THE LETTER TO THE PHILIPPIANS
Lesson 3
Chapter 3: Having Knowledge of Christ
Holy Lord,
Knowing You in a covenant relationship is more than simply
acknowledging that You are God. St. James called this expression of faith the
"faith of demons." The demon spirits also believed and acknowledged the
identity of Jesus as the Son of God. Instead, You call us through the gift of
faith to follow our acknowledgment of belief by Baptism. It is in our Baptism
that we receive an indwelling of the Spirit's presence within us and not only a
new life but also a new relationship with You. We become adopted children and
heirs through Christ, whose sufferings and glory we share on our earthly
journey to salvation. Knowledge of the Scriptures and of Christ is necessary to
secure the continuing bond of our covenant relationship. Bless us, Lord, as we
work to increase our knowledge through the study of St. Paul's Letter to the
Philippians. We pray in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, Amen.
+ + +
The Jews are no
longer children. The Gentiles were once called dogs but now these [Judaizing
Christians] are. Why so? Because, just as the Gentiles were once strangers to
Christ and God, so these have now become. And he alludes to their stubborn
shamelessness and their great tenacity against the faithful.
St. John
Chrysostom, Homily on Philippians, 11.2.1-3
In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the inspired writers mentioned three kinds of wisdom:
Continually seeking knowledge concerning the nature, identity, and mission of the Christ promotes all three kinds of wisdom that benefits individual Christians and the unity of the Church that is the Body of Christ. Chapter 3 marks the second part of Paul's letter to the Christians in Philippi in which the focus of his message is standing firm in the knowledge and peace of the Lord. He begins by restating the theme of the letter which is the joy he feels serving the Lord Jesus in partnership with the Philippian Christians. Next, he expresses his concern that the members of the community must increase their knowledge and wisdom of Christ in their New Covenant relationship so that they will not be led astray by false teachers and will serve as good witnesses for the Gospel.
Chapter 3: The Joy of Knowing Christ
Philippians 3:1-4a ~ Against Legalistic Teachers
1 Finally,
my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. Writing the same things to you is no burden
for me but is a safeguard for you. 2 Beware
of the dogs! Beware of the evil-workers! Beware of the mutilation! 3 For we are the circumcision, we who
worship through the Spirit of God, who boast in Christ Jesus and do not put our
confidence in flesh, 4a although
I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh.
Some commentators consider verse 1 to be the conclusion of Paul's exhortation in Chapter 2. However, the verse might also suggest that Paul is about to bring up a subject, "the same things," he warned them about in previous letters or when he was preaching to them in person at Philippi.1 The subject is the danger of Jewish-Christian missionaries who are preaching the false doctrine of the continuing necessity of the Old Covenant rite of circumcision (referred to as "mutilation" in verse 2). It is a false teaching that threatens to divide Jewish and Gentile Christians. His purpose in returning to the subject is apparently not to accuse or correct them but to protect them since he does not accuse them of any wrongdoing.
2 Beware of the
dogs! Beware of the evil-workers! Beware of the mutilation!
It is amusing that Paul should use the term "dogs" to
refer to the Jewish-Christian false teachers. It was common for Jews to refer
to Gentiles disparagingly as "dogs." Dogs were ritually unclean animals unfit
for sacrifice just as Gentiles were ritually unclean humans and unfit for worshipping
the one, true God. Jesus used the same term when testing the faith of the
Gentile woman who came to Him with a petition to heal her daughter, referring
to the Gentiles as "dogs" (Mt 15:26; Mk 7:27). Although in Mark 7:27, Jesus
softened the rebuke by calling Gentiles "little dogs" or "puppies": "Let the
children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food [bread] of the
children and throw it to the dogs [little dogs]." See the study on the
Gospel of Mark, Lesson 5.
However, for the Gentile Roman Christians, it was a reminder of the common Roman custom to have a notice at the entrance of houses that read "Cave canem," or "Beware of the dog" (Navarre Commentary: Philippians, page 444). For the Gentile-Christians it is a warning to be on their guard against Jewish-Christian preachers with an agenda to promote circumcision of the flesh and intent on demolishing the unity between Jewish and Gentile Christians. Paul makes it clear that he considers circumcision of the flesh an act of mutilation.
3 For we are the
circumcision, we who worship through the Spirit of God, who boast in Christ
Jesus and do not put our confidence in flesh...
Paul announces that Christians, baptized in the Spirit of
God, are the truly circumcised who can boast in Christ. The Jewish-Christians,
who are intent on disrupting unity between Jewish and Gentile Christians, are
forgetting that circumcision of the flesh was only an outward sign of an
interior condition that was the holiness of a circumcised heart undivided in
loyalty to God. Moses spoke of the necessity of interior holiness when he
urged the children of Israel to Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no
longer stiff-necked (Dt 10:16). Concerning the same subject, Moses gave
the Messianic promise: The LORD, our God, will circumcise your hearts and
the hearts of your descendants, that you may love the LORD, your God, with all
your heart and all your soul, and so may live (Dt 30:6).2 The
only true circumcision was internal and the work of the Holy Spirit. It was
the Sacrament of Baptism that fulfilled the promise to give God's children
circumcised hearts making the physical sign of circumcision no longer
necessary.
Question: When did Paul have an encounter with
Jewish-Christians preaching this false doctrine previously? See Acts 14:26-28;
15:1, 24.
Answer: Jewish-Christians visited Paul's home
church in Antioch, Syria and falsely presented themselves as representatives of
the mother Church in Jerusalem. They caused chaos in the community by telling
the Gentile-Christians that unless they were circumcised according to Mosaic
Law, they could not be saved.
The unsettling visit by the Jewish-Christians from Judah took place in about 49/50 AD. The Jewish-Christians were insisting that the covenant sign of circumcision that God gave Abraham (Gen 17:9-14) and repeated in Mosaic Law (Lev 12:3) was still in effect, and Gentiles could not enter into a covenant relationship with God without it. We can only imagine the upset this teaching caused in the mixed Jewish and Gentile Christian community at Antioch. There were also implications for the many new Gentile-Christian communities Paul and Barnabas founded on their first missionary journey from which they had recently returned (Acts 13-14).
Question: What was the result of this threat to
unity with Gentile converts? What action did the Antioch church take and what
was the result? See Acts 15:2-35.
Answer: The Antioch Christians decided to send
Paul and Barnabas as their representatives to the Apostles in Jerusalem to
receive a definitive answer whether circumcision of the flesh and observation
of Mosaic Law was necessary for salvation as the Jewish-Christians, especially
those of the party of the Pharisees, insisted (Acts 15:5). The Church's first
Council decided that physical circumcision was not necessary for salvation, and
Gentiles did not have to become Jews to become members of the New Covenant
Church.
Paul addressed this false teaching in several letters, including his letters, and it is probably not the first time he has mentioned it to the Philippians. To some members of the Galatian community drawn to this false teaching and to those who were unsure, he wrote that Christ has set them free from bondage to the Old Law: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. It is I, Paul, who am telling you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Once again I declare to every man who has himself circumcised that he is bound to observe the entire law. You are separated from Christ, you who are trying to be justified by the law; you have fallen from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we await the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love (Gal 5:1-6).
Paul makes the point, if a person accepts circumcision as necessary, then that person must adhere to all the rituals of the old Law. In that case, that person has denied the work of Christ who fulfilled the old rituals that separated Jews from Gentiles and denies that He established a New and better Covenant. In the Letter to the Hebrews, that was probably Paul's last homily to the Jewish Christians of Jerusalem, the focus of his sermon was the nature and mission of Jesus Christ and the fulfillment and end of the rituals of the Old Mosaic Covenant: When he [Christ] speaks of a "new" covenant, he declares the first one obsolete (Heb 8:13a).
Question: When did Jesus declare a "New
Covenant"? See Lk 22:20.
Answer: At the Last Supper, St. Luke records "And
likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in
my blood, which will be shed for you."
Paul will repeat Jesus' announcement of a "New Covenant" in his first letter to the Corinthians when he writes concerning the institution of the Eucharist that he received directly from the resurrected Jesus: For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes (1 Cor 11:23-26). Paul's point in his letters concerning the Jewish-Christians who want to keep the Old Covenant is that you cannot hang on to the old if you want to have the divine graces that come from the new. To hold on to the one is to deny the other in God's plan for mankind's salvation.
God divinely revealed the Law of Moses, and it was good for its time. However, Christ came to bring the old Law to perfection in His New Covenant Law of love (Gal 5:14; CCC 1962-64). If someone submits to circumcision after baptism, it amounts to subjecting oneself to practices that have no value and deprive one of the fruits of Christ's Redemption. Paul's point is that subjection to the Law brings with it a loss of freedom in Christ. Using his apostolic authority, Paul writes that for the man who submits to receiving circumcision of the flesh, Christ and the New Covenant will be of no advantage in that person's plan of salvation.
Paul wrote on the same subject that real circumcision is a matter of the heart in his letter to the Romans: Circumcision, to be sure, has value if you observe the law; but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. Again, if an uncircumcised man keeps the precepts of the law, will he not be considered circumcised? Indeed, those who are physically uncircumcised but carry out the law will pass judgment on you, with your written law and circumcision, who break the law. One is not a Jew outwardly. True circumcision is not outward, in the flesh. Rather, one is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit, no the letter; his praise is not from human beings but from God (Rom 2:25-29).
Under the Old Covenant, men became members of the covenant God made with Abraham and with Israel and an heir to the covenant promises associated with those covenants. In agreement with those covenants, circumcision obliged the Jews to keep the entire Mosaic Law, not only its moral precepts (which continued into the New Covenant) but also all the purity rites. Those laws included eating certain foods, abstaining from others, wearing certain kinds of clothing, and other requirements that separated Jews from Gentiles. However, with the coming of the Messiah, God's salvation was now extended to all nations, making Jews and Gentiles equal in God's plan of salvation as those who live in Christ with circumcised hearts and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through the rite of Christian Baptism (Rom 10:12).3
4a although
I myself have grounds for confidence even in the flesh.
Paul's point is that he knows the subject and is
confident in what he teaches because he bears the marks of circumcision on his
flesh. This first part of verse 4 serves as a bridge to Paul's defense of his
knowledge of the subject in verses 4b-6.
Philippians 3:4b-6 ~ Paul's
Connection to the Old Covenant and its Rituals
4b If
anyone else thinks he can be confident in flesh, all the more can I. 5 Circumcised on the eighth day, of the race of
Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance
of the law a Pharisee, 6 in zeal I
persecuted the church, in righteousness based on the law I was blameless.
In verses 4b-6, Paul provides his credentials as a Jew,
pointing out that, according to the Jews, he had everything he needed for the
promise of salvation under the Old Law.
Question: What points does he make concerning his
Jewish pedigree?
Answer:
We should point out that the Old Law was limited in that it could only promise the hope of salvation. It was the precursor and preparation for revealed Law the New Covenant (CCC 1962, 1964). The Old Law could not obtain for the faithful entrance into Heaven, nor could it provide the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. These were only gifts of grace provided through Jesus Christ in the New Covenant (CCC 73, 1023, 1026, 1965).
Philippians 3:7-11 ~
Righteousness from Faith in Christ
7 [But] whatever
gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I even consider everything as
a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his
sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much
rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and
be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but
that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending
on faith 10 to know him and the
power of his resurrection and [the] sharing of his sufferings by being
conformed to his death, 11 if
somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Paul rejects what gains he made as an Old Covenant Jew. The benefits of being considered a righteous Pharisee under the Law count as nothing compared to the blessings he receives from Jesus (3:8). God's gifts to us in our relationship with Christ Jesus far exceed any good available under the old Law. The New Covenant gives us the supreme good of knowing Jesus as our Lord and Savior and all the eternal benefits from that relationship (CCC 428).
In verses 8-9, Paul writes of "knowing" Jesus as his Lord, but his "knowing" is far more than his experience of Christ on the Damascus Road. The experience with the resurrected Jesus was more than simply an event that brought him to believe in Jesus. The encounter was the beginning of the difference between knowing about Jesus and the beginning of a love relationship with Jesus as his Lord Messiah. In that personal relationship, Jesus fulfilled the promises of the prophets and called Paul to a lifetime of commitment that promised eternal salvation.
In verse 9, Paul makes a distinction between legal righteousness under the Old Covenant Law (Dt 6:25) and the divine righteousness that we receive through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus as our Lord under the New Covenant. In Romans 5:17-21, concerning Adam and Christ and the difference between the Old and New Covenants, Paul wrote: For if, by transgression of one person, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of justification come to reign in the life through the one person Jesus Christ. In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. For just as through the disobedience of one person the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of one the many will be made righteous. The law entered in so that transgression might increase but, where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Paul's point is that legal righteousness under the Law is not a saving righteousness because it depends on human effort apart from the grace of God, and it cannot grant the gift of a bodily resurrection and eternal salvation. Paul makes the same distinction in Romans 9:30-32 and 10:3.
Philippians 3:12-16 ~ Forward in Christ
12 It is not that
I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but
I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been
taken possession of by Christ [Jesus]. 13 Brothers,
I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing:
forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the
prize of God's upward calling, in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us, then, who are "perfectly mature" adopt this attitude.
And if you have a different attitude, this too God will reveal to you. 16 Only, with regard to what we have attained,
continue on the same course.
Paul writes in verse 12 that he has not yet attained "perfect maturity" in Christ, but he continues to pursue righteousness in Christ that is a lifetime pursuit (verses 13-14). Once again, Paul refutes the doctrine of eternal security which suggests a simple, one-time profession of faith is all that is needed to attain salvation. It is Paul's goal to faithfully strive his whole life to one day possess Jesus' promise of eternal life in Christ's heavenly kingdom.
Question: What does Paul mean in verse 12 when he
says "I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus]"? See Acts 9:13-19.
Answer: He is referring to his conversion
experience with the resurrected and glorified Jesus on the Damascus Road. It
was an experience that changed the direction of his life forever when Christ
not only called him to discipleship but took possession of his entire life,
telling Ananias that Paul was His chosen instrument.
14 I
continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God's upward calling, in
Christ Jesus.
Paul compares his journey of faith to a race. The prize
is salvation; however, it will remains unclaimed until he crosses the "finish
line" at the end of his life. In the meantime, the race to salvation
continues. Paul liked the race imagery and wrote in the same way in 1
Corinthians 9:24-27, urging Christians to "run so as to win." Christians must
summon their faith energy to strive for holiness "without which no one will see
the Lord" (Heb 12:14).
15 Let us, then,
who are "perfectly mature" adopt this attitude. And if you have a different
attitude, this too God will reveal to you. 16 Only,
with regard to what we have attained, continue on the same course.
Some translations put quotation marks around the words
"perfectly mature" to suggest that Paul is using the same words that some members
of the community use to describe themselves as a mild criticism. Paul does not
use such a description for himself since he wrote in verse 12: ...not that I
have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity. Paul's
point is those who think of themselves as already spiritually mature need to
adopt Paul's more realistic sense of being God's unfinished business.
The next sentence drives home that point when Paul writes, And if you have a different attitude, this too God will reveal to you. The Greek word for having an attitude is phroneo and recalls Paul's use of the same word in 2:5 in his exhortation to put on the attitude of Christ manifested in His self-emptying and obedience to the Father (2:6-11). Anyone who thinks he or she is already fully mature in faith needs to understand that putting on "the mind of Christ" is a matter of lifelong learning and submission to the work of the Holy Spirit in one's life.
Philippians 3:17-21 ~ Righteous Conduct and the Goal
17 Join with
others in being imitators of me, brothers, and observe those who thus conduct
themselves according to the model you have in us. 18 For many, as I have often told you and now
tell you even in tears, conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction. Their God is their
stomach; their glory is in their "shame." Their minds are occupied with earthly
things. 20 But our citizenship is
in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will change our lowly body to conform with
his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into
subjection to himself.
In verse 17, Paul does not deny their progress in "knowing" Christ. It is something he acknowledged in the "thanksgiving" section in the introduction of the letter (1:6). Paul's point is that the Philippian Christians must avoid become complacent and continue to move forward in faith and knowledge of Christ. He asks them to follow his example and others who model their behavior on Christ (1 Cor 11:1; Phil 4:9). Paul is not being arrogant in asking the Philippian community to imitate him. He is entirely dedicated to living a Christ-centered life and humbly offers his life as an example for his friends to follow (1 Cor 11:1; 4:6; Phil 4:9; 1 Thes 1:6; 2 Thes 3:7-9). Taking inspiration from the lives of the Saints is a long-standing tradition in the Church.
18 For
many, as I have often told you and now tell you even in tears, conduct
themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction. Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their "shame." Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
Paul returns to another topic he raised with them before,
warning them against those who do not live in imitation of Christ. These are
their enemies because they are enemies of "the Cross of Christ" and His Church.
Question: How does Paul characterize these
people? Why does Paul give this warning "with tears"?
Answer:
Paul gives this warning "with tears" because worldly thinking and fleshly pursuits will keep these people, some of whom may be members of the community, from Heaven and will contribute to their ultimate doom.
20 But our
citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ.
The Romans of Philippi, many of whom are probably members
of the Christian community, highly prized their Roman citizenship that gave privileges
in the Empire that non-citizens did not have. Paul reminds them that this
honor cannot compare to becoming a citizen of the heavenly Kingdom of the Lord
Jesus Christ in the company of saints and angels. Paul will write that the
faithful have the hope of citizenship in ...the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly
of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits
of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the
sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel (Heb 12:21-24).
The Universal Catechism in article 2795 tells us that heaven "...refers us back to the mystery of the covenant we are living when we pray to our Father. He is in heaven, his dwelling place; the Father's house is our homeland. Sin has exiled us from the land of the covenant, but conversion of heart enables us to return to the Father, to heaven. In Christ, then, heaven and earth are reconciled, for the Son alone descended from heaven' and causes us to ascend there with him, by his Cross, Resurrection, and Ascension." And Catechism # 2796 assures us that Christians "... are in the flesh, but do not live according to the flesh. They spend their lives on earth, but are citizens of heaven."
21
He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body
by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to
himself.
We have Christ's promise that if we persevere in faith,
the day will come when He will transform our lowly body to conform with his
glorified body. He will make our frail mortal bodies into glorious
immortal bodies like His when He completes His work of salvation in His Second
Coming (CCC 999). He will accomplish this through His divine power that allows
Him to make all things in creation subject to Himself because He is God the Son.
Paul tells the Philippian Christians that they will be transformed, and the Church will receive her perfection only in the glory of Heaven, at the time of Christ's glorious return to collect His Bride. Until that day, the Church continues on her pilgrimage, enduring in faith this world's persecutions and encouraged by God's consolations. In her earthly exile, she knows that she is far from the Lord, but she longs for the full coming of Christ's Kingdom when she will be united in glory with her Bridegroom and Divine King.
Questions for discussion or reflection:
What does living in the image of Christ mean to you? Does
striving for this goal give you joy or anxiety on your faith journey?
Endnotes:
1. According to St. Polycarp (69-155), Bishop of Smyrna,
St. Paul wrote more than one letter to the Philippians (Letter to the
Philippians, 3.2).
2. LORD in capital letters replaces the Divine Name, YHWH [Yahweh], in the Greek translation of the original Hebrew text. Some English translations continue this false piety of not using the Divine Name, ignoring God's command in Exodus 3:15b. Referring to His Divine Name, Yahweh, God said: "This is my name for all time, and thus I am to be invoked for all generations to come" (NJB). The first human to use God's Divine Name in Scripture was Eve in Genesis 4:1.
3. The issue of circumcision and the end of all Mosaic ritual law caused the defection of many Jewish-Christians who rejected the inclusion of Gentiles without them first converting to become Jews. They formed their own community, calling themselves Ebionites. They acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah but insisted on keeping all the rituals and fests of Mosaic Law. As a group, they died out in the second century AD.
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2018 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.
Additional Catechism references for this lesson
(*
indicates Scripture is either quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
3:6 (CCC 752*)
3:8-11 (CCC 428)
3:8 (CCC 133)
3:10-11 (CCC 989*, 1006*)
3:10 (CCC 648*)
3:20 (CCC 1038, 2796*)
3:21 (CCC 556, 999)