Philippians 3:2-3–Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation

Posted by Seth on Oct 2, 2009 in Bible Study, Daily Devotions |

Philippians 3:2-3–Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation

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Welcome to today’s Daily Scripture Reading and Meditation covering Philippians 3:2-3 wherein we discover the nature of true worship for the Christ follower and how it must be guarded.

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh…

Troublemakers are everywhere and have always existed. The wise teach the inexperienced or naive to steer clear of such people or at least to avoid their ideas about life and its practices. It is no different here with Paul, only the stakes were even higher given that the truth of the gospel (and so also the safety of the church body) were in danger of being corrupted. This was an unending battle that Paul fought no matter where he went. If anyone is preaching a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:9) are the types of words that reveal Paul’s zeal for the church to live according to pure doctrine and his feelings toward those who would want to distort what he knew to be so glorious. But what must be noted is that it was not merely his desire to protect something that he personally felt was important. Just previous to these verses, his command to the Philippians was to rejoice in the Lord. Such rejoicing obviously happens best when the Lord is purely represented, so it was the joy of the church that Paul was seeking to protect! His agenda was the church’s joy in the Savior.

The problem at hand was that there were those who were much more interested in being seen and praised than in directing that vision and worship onto the Lord. Paul refers to them as dogs, evildoers, and flesh mutilators…essentially the Judaizers, whose aim was to make sure professing Christians bore all the marks of being Jewish, especially circumcision (which Paul, though himself circumcised, belittles with the title of mutilation). He then uses the same subject to illustrate an old testament truth, one that the Judaizers certainly should have understood being so concerned about upholding the law! For the prophet Jeremiah had written long before, Circumcise yourselves to the LORD; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds (Jeremiah 4:4). Paul’s point is that true followers of Jesus who have the indwelling Holy Spirit have had their hearts circumcised which is God’s true, new covenant mark for His people. Recognizing the heart dynamic as essential and fundamental to authentic worship, he adds that Christians are to experience an inner glory[ing] in Christ Jesus. Our confidence is to be in Him and in nothing of ourselves, and when we come to recognize this, we can know true rejoicing. Christ, unlike us, never comes up short; glory in Him.

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