Chuck Larsen

When Paul exhorts us not to “put confidence in the flesh” he’s referring to human achievement. When we base our worth on our accomplishments we are building our lives on a faulty foundation. No one knew that any better than Paul did. He had built his whole self-image and self-worth on his ancestry and religious accomplishments. In Philippians 3:4-6 Paul describes them. He writes, “I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”

Paul points out seven things he used to put his confidence in. The first four of them are things that associated him with God’s people. He was circumcised at the right time. This had become an area of pride among Jews who lived in Gentile territories. His second point however acknowledges that many Gentiles converted to Judaism and were circumcised also so he says he was not a proselyte to Judaism, but of the very physical lineage. Third, not only from Jewish blood but traceable to the tribe of Benjamin. Fourth not only all this but even though born outside of the Promised Land in Gentile culture he spoke the biblical language of Hebrew, thus he was a Hebrew of Hebrews. None of the Judaizers who were promoting a false gospel had such credentials. If there was anyone to listen to regarding Judaism and its relationship with Christ, it should have been Paul.

These four inherited traits were them followed by three personal accomplishments. Regarding the law itself no one studied it more or knew it better than the Pharisees! Paul was one of them. Hughes comments that, “Paul was a brilliant, intransigent Pharisee, a heavyweight who could hold his own with anyone.” Second, he was a persecutor of the church. He led campaigns to stamp out the new sect of Christianity in its early days. This history should lead his Jewish brothers to give weight to his testimony about Christ. Finally, Paul claimed to be “blameless” under the law. It wasn’t perfect, but it was an exemplary Jewish life which was above reproach. If anyone had the right to boast in Jewish heritage, knowledge, conviction, or performance it was Paul. But Paul is going to explain how no religious heritage or association can win God’s favor. He’s going to explain how nothing but the blood of Christ is sufficient to make us acceptable to God. Everything else is meaningless! What am I putting my confidence in? What’s in your wallet?

Paul listed 7 major personal traits or accomplishments which made him righteous in the eyes of the Jewish community. It all had to do with his lineage under the law and his strict observance of some 613 does and don’ts as established by Jewish tradition. That kind of righteousness became to Paul as valuable as used toilet paper. It was disgusting and was good only to be discarded. Isaiah made a similar evaluation about 700 years earlier when he referred to man’s righteousness as “filthy rags.” When you understand the Biblical illusion in the phrase in the Hebrew culture you see that he’s saying nearly the same thing. Only a couple translations handle this Hebrew word with its real meaning. Look at the New English Translation (NET) and you’ll see “all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight.” If you read the newer Lexham English Bible (LEB) you’ll see “all our deeds of justice like a menstrual cloth.” In our sensitive English translations you’ll see both of these verses euphemized in order not to give too much information (TMI). We don’t want to have those images yet both Isaiah and Paul understood that human righteousness in God’s eyes add up to nothing more than something we don’t even want to think about. They add up to nothing more than something we want to keep out of sight and out of mind. They are nothing more than something that must be disposed of.

Paul goes in in Philippians 3:9 to explain that the only righteousness that matters to God is the perfect righteousness of Christ and nothing man can do will ever compare to it or ever come close to it. Yet it’s this righteousness that everyone must have in order to enter into the perfect presence of God in a perfect place like heaven. So Paul says that the only way to live up to God’s standard is to be “…found in him (Christ), not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”

As Richison says, “There are two kinds of righteousness. First, there is a spurious righteousness, a counterfeit righteousness, a man-made righteousness, a synthetic righteousness, a righteousness of man’s endeavor. In God’s eyes self-righteousness is a spurious righteousness. This is human righteousness. The other righteousness is a righteousness whereby nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling. It is a righteousness that is a gift from God through Christ.” You must see that it is one or the other, not both. No mixture of human righteousness can infiltrate into God’s acceptance of man. It is only through Christ’s righteousness. Anthony Ash says, “This verse contrasts faith in Christ and human merit. If one attempts to receive righteousness by the latter means then it cannot be gained by the former, which means, in Christian terms, it cannot be gained at all.” This is why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No man can come to the Father except through me.”

In Philippians 3:10-11, Paul goes on to explain why he discarded any personal merit in order to be found in Christ and to be credited only with Christ’s merit. Even though he had more religious credits than other men he saw his own righteousness as nothing but something to be thrown away in comparison to the great wealth to be found in Christ’s righteousness. He writes, “…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

He does not doubt the assurance of his salvation. When Paul says “If, by any means” he doesn’t mean there are still conditions attached to the reality of his resurrection. As Richison observes, “The Bible was originally written in Greek. There are four ways of saying ‘if’ in the Greek. One of these ‘ifs’ is to assume the statement as true. This is brought out by spelling, not interpretation. The ‘if’ in this phrase is something Paul is assuming true.” Paul does not doubt something here at all, he’s asserting a fact. We should probably translate the “if” in this passage as “since.” I believe Paul has confidence in his eternal state. But he is once again asserting that the only source of that confidence is through faith in Christ alone as laid out in the previous verses. He’s saying that putting my faith in Christ alone and His righteousness is the only sure way. If I’m trusting in my own good works, there is no hope. But through faith in Christ I do have hope. That’s why the New Century Version translates verse 11 to says, “Then I have hope that I myself will be raised from the dead.” It is a way of saying if I’m trusting in my righteousness, I’m lost forever. But because I have Christ’s righteousness I can look forward to the resurrection with confidence.

But following the path of my self-righteousness, as George Rusty puts it, “…dead ends for three reasons. First, the goal is unclear. How will we know when we finally arrive? When are we finally good enough? Secondly, the goal is unattainable. No amount of human effort or goodness can ever bridge the gulf that sin makes between God and me. Earning my way to Him is impossible. And third, the goal is unfulfilling. How can we love someone who makes us earn their favor? Imagine if your wife gave you a list of chores every morning, and threatened that if you didn’t accomplish them all perfectly, she’d leave. Even if you try to please her, your marriage is about an obligation, not a loving relationship. But love is not something we earn. It is something that’s given, with no strings attached.” True joy comes from the Gospel. Good works is not Good News. Rusty concludes, “When we live by love, we have abundant life. Living by love is all about accepting, not accomplishing. We accept God’s love and experience joy and freedom. A love relationship with Jesus is an adventure!”

Paul begins Chapter 3 with the exhortation to “rejoice in the Lord.” We can’t always rejoice in our circumstances and at times it would be ludicrous to suggest that we do. But we can always rejoice “in the Lord.” Christ has set us above our circumstances with his promise of the resurrection from the dead and an eternal life where the pain and suffering of this life will be resolved once and for all. Therefore we can indeed always rejoice in the Lord regardless of our circumstances. Paul addresses this more specifically latter in the book when he talks about how he’s learned to be content in all life’s circumstances because he has come to “know Christ.” He has made it clear that this is his goal. Philippians 3:10 is Paul’s purpose statement for life; “that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection.”

I believe when Paul says that he “presses on” in Philippians 3:12, he’s talking about pressing on to grow in his knowledge of Christ. Why does he want to know Christ more? To know Christ is to know God’s love for us. In Philippians 3:8, Paul made it clear that this was all that mattered to him. It was so important that he cast every other concern aside. He wrote, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Now back to verse 12, Paul makes it clear that there is much he doesn’t know. He says, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” Notice the final cause statement. Since Christ made Paul His own, Paul couldn’t get enough of His savior.

Once we step out of the darkness of self-righteousness into Christ’s righteousness when He makes us His own, and feel the glory of Christ’s pardoning love for us we will sing with the old Hymn writer, E.E. Hewitt, “More about Jesus would I know. More of his grace to others show; more of his saving fullness see, more of his love who died for me. More, more about Jesus! More, more about Jesus! More of his saving fullness see! More of his love who died for me.” One of the greatest joys of being a Christian is the privilege of mining the glorious depths of Christ throughout our lives in anticipation of finally meeting Him in the next life.

Let me go back to the end of chapter two for a minute. I don’t think I’ve ever been in danger of working myself to death. No, I’m not that diligent! My father nearly did that. He was a workaholic if there ever was one. He grew up in the great depression and died young (64), but I think it was primarily due to a harsh lifestyle rather than overwork. Yet while remodeling the house he had an electrical accident that took his right arm and nearly killed him. So he really did almost work himself to death. We don’t know what happened to Epaphroditus but Paul says in Philippians 2:30, “he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.” I don’t think we appreciate the danger believers had in those days. They were attacked on both sides. First the Jewish leaders tried to kill them, and then the Roman authorities wanted to silence them also. It’s possible that Epaphroditus fell into the hands of one or the other and suffered a serious injury which almost cost his life.

Whatever happened, it was because of his work for Christ which was completing the Philippians ministry to Paul. This ministry could very well be the financial gift he brought to Paul in Rome. He had witnessed Paul’s attitude as described in Acts. Luke records Paul’s words in Acts 21:13, “For I am ready, not only to be bound (put in prison), but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (21:13). Paul and Barnabas are described as “Men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:26). Epaphroditus became one with them in being willing to risk his life for the cause. The defining characteristic of the Apostles and their disciples was “fearless service.” They were always ready to face hardship, pain, sickness and even death if necessary for the advancement of the gospel.

John the Baptist’s father prophesied at his birth about the deliverance the messiah would bring and which would be proclaimed and pointed out by John. The Messiah (Luke 1:73-75) would fulfill for us “the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” In Philippians 1:14 we read about how Paul’s example had inspired “… the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” When all fear is gone, true joy can reign freely. John MacArthur writes, “Does your joy ebb and flow according to the tide of earthly benefits? Do pleasure, possessions, prominence, prestige, reputation, comfort, and fulfillment or your own ambitions propel your joy? If they do, your joy will ebb and flow according to the shifting tides of life. But if your joy is tied to the progress of the gospel, it will never diminish. Fix your heart on the progress of the gospel, and your joy will be constant.”

Paul begins a new section at the beginning of Chapter 3. We know that because his hinge phrase throughout the book always begins with rejoice! So in Philippians 3:1 he says, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.” The phrase beginning with “Finally” has been used as an occasion for humor, most at the expense of us preachers. One little boy whispered to his father during the sermon, “What does the past mean when he says ‘finally’ dad?” His father answers, “Absolutely nothing, son.” Paul uses the word to introduce a hinge idea regarding rejoicing again in the middle of his letter. In other words he still has some more to say. He goes on for two more chapters. But the word really doesn’t mean the same thing we mean when we say “finally.” It’s actually a transitional marker identifying the movement to a new subject.

The interesting thing here is that if his readers were looking for something entirely different they would be disappointed. He’s still talking about the joy we experience in living the Christian life together. He’s building up this theme of joy over and over in this epistle. He will come to a great crescendo in Chapter 4 when he says, “rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice!” He has been talking about joy in various ways in the first two chapters, but this is the first time he connects it with the little phrase, “in the Lord.” As we all know we can’t always rejoice in our circumstances because they are not always what we’d choose for ourselves. We all face trials and struggles in life and during those times it seems almost ridiculous to be told to “rejoice.”

We can always “rejoice in the Lord.” We know that He conquered sin and death and in the end we will all be victorious over the sicknesses, sorrows, and diseases of the world. So, like Job, we know that God is good all the time and that even in hard times we can still rejoice. The better we know our “Good God” the easier it is to “rejoice in the Lord.” He enables us to live above our circumstances not under them. When we come to grips with the love and goodness of our God even in the times of trials it helps make everything else so insignificant. Over the years of my Christian life I’ve let myself become a victim of my circumstances and have sacrificed my joy to the demands and pressures of the world. Yet when I come to my senses, I realize the greatness and goodness of our God and can put the “light and momentary” afflictions of this life into the divine perspective which helps maintain my joy in the Lord.

I know it’s Halloween but even the stores are gearing up for Christmas. My passage today makes me think of Christmas Carols, especially “Joy to the World.” The joy of the Lord is our strength! As long as we remain firmly seated in God’s love for us we remain firmly planted in the Joy of the Lord. It keeps us safe from temptations and assaults from the enemy in so many different ways. It’s a shield to us and it protects us and we find safety under its wings. This is why Paul repeats the idea of joy so often in this short epistle. To the casual reader it might become redundant and a little tedious to hear the idea repeated so often, but Paul said in Philippians 3:1 that he has chosen to camp on the idea of the joy of the Lord and to repeat himself because his constant reminders, if heeded, will keep us safe. There are many, many dangers to our joy in the Lord in this world and in Philippians 3:2 he lists three of them. He writes, “Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.”

The Jews often referred to Gentiles as dogs because like the wild dogs of the day they fed on unclean road kill and carrion and filth which pictured the unclean in Jewish society. But Paul uses their very term for Gentiles to refer to them. It’s not the Gentiles who were the Goyim (dogs) it was the Judaizers who stood outside the covenant blessings that were promised to Abraham by faith. The Jews considered themselves “righteous” and workers of “the law.” But Paul reverses their charge by pointing out that the Judaizers were actually “evil workers” who distracted others from true righteousness by grace through faith to a works based system which they failed to observe themselves. When Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18, he described the self-mutilation that they practiced to call down the favor of their gods. It’s this very term that Paul uses to describe the circumcision that the Judaizers believed separated them from the Gentiles. It was their greatest source of pride. But Paul reverses all their attacks on the unclean Gentiles and points them directly at the Judaizers. It’s Paul’s warnings not only to the Judaizers of his day but to us if we should venture to add legalistic requirements to the Gospel of God’s marvelous Grace.”

Watch out for the newly legalisms of our day; don’t do this! Don’t do that! There are so many it makes our heads swim and robs us of our joy. Trying to conform to the specific choices of others around us we find ourselves losing the joy of the Lord. But there is safety in the Joy of the Lord! Hughes says, “to be so full of joy that no other offers appeal to us, to have tasted what is good so deeply that we have no taste for the allurements of the tempter, for the joy of the Lord is our strength.” Truly Joy is the currency of those “who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:2).