Great joy in believing the Lord Jesus Christ: (chap.3)
Put no confidence in the flesh: (Phil. 3:1-6):
Paul says “finally” and again in (4:18) is an indication of making them more alert at what he is trying to say. Paul has warned the believers at Philippi before, but now he warns them again. “Look out for dogs! Look out for the workers of evil! Look out for the mutilation!” Here is referring to the opposing Jews.
The Gospel came to the Jews first (Rom. 1:16). The first 7-chapters of Acts deal only with Jewish believers or with Gentiles who were Jewish proselytes (Acts 2:10). The Gospel message went to the Samaritans, but this did not cause too much of an upheaval since the Samaritans were at least partly Jewish (Acts 8:5-25). But when Peter went to the Gentiles (Acts 10), this created an uproar.
Peter was called in the assembly to explain his activities (Acts 11). After all, the Gentiles (Acts 10) had become Christians without first becoming Jews, and this was a whole new thing for the church. Peter explained that it was God who had directed him to preach to the Gentiles, and the matter seemed to be settled. But it was not settled for long. Paul was sent out by the Holy Spirit to minister especially to the Gentiles (Acts 13:1-3). Peter had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 10) and Paul followed his example on his first missionary journey ( Acts 14:26-28). It did not take long for the strict Jewish believers to oppose Paul’s ministry and saying that that it was necessary for the Gentiles to submit to Jewish rules before they could be saved (Acts 15:1). This disagreement led to the Conference at Jerusalem that is described in Acts The result of the conference was an approval of Paul’s ministry and a victory for the Gospel of the grace of God. Gentiles did not have to become Jewish proselytes in order to become Christians!
But the dissenters were not content. Having failed in their opposition to Paul at Antioch and Jerusalem, they followed him wherever he went and tried to steal his converts and his churches. Bible students call this group of false teachers who try to mix Law and grace “Judaizers.” The Epistle to the Galatians was written primarily to combat this false teaching. It is this group of “Judaizers” that Paul is referring to in (3:1-2). He uses three terms to describe them.
- Dogs The orthodox Jew would call the Gentile a “dog,” but here Paul calls orthodox Jews “dogs”! Paul is not just using names; he is comparing these false teachers to the dirty scavengers so contemptible to decent people. Like those dogs, these Judaizers snapped at Paul’s heels and followed him from place to place “barking” their false doctrines. They were troublemakers and carriers of dangerous infection.
- Evil workers: These men taught that the sinner was saved by faith plus good works, especially the works of the Law. But Paul states that their “good works” are really evil works because they are performed by the flesh (old nature) and not the Spirit, and they glorify the workers and not Jesus Christ. No one can be saved by doing good works, even religious works (Eph.2:8-10; Tit. 3:3-7). A Christian’s good works are the result of his faith, not the basis for his salvation.
- The mutilation: Here Paul uses “circumcision.” The word translated “circumcision” literally means “a mutilation.” The Judaizers taught that circumcision was essential to salvation (Acts 15:1; Gal. 6:12-18); but Paul states that circumcision of itself is only a mutilation! The true Christian has experienced a spiritual circumcision in Christ (Col. 2:11), and does not need any fleshly operations. Circumcision, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, tithing, or any other religious practice cannot save a person from his sins. Only faith in Jesus Christ can do that.
The losses and gains of Paul: (3:7-11):
Paul had a great reputation as a scholar and a religious leader(Acts 26:24). He was proud of his Jewish heritage and his religious achievements. All of these things were valuable to him; he could profit from them. He certainly had many friends who admired his zeal. But when he measured these treasures against what Jesus Christ had to offer, he realized that all these were really nothing but a refuse compared to what he had in Christ. His own treasures brought glory to him personally, but they did not bring glory to God.
We also see he valued both his Jewish blood and his Roman citizenship. Becoming a Christian did not make him less a Jew. In fact, it made him a complete Jew, a true child of Abraham both spiritually and physically (Gal 3:6-9). When a person becomes a Christian, God takes away the bad, but He also takes the good and makes it better.
Jim Elliot the missionary to Acua tribes said: “He is no fool to give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” This is what Paul experienced, he lost his religion and his reputation, but he gained far more than he lost. The gains that Apostle Paul are portrayed below: