Paul has some strong words for the Philippian church about people who want them to be justified by the law rather than by grace.
[This discussion can be read aloud in just over 7 min.]
Philippians: Shine Like Stars – DAY 69
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DAY 69/THURSDAY
Philippians 3:1-3
Strong Words
“Further, my brothers and sisters, 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. 2Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by His Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh…”
Philippians 3:1-3 (NIV)
*Click here to read in the NIrV, NLT, ESV, & CSB.
Building Biblical Literacy
- Comprehension asks, “What does it say?”
- Interpretation asks, “What does it mean?”
- Application asks, “How should it change me?”
*Jen Wilkin, Women of the Word, p.87 (2014)
In our DAY 63 discussion, we said we would go through these three stages of good literacy-building here at the beginning of Philippians 3.
DAY 63 was about Comprehension.
In our DAY 64 discussion, we began Interpretation.
Today, we continue Interpretation, as we did on DAY 65, DAY 66, & DAY 67, always aiming to correctly handle the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).
| WARNING: Parental Discretion is advised. In the following, we continue to discuss circumcision. Some parents may feel the topic is too sensitive for younger children. Please read ahead before you decide whether or not to discuss this topic as a family. |
Galatians 5 & Philippians 3
As part of our careful study of Philippians 3, we must deal with what the apostle Paul has written about circumcision. Our DAY 68 Bible word search revealed that Paul’s letter to the Galatian believers uses some form of the word circumcision 13 times. We studied what Paul has to say about it in Galatians 2; today, we move on to Galatians 5.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9‘A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.’ 10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!”
Galatians 5:1-12 (NIV)
In this excerpt from Paul’s letter to the Church in Galatia, we get a clearer picture of his views on circumcision and his opinion of those who insist that Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians be circumcised — the agitators he calls “those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh” in Philippians 3:2.
Let’s do a little Q & A in order to comprehend and interpret this passage.
Q & A – Galatians 5:1-6
Q: According to Paul, for what has Christ set His followers free?
A: For freedom
Q: What burden are the Galatian Christians told to “stand firm” against?
A: “A yoke of slavery”
Q: Paul says Christ will be of no value to the Galatians at all if what?
A: If they let themselves be circumcised
Q: What does Paul declare “to every man who lets himself be circumcised”?
A: That “he is obligated to obey the whole law”
Q: What has happened to those who “are trying to be justified by the law”?
A: They “have been alienated from Christ” and “have fallen away from grace.”
Q: Paul says “we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope” through what?
A: Through the Spirit
Q: In Christ Jesus what does not have any value?
A: “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision”
Q: So, in Christ, what is the only thing that counts?
A: “Faith expressing itself through love”
Whew! Let’s take a breath. There is a lot of important info packed into these 6 verses! How about summing it up in a table?
| Christ alone | Christ + circumcision |
| freedom | slavery |
| grace | obligation to the whole law |
| [in Christ] | alienated from Christ |
| through the Spirit | [through the flesh] |
| faith expressed through love | [works of the flesh] |
Obviously, this table doesn’t give us the complete story, but it can be a helpful visual as we try to understand & interpret.
Now, on to the next six verses.
Q & A – Galatians 5:7-12
“You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9‘A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.’ 10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!”
Galatians 5:7-12 (NIV)
Q: Paul tells the Galatian believers that they “were running a good race.” Then what does he ask them?
A: “Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?”
Q: From whom does “that kind of persuasion” not come?
A: It “does not come from the one who calls you.“
Q: What quote does Paul use to emphasize his point?
A: “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”
Q: Paul is “confident in the Lord” about something. What is it?
A: That the Galatians to whom he is writing will take no other view than the one Paul is presenting to them
Q: Who will have to pay the penalty for this persuasion that has “cut in” on the Galatians to keep them from obeying the truth?
A: The one who is throwing them into confusion
Q: What does Paul ask the Galatians brothers & sisters in verse 11?
A: “If I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?”
Q: If that is the case, what does Paul say has been abolished?
A: “The offense of the cross”
Q: Paul wishes something “for those agitators” who have persuaded the Galatians they need to be circumcised to be Christian. What is it?
A: That “they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!”
Paul’s Strong Words
Emasculate is a strong word. What does it mean?
| emasculate: | to castrate (remove the testicles of a male) |
Do you think Paul feels strongly about this subject?!?
Yes! This is a very serious matter to him!
Why does Paul use such strong words when addressing circumcision?
We’ll answer that in our next discussion.
DAY 69/THURSDAY Prayer
Father God,
Thank You for Your Word.
Paul wrote & instructed Timothy to do his best to present himself to You, God, “as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15).
We pray that as we continue to study Philippians, we, too, will correctly handle the word of truth. Some of these topics, like circumcision, are harder to understand than others. Lord, we ask that You will guide us in Your truth and teach us, for You are God our Savior, and our hope is in You all day long (Psalm 25:5).
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
DAY 69: Paul has some strong words for the Philippian church about people who want them to be justified by the law rather than by grace.