by Christ. To Paul, all his struggles were honor for Christ.
We share in the death of the Lord as we are dead to sin when we are in Him.
12-16:
Paul is running near the end of the race
Paul knew he was not yet perfected. He knew he would be more perfect at the resurrection than he could be here. He knew Christ had a purpose for his life when he was converted on the Damascus road.
Paul wanted the believers at Philippi to not believe the false teachers who were spreading false doctrine. Paul uses the word picture of a runner in a race who should not look back and should leave behind past life issues as they move forward in Christ. Being more perfect meant becoming more mature in faith.
The prize for the winner of the race is perfect friendship with the Lord and glory forever in eternal life. While here, believers should guide their lives (their race) by the truths found in the gospel.
17-19:
Enemies of the cross of Christ
Paul warns the believers against the ones who teach that Christ is not sufficient for salvation and he worries that they are in danger spiritually. There were enemies there who included:
Jewish Christians who he had earlier described as dogs.
Christians who said they no longer needed to be obedient to some of the past teachings, such as the ten commandments, and thought that they could do whatever they wished after they had accepted Christ.
Some who worshipped the body (their belly) and whose glory is in their shame, and who mind earthly things. These thought that the body could be filled by eating or drinking to excess.
20-21:
Citizens of Heaven
Paul contrasts believers to those who think only of this world. Christians are not of this world, but are citizens of Heaven therefore their behavior must match the higher standards of the Lord. The body of this world is weak but it will be changed when Christ returns, fashioned like his glorious body, for He has authority over all things.