No Confidence in the Flesh
1Finally, my brothers, 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.
2Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. 3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised 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; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.
Dig Deeper
There were two teachers who were standing in a lunchroom one day arguing over who was a better teacher. The conversation was basically good-natured, but there was an element of seriousness as well. They went back and forth talking about who had the most degrees, the most experience, and who went to the better schools. They compared all of the extra educational classes that they had taken and even the fact that both of them had a masters degree. After overhearing much of the conversation, another teacher quietly put forth the idea that perhaps degrees and extra schooling weren't at all what determined who was a good teacher. Perhaps, he offered, it should be about the difference that they had actually made in the lives of their students. He then said that he felt that there was no need at all to worry about who was better because both teachers were excellent teachers. Both teachers responded dismissively as they pointed out that he was just saying that because he didn't have any degrees and probably went to a marginal university. The other teacher then humbly told them something that they did not previously know. He, in fact, had two masters degrees and a PhD. They quickly wanted to know why he never talked about that. He responded by simply saying, "It doesn't matter how many degrees someone has, that's not what makes a good teacher and my students certainly don't care about how many pieces of paper I have." The two teachers sheepishly ended their conversation.
Paul has been urging the Philippians to rejoice in whatever circumstances they may find themselves, and has offered them examples of people who have done just that. Now he is going to warn them of false doctrines and teachers that might try to worm their way into their community just as they have others. He wants them to learn to have joy through those difficult circumstances as well. The particular group that Paul was worried about were some Jewish Christians, known as Judaizers, who were telling Gentiles that in addition to Jesus Christ, they must follow the yoke of the Old Testament law in order to be considered among the true people of God. They were putting their hope and giving importance to precisely the wrong thing. Paul wants to make that clear. Yet, no one can accuse him of being an outsider that simply doesn't understand. If someone were to judge Paul by the standards of the Jewish law, he was second to none. All of that is irrelevant, though, when it comes to being the people of God. All that matters is one's location in the life of Christ.
We'll never know for sure, but it seems as though Paul started to wrap up his letter (in a way similar to what he did in 2 Cor. 13:11), but then was inspired to write more than he perhaps originally intended. The previous two sections encouraged the Philippians to rejoice in the midst of difficult situations and now, perhaps, Paul thinks of another area that they might face in the near future which should also be met with joy. It is the joy that comes from those firmly in Christ and echoes the language of the Psalms that call for the righteous to "rejoice in the Lord and be glad" (Ps. 32:11; cf. Ps. 33:1). The Galatians, only a few years earlier, had faced those who had mixed the ideas of faith in the life of Christ with the need to accept the whole of the Jewish law, particularly circumcision. Even if they should face that kind of trouble, Paul desires for them to maintain an attitude of joy which will serve as a safeguard to any difficult circumstances that they might face.
What will the pure joy of the life in Christ safeguard them against? Here Paul does not mince words and it is difficult for English translations to convey the full sharpness of his words. New Testament scholar Frank Thielman suggests that the best way to begin to capture the true force of Paul's words might be to translate it something like, "Beware the mongrels! Beware the criminals! Beware the cutters!" All three of these warning categories refers to the same group. Paul is not railing against Jewish Christians who chose to get circumcised because of ancestral customs, there would be no problem with that. He is specifically talking of those who claimed that circumcision and following the law was a necessary badge showing one to be part of the people of God. Paul calls them dogs, which was probably an ironic reversal of the fact that Jews often called Gentiles dogs. Those who do evil are literally the "bad works people," Paul's ironic name for those that contend that only keeping the works of the law will suffice as the standard for entry into the people of God. The mutilators of the flesh implies that by trusting in this aspect of the flesh and marking themselves in this way they are behaving like the sort of pagan cults that involved mutilating and gashing one's own body.
There is a sharp contrast that Paul draws between these false representatives of the gospel message and those in Christ who are the true circumcision. It is often missed that the Old Testament clearly made the claim that God is truly concerned with the condition of the heart rather than physical features (1 Sam. 16:7). Circumcision of the Old Testament was not an ends unto itself, but was instead, a means to teaching God's people about the true circumcision of the heart that they needed. The writers of the Old Testament looked forward to a time when this true circumcision of the heart would be performed on them by God (Deut. 10:16; 30:6; Jer. 4:4; cf. 6:10; 9:25). Paul's argument was that the time when God would circumcise the hearts of His people and enable them to live in a reconciled state with God had arrived and that because of that arrival, physical circumcision was irrelevant.
For Paul then, only those in Christ can truly be considered the circumcision people (Col. 2:11) because they are the only ones who have fully realized God's complete plan. The true circumcision people can be known by three characteristics. First, they worship by the Spirit. God poured out His Spirit on His people, both Jewish and Gentile, enabling them to fulfill Jesus' words that God's worshippers "must worship him in Spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). Second, they glory in Christ Jesus. The word translated "glory" can mean "to boast" and is usually used by Paul to indicate the ground from which one's confidence is launched. The point being that the Judaizers whom Paul has called mutilators put their confidence in things of the present age, things of the flesh, but the true circumcision put their confidence solely in the life of Christ. Third, they put no confidence in the flesh. This almost seems redundant from the previous point, but it actually serves to emphasize his point. Paul's point is that putting one's confidence in the flesh and in Christ is mutually exclusive. You must pick one or the other; you simply cannot have both.
Just so that no one could claim that Paul was discounting confidence in the flesh and his Jewish heritage as a marker that he would automatically be numbered among the people of God because he wouldn't measure up to such a standard, Paul shows that he has every reason to rely on the things of the flesh if he so chose. Not only did he have the advantages of being born into the right stock, he had also attained a great devotion to the law. Paul's point is that if there were anyone who felt they had a good reason to trust their status and life under the law, it was him. He knows better, though. Matters of circumcision and the law simply did not matter. The only thing that mattered then and that still matters today is whether or not we have taken part in the new creation available in the life of Christ (Galatians 6:15).
Devotional Thought
The danger that Paul wanted the young Christians in Philippi to stay away from was relying on circumcision and the works of the law rather than having their confidence in Christ. What things tempt you to put your confidence in when it comes to being part of the people of God rather than just being in Christ? Is it your effort, your Bible study times, your evangelism, etc.?
No comments:
Post a Comment