Philippians 3:3

The word loipón means “for the rest”, “besides” or “henceforth” as well as “finally”, and Paul uses it here to move on to what remains for him to say. Some translations put “Furthermore”. What remains is a great deal: the warning of verse 2, Paul’s account of the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ, which fills the rest of Philippians 3, and the closing instructions of Philippians 4.

“To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous.” The word behind “grievous” is oknērós, tiresome or burdensome. Paul knows he is going over ground the Philippians have heard before, and he is glad to do it for their sake. “But for you it is safe.” The word is asphalḗs, from a root meaning “not to fail”, and it describes what is firm, secure and trustworthy. Truths heard again and again become a sure footing.

The “same things” are the foundations of the faith, joy in the Lord and the righteousness that comes by faith, and they keep the Philippians safe from the danger Paul names in the very next verse. Paul writes elsewhere that sound teaching keeps believers from being “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14). Peter, too, was determined to keep reminding his readers of what they already knew, for as long as he lived (2 Peter 1:12–15). Hearing the gospel again is part of how God keeps his people steady.

They were most likely the teachers often called Judaizers, Jewish Christians who insisted that Gentile converts must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, with its food laws and Sabbath, in order to be saved or to reach a higher righteousness. Circumcision mattered deeply to Jews, because it was the sign God gave of his covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:9–14), and it marked a man as belonging to God’s chosen people. The question was settled by the apostles at the council in Jerusalem, where they affirmed that Gentiles are saved by grace through faith apart from the law (Acts 15), yet it kept returning to the churches.

This teaching struck at the heart of the gospel. We are saved by grace through faith, and salvation is the gift of God, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8–9). Paul tells the Galatians that if they are circumcised in order to be justified, Christ shall profit them nothing, they become debtors to keep the whole law, and they are fallen from grace (Galatians 5:2–4). Any message that adds human performance to Christ’s finished work puts believers back under a burden he has lifted from them.

Philippi was a Roman colony, proud of its Roman identity. The church there was one of Paul’s most beloved, generous partners with him in the gospel, and it faced pressure from the pagan city around it as well as false teaching from within.

He uses the word kýōn, a dog. Among the Jews of that day dogs were unclean scavengers, and “dogs” was a common insult, often thrown at Gentiles. Paul turns the insult around and gives it to the very people who prided themselves on Jewish rites. They are the ones who are unclean and outside the true covenant people, however strict their religion. Jesus also spoke of dogs when he said, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs” (Matthew 7:6). The word is harsh on purpose, and it strips these teachers of the respect they claimed.

The adjective kakós means bad or evil, including moral evil, and it also covers what is harmful. The noun ergátēs is a worker or labourer, and it can stand for a teacher. These men were busy, and they worked hard at their teaching, but their work did harm, tearing down the faith of believers and spreading error. Peter warns in the same way of false teachers who bring in destructive heresies and draw many after them (2 Peter 2:1–3).

“Concision” translates katatomḗ, a cutting down or mutilation, and it is a play on peritomḗ, circumcision. The two Greek words sound alike, and Paul swaps one for the other. Circumcision was a holy sign that God gave to Abraham. When it is demanded as a condition of salvation, Paul calls it what it then amounts to, a mere cutting of the flesh. This is biting irony, and it takes away the religious authority the teachers claimed for their demand.

The true circumcision, Paul goes on to say, is of the heart, and Christ performs it (Colossians 2:11–12). Christ came to fulfil the law (Matthew 5:17), and “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Romans 10:4). God’s righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, and God justifies freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ (Romans 3:21–26).

The verb latreúō means to serve God and render him religious homage, a devoted service that includes worship and obedience. This worship is offered “in the spirit”. The phrase speaks of the human spirit, worship that comes from the heart, and of the Holy Spirit, who makes such worship possible and guides it. Jesus told the woman at the well that the Father seeks those who worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23–24), and he promised to send the Spirit, the Comforter, to abide with his disciples for ever (John 14:16–17). Worship of this kind can be offered in any place, because it rests on the Spirit’s work within us.

“Rejoice” here carries the sense of boasting or glorying. It shares its English word with the command of verse 1, and both point the believer to the Lord. All our glory is in Christ Jesus, and every claim to our own merit is set aside. Paul says the same to the Galatians: “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 6:14).

The word sárx means flesh, and so human nature with its weaknesses, or a human being as such. Here “the flesh” means anything human that a person might lean on for his standing with God: ancestry, religious privilege, keeping the law, the mark of circumcision, personal achievement. For the Philippians it meant the very things the false teachers urged. Paul at once shows what he means from his own life. He lists his own Jewish credentials, which were as strong as anyone’s, and counts them as dung beside the worth of knowing Christ and being found in him (Philippians 3:4–11).

For us the flesh can be good works, moral uprightness, church attendance, theological knowledge, social standing or even our spiritual experiences. Every one of them falls short of earning God’s favour. Our confidence rests wholly on Christ, whose righteousness is counted to us (2 Corinthians 5:21), for we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9). Putting away confidence in the flesh is the other side of resting the whole weight of our hope on Christ.