Philippians 3

Paul, the perfectionist

So far in this letter, we have seen Paul the:

• Joyful servant of Christ;
• The thoughtful pastor;
• The unbeatable idealist;

Now we will see Paul the perfectionist. Anyone who knows a perfectionist or happens to be married to one, knows they can be difficult to live with. The thing with Paul, though, is that he was seeking perfection in Christ, not through his own efforts or skills.

Another way to look at this letter so far is like this:

• We have the philosophy of the Christian: “To live is Christ, to die is gain,” 1:21
• We have the pattern for Christian living: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,” 2:5

In chapter three, we come to the prize for Christian living: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus,” 3:14. Throughout this chapter we see how the Apostle has changed from the past so that he could accomplish his purpose in the present, all with a hopeful eye to the future.

1. An always present danger: Judaizers. 3:1—3

Paul begins this part of his letter with the word “finally.” Usually we use the word to conclude something, but that is not how Paul used it. The word in the Greek to loipon, which really means “as for the rest.” What is “the rest?” Paul was about to come to a vital part of this letter; a problem that was apparently threatening the unity of the Philippian church.

A small clue to the problem might be this:

Finally, 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. (verse 1)

Were they rejoicing in something other than the Lord? Perhaps; and it seems that Paul had already addressed this issue sometime in the past. Maybe it was another letter which we no long have. Knowing that the Judaizers were really legalists who rejoiced in their own works, this might well be the case. Legalism and the temptation to pile rule upon rule in an effort to control members has always been an ever-present threat to the Church of Jesus Christ, even down to this day. It seems that for some, simple childlike faith is never enough.

Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh. (verse 2)

In the verses that follow, it is clear that Paul has the Judaizers in mind. This group of false teachers had nothing better to do than dog the steps of the Paul and other Christian evangelists, seeking to force their converts to submit to certain Jewish practices, beginning with circumcision. It wasn’t that they hated Jesus or didn’t believe in Him; it was that they believed Jesus wasn’t enough. Salvation to the Judaizers was Jesus plus other things.

The reference to “mutilators of the flesh” obviously refers to circumcision, and these teachers that insist on it as a condition of salvation, are “men who do evil.” The Greek can also mean “deceitful workers.” These were men were appearing to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but were in truth working evil. Such men who add “accessories” to the plain, simple truth of the Gospel are nothing less than pure evil.

What is interesting is that Paul reserves the word “circumcision” for genuine believers! The Judaizers were “mutilators of the flesh,” but only a true believer could be considered as being circumcised. True circumcision involved three key points:

• Such believers worship by the Spirit of God, not by human traditions or rites;
• Such believers glory in Jesus Christ. In other words, true believers recognize that their hope is found in Christ alone and not in obsessive observations of a religious legal code;
• Such believers put no confidence in the flesh. Sinful humanity has no grounds for confidence before God; true believers know they cannot achieve any kind of righteousness apart from Christ and therefore they trust wholly in Him.

True believers have realized the truthfulness of Edward Mote’s words:

2. Paul’s example to follow, 3:4—16

Paul is very careful to ensure that his readers know his reaction to the Judaizers was not coming from jealousy or envy. There was nothing in the Judaizers Paul coveted. He put himself in their place for a few moments and contends that if external rites and obedience to rules and regulations have merit in themselves, he would have much more to place his confidence in than all the Judaizers put together!

In truth, Paul never denied his Jewish upbringing, and here he uses it to prove a point. Here was a man who had been raised in meticulous observation of the Mosaic Law. He was raised from infancy to be a Jew of the Jews. As an adult, he described himself as “faultless” in terms of his zealousness both in strict obedience to the Law and in making sure others practiced such obedience. There never was a Jew like Paul; no Judaizer could boast of the accomplishments Paul had achieved. Among the things he could boast of in his past:

• Circumcised on the eighth day. This was the basic, initial rite of the Mosaic Law. He had godly parents who raised him right; they reared him according the Law of their day.
• Of the people of Israel. He was no mere “half-breed,” as many of the Judaizers probably were. He was all Hebrew.
• Of the tribe of Benjamin. In other words, he “came from the best family.” Of all the tribes, Benjamin alone had remained completely faithful to the Davidic throne at the time of the Kingdom’s division. From the tribe of Benjamin came Israel’s first king, after whom Paul had been named by his parents.
• A Hebrew of Hebrews. There were no skeletons in his closet. In terms of his lineage, his language, his culture, Paul was completely Hebrew.
• He was a Pharisee. Paul knew the Scriptures; he was a teacher of the Law.
• He zealously persecuted the church. In other words, he fought to preserve the Law from outside corruption. He was totally devoted to its preservation and its practice.
• He faultlessly obeyed the letter of the Law.

What an impressive resume! What Kosher business wouldn’t hire a man like Paul? He had it all. If ever there was Jews fast-tracked for success, it was Paul. And yet, in spite of his past, Paul had his present, which meant far more to him:

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. (verse 7)

It wasn’t that Paul didn’t appreciate his upbringing or that it was valueless, but the truth was, his past was a great blessing to Paul. In fact, Paul was chosen by Christ because he was who he was. Only Paul could go the places he went and take the Gospel to the people he did; thanks to his past, he was the perfect choice. But while his past prepared him for his present, it did not make him righteous; it did not improve his standing before God one iota. All his learning, his godly parents, and his good name meant nothing to God. And in his present, they meant nothing to Paul in comparison to Christ.

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ… (verse 8)

All those “pluses” of his past had become less than zero in his present because of Christ’s presence in the present. In fact, all the good things in his past were like trash when compared to Christ. This verse is a marvelous statement about the majesty of salvation. Our confession of Christ is just the beginning of our salvation. Consider what Paul wrote to the Colossians—

…in [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:3)

Everything of value that makes life worth living is hidden in Christ! But to find it and appropriate it personally takes a lifetime. How precious are these treasures hidden in Christ? They are worth letting go of the past; they are worth the sacrifice of jettisoning everything you have. Maybe that’s why so many believers never experience the fullness of Jesus Christ. He surely cannot give you new blessings to grab hold of if you are always holding onto the past.

In telling the Philippians all this, Paul is not boasting; he wants them to follow his example—

I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (verses 13, 14)

Paul’s single-minded desire is “to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings,” (verse 11). His honest assessment of his spiritual journey was that he still had a ways to go; Paul the great Apostle had not arrived. As with us all, Paul’s conversion was the beginning, not the end of his journey.

Paul uses a familiar metaphor, a race, in describing the Christian life. The picture he draws is that of a runner leaning or throwing himself forward, stretching himself out as far as he can with all his might. This runner is committed to finishing the race; he does not look back, nor does he pay attention to other runners. Chrysostom remarked:

For the runner reckons not up how many circuits he hath finished, but how many are left.

It is true that Paul admonished his friends in Ephesus to remember where they came from and how far they had come in Christ, but the purpose in doing so was to give glory to God, not to dwell on it.

When we can leave the past behind, we can reach for the prize God has waiting for us. But what is this “prize for which God has called [us] heavenward in Christ Jesus?” The prize is not something to be found on earth, but it is to be caught up and be in the presence of Christ. The prize is also not salvation; nobody can run for salvation. Salvation is a gift we accept from Christ, and a prize is not a gift. What Paul is teaching is simply this: after we receive the gift of eternal life, we must run for the prize. And that prize is to be with Christ in the heavenlies; that must be our goal.

In other words, living the Christian life requires a monumental effort on our part. It takes guts and determination and commitment. And it takes sacrifice. It takes effort to focus on Christ and not on the flesh and the accomplishments of the flesh. Maybe this is why so many Christians find false teachings so attractive. It takes no particular skill or effort to obey a rule or regulation. It takes fear; fear of punishment if the rule is broken. It takes no sacrifice to glory in the flesh or boast of your achievements. It makes you feel good. But faith is different. Living by faith takes skill and effort and a lifetime of practice to get right.

Conclusion

How we live our Christian life comes down to choices we make. These choices begin with salvation, but that choice was the easy one! We much choose who we listen to. We must choose in whom we put our faith and trust. We must choose to run our race to win.

(c)  2010 WitzEnd

A Biblical Work Ethic, Philippians 2:12—18

If the first 11 verses of chapter two illustrate the supreme example of obedience to God, then verses 12—18 show us how to be obedient in the practical sense.  Jesus Christ is our example of what it means to be obedient to God.  It is easy to get lost in the powerful description of Christ’s obedience, but the opening words of verse 12 connect Paul’s injunction to his Philippian friends to the example of Christ’s obedience.  Specifically, the “Biblical work ethic” is connected to Christ’s example in three ways:

• Jesus Christ’s obedience to His Heavenly Father was voluntary, complete, unreserved, and unwavering.  Ours should be as well.
• Jesus Christ’s rewards for His obedience show that there are great things in store for all who live life as He did.
• Jesus Christ is, today, our highly exalted divine/human Mediator who gives strength from Heaven to all believers who simply trust Him, ask Him, and yearn to live as He wants them to.

1.  Never stop working, verse 12

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling…

The Philippians must have been a singular congregation!  Far from rebuking them for not living in obedience, Paul indicates that they “have always obeyed!”  But all was not right with them.  We have a clue in the phrase, “not only in my presence but now much more in my absence.”  It could very well be that Paul had noted a small weakness in these people; he had been in prison and away from them for so long, maybe some of them began to waver a bit in their faith.  So he urges them to continue growing in their faith even though he isn’t around.  He mentioned this earlier in his letter—

Whatever happens, as citizens of heaven live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit.  (1:27)

Paul is not wanting them to obedient to HIS commands, but to the Gospel; to God Himself.  There is a dangerous tendency among believers to lean too heavily on their pastor, or their favorite Bible teacher.  Some in the Philippian church were leaning to heavily upon Paul, and that was problematic to the Apostle.  Paul knew that he, like all men, had feet of clay; no matter how hard he would try not to, he would disappoint somebody, as all pastors and Bible teachers will at some point in their lives, let down their listeners, usually unintentionally.

And so Paul urged his friends to be obedient to God, referring to this obedience as “working out” their salvation.  This is phrase of often quoted and usually misunderstood.  In fact, “working out” our salvation can only be understood when the Biblical concept of salvation is understood.  As we have already discovered, salvation has several aspects, including a present one.   When a sinner accepts Christ as his Savior, regeneration begins; he is born again into a brand new life full of obligations.  When we acknowledge Christ as Savior, we are binding ourselves to fulfill those obligations.   Those obligations do not save us, therefore as we “work out our salvation,” we are not working to get saved, but because we are saved.   We are justified immediately upon our confession of faith in Christ, but that objective justification must be followed by our subjective experiences; that is, we must look to Christ for the example of how to live.  It should never be “What would Jesus do,” but rather, “I must do what Jesus would do.”

This working in order to achieve continuous obedience is to be done “with fear and trembling.”  Fulfilling our obligations to live right is so crucial, we must be stalwart and resolute in doing it.  “Fear and trembling” in no way means that we should be scared of God or of punishment, but rather our obedience needs to be performed in a spirit of:

• Wholeheartedness
• Single mindedness
• Reverence and awe, being afraid to offend God
• Trust in God
• Humility

2.  The ability to obey, verse 13

…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

There might be some who think living as Jesus lived is next to impossible for a mere mortal.  Paul deals a death-blow to this self-centered idea by indicating every believer is capable of living as Christ lived because it is God Himself who enables them to do so.  It would be impossible for any believer to live in complete obedience to God on his own, but with God working through him, it is not only possible, it must be done for it is His will.

The words “works” and “to act” come from the same Greek root.  It is always used of God’s action and of effective action.  What does that mean?  It simply means that it is God who works mightily in you (Lightfoot).  Salvation is all of God, both the will to save man and the act of saving man, from start to finish.  But that does not negate man’s part, which Paul has dealt with in verse 12.   The Christian attitude while allowing God to work in them and through them is to give God all the glory.

In this sense, Christians are like television sets.  A TV is useless until it is plugged into a power source.  Similarly, an electric iron is of no value until it is plugged in to the electric outlet.  There is no light in dark room until the light switch is switched on.  And, best of all, is Jesus’ argument—

No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  (John 15:4)

Christians are who they are because God has made us what we are.  By means of the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of His people, God accomplishes His will by making it your will.  That is, the Holy Spirit will make living in obedience your desire and your ambition.  It is God’s will for you, and it will become your will for yourself if you live in consistent obedience.

3.  Purpose of obedience, verses 14—18

The thing about obedience is that there are two kinds:  grudging and voluntary.  Grudging obedience is not the best way to live because, as is pointed out numerous times in the Gospels, true religion is never a matter of external compliance.  Peter, for example had this to say about offering hospitality—

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  (1 Peter 4:9)

In the original, “everything” comes first in verse 14, making Paul’s admonition even stronger:  “Everything do without grumbling or murmuring.”   It can’t be clearer than that:  God must be obeyed in everything cheerfully and voluntarily.   It may take a while and it may take practice to get to that point, but this must be the goal for every Christian in living out his life.

Why is it important to be genuine in your obedience?  It is so that you may be pure and uncontaminated lights in a dark world.

…so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”  Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky…  (verse 15)

The inference of this verse is that you may become “blameless and pure” in the eyes of man.  God knows your heart, and people can spot a phony a mile away.   We must strive to make our obedience to God voluntary and our heart’s desire, otherwise, as Paul suggests, people will see our disingenuousness.

Another important aspect of this verse is Paul’s use of the word “become.”  At our conversion, we become children of God in nature and position.  But as we progress in our salvation—as we work it out—we become “children of God without fault.”  By adhering faithfully to God’s Word and by putting it’s admonitions to work in our lives, we will be free improper attitudes that sully the heart.  If our hearts are clean, our lives will be also.  They will hold up under the scrutiny with which the world examines us.  If we can be genuine in our Christian lives, our nature as God’s children will become evident to all who see us.

The fact is, identifying the Christian in a room full of people should be an easy task, both for other believers and for unbelievers.  We should stick out like a sore thumb!  Believers possess the Holy Spirit!  Believes are filled with the same Spirit that raised Christ from the death!  Nobody should be able to hide that.  Christians ought to shining like lights even while they are standing still, doing nothing.  But before that can happen, we must step out in obedience.

4.  Mind of Paul, verses 17, 18

But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you.  (verse 17)

This is a powerful verse, which presupposes an understanding of what a “drink offering” is.  Increasingly, Paul is looking ahead at his end.  Not sure if he will be released or if he will die in prison, Paul refers back to Genesis 35:14 where Jacob set up a pillar at Bethel and offered a “drink offering.”  A “drink offering” proper was an offering of wine added to the burnt offering and the meal offering.  The drink offering was not added to the sin or trespass offerings.  It had nothing to do with forgiveness of sin or redemption or with the Person of Christ.   When the fires of the burnt and meal offerings were raging, the wine was poured out on the sacrifice and an amazing thing happened;  it went up in steam and vanished.

In this verse, Paul is offering his life as a drink offering to be poured out on the offering of Jesus Christ.  He wanted to be so identified with Jesus Christ that even in his death his desire was to be just as consumed and obscured as the wine was.  Whether he lived or died, Paul wanted Jesus Christ to receive all the glory.  This was what Paul wanted for himself, and this is what all believers should strive for.

So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.  (verse 18)

Today, we rejoice over all the wrong things.  If we want to be Biblical Christians, then we should continually rejoice over what Jesus did for us and over the fact that we can serve Him!  We should never be so great in our own eyes that we don’t rejoice with other believers over their successes, be they temporal or spiritual.

Are you willing to be consumed in Jesus Christ?   Are you willing to live your life in such a way that your genuineness would make you disappear into Christ?  May the Lord help us all to say as John the Baptist said—

He must become greater; I must become less.  (John 3:30)

(c)  2010 WitzEnd