Philippians 3:4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:29 “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.” II. Again, this describes anyone who is seeking salvation or any part of it based on anything other than the imputed righteousness of Christ. LIFE IN CHRIST Click chart to enlarge Charts from Jensen's Survey of the NT - used by permission Philippians - Charles Swindoll = Chart on right side of page "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard … (17) - Paul's, and those whose "walk" was similar to his 12) What description is given of those who are "enemies of the cross of Christ"? He is again speaking in comparison to Christ’s righteousness as the ground of salvation. It seems probable that this is in reference to spiritual resurrection (Ro 6:3-note) and not physical. They may throw caution to the wind and go the way of immorality, but even they by nature believe that if they reformed and became moral, this would recommend them unto God. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, p and it is a safeguard for you. It does not mean that true believers cannot have confidence in their God-given abilities to achieve goals in temporal matters such as athletics or occupation. Dogs, for their malice against faithful professors of the gospel of Christ, barking at them and biting them. A believer’s works of righteousness as evidences of salvation are the fruit and effect of Christ’s righteousness as the only ground of salvation. It is interesting how those who accuse believers of being judgmental and take passages such as Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that ye be not judged,” out of their context. This was the same heresy Paul dealt with in Galatians (Galatians 2:21; Galatians 5:1-2). Our only hope of salvation now and at Final Judgment is to be clothed in His righteousness alone. To accept the true circumcision they would have had to receive Christ, submit to His righteousness and admit that all their efforts before justifying faith were dead works and acts of open idolatry. Rejoice in the Lord - Be always happy; but let that happiness be such as you derive from the Lord. Some may only go half that far. Their faith falls short of saving faith. Convinced that this was a God-given vision, Paul and his companions set sail for Macedonia and settled in Philippi, where they started a church, beginning with the c… Philippians 3:7 This is brought out more in verse 3. This only comes to those who have repented themselves. Faith is not the condition for salvation. He knows that Christ and His righteousness makes the only difference between saved and lost, holy and unholy, fit and unfit, certain blessedness and certain destruction (Colossians 3:9-11). amazing teaching. People today do not realize that they forfeit any right to claim God’s salvation when they believe that anything but Christ’s righteousness alone makes the difference between Heaven and Hell (Galatians 5:3-4). The Judaizers had forfeited their right to be called the children of God because they had rejected the true circumcision (Acts 7:51). 4:15-20 (1:5) 8. a typical Pauline closing, Phil. These false prophets were promoting fruit unto death, dead works, works of iniquity, and evil deeds. (16) - To the degree or rule that they have attained 11) Whose example were the Philippians to follow? The details will vary with different ones, but the principles are all the same. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. Paul is talking about things that men by nature highly esteem (Luke 16:15). Righteousness is the condition for salvation. The context of Philippians 1:27-30 In verses 3-11 Paul gave thanks to God for the Philippians partnership in His ministry and offered His prayer for their continued spiritual growth. Philippi was a city in Macedonia (northern Greece). Paul is not talking about immorality here. These false prophets in Philippi were promoting the same kind of perversion. When we preach the Gospel and command sinners to believe it and repent, they must know of what they are to repent. Based on the study book: Philippians, Christ, The Source of Joy and Strength by John MacArthur. Now there is nothing wrong with any of these things in and of themselves, but when a person thinks that any of these things recommend him unto God, when a person seeks to perform any of these things while ignorant of the only righteousness that removes God’s wrath and gains God’s favor, the imputed righteousness of Christ, they then become evil deeds, fruit unto death, and acts of open idolatry. In verses 4-11 he shows why he had spoken so strongly. It shows that in religion he went far beyond the call of duty and followed not only the written law but the oral law that had been built up around it. Saving faith looks outside of itself and to Christ and His righteousness as the only ground of salvation. III. If a person claims to be saved by God’s grace in Christ alone, but then thinks that his efforts at religion and morality can make him more saved, more holy, more fit, or more certain for Heaven, then Christ will not profit him. This is a strong division between verses 2 and 3. He now mentions things that have to do with personal diligence and dedication. “For we are the circumcision”–Believers are the true circumcision. The eighth day was the day that all newborn Jewish males were to be circumcised according to the Law of Moses. You … Saving faith, which is the means of salvation, looks outside of itself, receives and rests upon Christ and His righteousness as the only ground of salvation. Paul calls these false prophets “dogs”. Repentance is an act of the mind and the will. But if we trust anything else, even along with Christ, we are certain to be condemned throughout eternity. He lists five things that motivated him to believe and repent. Paul had been slain by the law (Romans 7:8-11). “Evil workers”–These false prophets claimed to be workers of righteousness. “The concision” or false circumcision–The word concision actually means mutilation. If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Philippians 3:9 In verses 4-6 Paul mentioned all his efforts at religion and morality before conversion. To rejoice in the Lord is to be glad and happy, but this gladness is derived from our confidence of our whole salvation, including our final glory, conditioned on the Lord Jesus Christ, based on His righteousness alone. Philippians 3:7, ESV: "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ." “An Hebrew of Hebrews” means that he was not the product of a mixed marriage which was so common in that day. They believe God acknowledges that we cannot achieve righteousness and salvation by works, so He accepts an inadequate substitute. He shows us the true nature of saving, justifying faith and true repentance that springs from God-given faith. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! But God sent them prophet after prophet to show them their error and to point them to Christ for eternal salvation. He identifies and describes true believers after exposing false believers. All this distinguishes a true believer’s repentance from an unbeliever’s legal repentance. Required fields are marked *. He desires to arrive, by whatever it takes, to the resurrection from the dead. As stated, repentance in the Bible is a change of mind that leads to a change of life. Faith and repentance of the first evidences of this inward, spiritual circumcision (Galatians 3:26-29; Colossians 2:9-11). He may claim to be saved by grace alone, but in reality he believes a cleverly disguised system of works. “Rejoice” here means to glory or have confidence in Christ. 4. θαν, οὕτως ἐταπεινοφρόνει, ἐξανάστασις τῶν νεκρῶν, οἱ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ αὐτοῦ, ἈΝΆΣΤΑΣΙς ΤῶΝ ΔΙΚΑΊΩΝ, ἘΚ Τῆς Γῆς ΕἸς ΤῸΝ ἈΈΡΑ, I should remain alive until the resurrection of the dead, πατρὸς ἐμοῦ κλέος μετέρχομαι, Of the Certainty and Perpetuity of Faith in the Elect, If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. responds to that ascetic sort of thinking by writing, “Paul, therefore, divested himself – not of works, but of that mistaken confidence in works, with which he had been puffed up.” 159 Hendriksen, ad loc. Paul is telling these believers exactly why he counted all his self-righteous efforts as dung in light of the surpassing knowledge of Christ. Paul is telling them that as Christ stood in relationship to this world, true believers will take up their cross and stand in that same relationship to this world. We have come by faith to God who justifies the ungodly based on the imputed righteousness of Christ (Romans 3:30; Romans 4:5). Commentary on Philippians 3:1-11 (Read Philippians 3:1-11) Sincere Christians rejoice in Christ Jesus. We are in the middle of a… Load Comments. Philippians 4 Chapter 3 He cautions them against judaizing seducers ( v. 1-3 ) and proposes his own example: and here he enumerates the privileges of his Jewish state which he rejected ( v. 4-8 ), describes the matter of his own choice ( v. 9-16 ), and closes with an exhortation to beware of wicked men, and to follow his example ( v. … It is a righteousness imputed to us by God and which we receive by God-given faith. It stands for deeds of law. He refers to it this way for several reasons: (1) To distinguish it from the righteousness of men and totally exclude man’s righteousness from the ground of salvation; (2) because God purposed it, promised it and provided it by the obedience and death of Christ, His beloved Son; and. But this is far from his message here. Inductive Bible study on Philippians Chapter 3:1-11. The primary support for this is Php 3:12 where Paul speaks of this as … To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.. 2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the [] false circumcision; 3 for we are the true [] circumcision, who … This is the work of the Holy Spirit in God’s elect which is the fruit and effect of Christ’s righteousness. In order to illustrate this he uses himself as an example. This is the way it is with all of God’s people. (3) The examples Paul uses in verses 4-6 show that immorality is not the issue here. Philippians 3:3 Paul’s point here is that these false prophets in seeking to promote circumcision as a way for believing men to be more holy or more fit for Heaven were only promoting a mutilation of the flesh. It physically signified that a man was a natural descendant of Abraham and a member of the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people. 3. He shows here, much in the same way he did in Romans 1:16-17 and in Romans 3 and 4, how faith is distinguished from that righteousness. Paul knew that he was saved (Romans 8:31-39; 2 Timothy 1:12), and this assurance of salvation is the motivation for all godliness and obedience. This was a term the Jews used to describe pagan, godless, ignorant Gentiles. They urged human works in opposition to the faith of Christ; but Paul calls them … How can we know if we are under Holy Spirit conviction rather than legal conviction? Herein we suffer in our service to Christ and for the cause of the Gospel. Paul did not simply change from one religion to another, nor did he just change from one doctrine to another. 2 Watch out for those dogs, q those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. Our point of rebellion is self-righteousness, self-love, and religious pride. “As touching the law, a Pharisee” means that Paul, before his conversion, had been a member of the most devout, strict religious sect in Judaism. a. their recent gift, Phil. “Of the stock of Israel” refers to the fact that he was a natural descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence the flesh. Again, we must consider God’s definition of “evil workers.” These are unbelieving sinners, the ungodly, who seek to promote religious activity, dedication, zeal, morality, aimed at making sinners more saved, more holy, more fit or more sure for Heaven. (Mens Class), Your email address will not be published. 158 Calvin (Commentary on the Epistle to the Philippians, ad loc.) Philippians 3:10 Parallel Verses [⇓ See commentary ⇓] Philippians 3:10, NIV: "I want to know Christ--yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death," Philippians 3:10, ESV: "that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, … Paul shows here that all he used to hold dear and valuable, everything he before thought profitable to recommend him unto God and prove his salvation, he now counts (considers, appraises and regards) as loss when it comes to the ground of salvation. Inductive Bible study on Philippians Chapter 3:1-11. These things were what the evil works of verse 2 were promoting. It takes place when a sinner is born again by the Spirit of God (Romans 2:28-29). To write the same things to you, to me indeed not grievous, but for you safe. “Concerning zeal, persecuting the church” shows that Paul had been so zealous for his religion that he sought to stamp out anything he saw as heresy. Adam Clarke Commentary. The word “rejoice” here is a different word from “rejoice” in verse 1. Our knowledge and love is proven first by repentance from dead works and former idolatry. As a *Roman *colony, itscitizens possessed the same rights and laws as those who lived in Italy. To claim that our works and efforts can make us more saved, more holy, or more fit is to imply that there is a deficiency in Christ and His righteousness. He judges these preachers as false and calls them dogs, evil workers and the false circumcision. It meant he was no ordinary Jew. AMEN. Faith is no part of the righteousness based upon which God justifies the ungodly. [6.Original Conclusion of the Epistle (Philippians 3:1).“FINALLY BRETHREN, FAREWELL IN THE LORD.”] (1) Finally. It does mean that a true believer has absolutely no confidence in any deeds or works of obedience, anything done by him or in him, as forming any part of the ground of salvation. They are sinners who seek after or expect salvation or any part of it based on anything other than the imputed righteousness of Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them dung…. This is a rejection of God’s salvation. Repentance that flows from justifying faith causes God’s elect to count all our efforts before faith as dung. Our faith excludes all boasting in self because it looks to Christ alone for all salvation (Hebrews 12:1-2). Upon every remembrance - As often as you recur to my mind, so often do I thank God for the great work wrought among you. This is how repulsive it is to God when a sinner approaches Him upon any other ground other than the righteousness of Christ. He is describing himself before true conversion as one who walked after and minded “the things of the flesh” (Romans 8:5) “bringing forth fruit unto death” (Romans 7:5). When compared to His righteousness as the only ground of salvation, our righteousnesses are “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Legal repentance stirs up sinners out of fear of punishment or promise of reward to trying to establish a righteousness of their own (2 Corinthians 7:10). Whatever repentance is, it must be apply to the most religious and dedicated unbeliever as well as the most immoral and unconcerned unbeliever. Then in verse 12-14 Paul gladly told the Philippians the fantastic results of his situation, his imprisonment—the advance of the Gospel. Notice how Paul refers to this righteousness as that “which is of God,” or “which comes of God” (Romans 1:17; Romans 10:3). “Touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless” means that according to the outward letter of the law, he could not have been charged guilty. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 3 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! Paul repeats his gratitude for the Philippians' help. A study of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Philippian Church, in Philippi. i. This is the only way of salvation. Paul had been convinced of righteousness, that God is faithful to save sinners based on the imputed righteousness of Christ without the deeds of the law. Here he shows that true repentance springs from saving, justifying faith and is directly related to the glory of God in the salvation of sinners based on the imputed righteousness of Christ. And in comparison with the righteousness of Christ, all his efforts at religion and morality were dead works and fruit unto death. On the other … Continue reading "Commentary on Philippians … Here we see one of the sharpest denunciations of false preachers found in the Bible. Paul changed Gods. And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: Philippians 3:10 2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; 3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, 4 … Watch our overview video on the book of Philippians, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of … Here he is speaking of his works after conversion, the obedience of a believer. The prophet calls the false prophets dumb dogs, Isa 56:10; to which the apostle seems to refer. Again, read Galatians 6:14. He first mentions things attained by natural birth, heritage, and upbringing. Most professing Christians believe that faith is the God-approved substitute for works. A true child of God is one who has been born again. We by nature have no regard for the honor of God’s character in redemption and salvation conditioned on Christ alone. Philippians 3:7 Parallel Verses [⇓ See commentary ⇓] Philippians 3:7, NIV: "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ." 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, r we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast … “Rejoice in Christ Jesus”–This distinguishes a true believer’s faith from an unbeliever’s faith. We cannot add our own righteousness by law to His righteousness imputed (Matthew 9:16-17). They all have to do with the absolute certainty of salvation and final glory based on the imputed righteousness of Christ alone without the deeds of the law. 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