True Circumcision

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.
Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation 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 the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:1-11

“Finally” turned out not to be, because Paul seemed to be on a roll and picking up steam with this epistle. He couldn’t seem to stress enough that Christians should always rejoice “in the Lord” (our position IN CHRIST). Don’t worry about the repetition, Philippians, Repetition is a good thing. If Paul keeps repeating it, some of us will get it. Repetition burns the principle into our brains, so that there are some doctrines we will not forget.

More warnings are in order, even though we are rejoicing with Paul in the Lord: there were and are dogs among us. “Dogs in the Old Testament were false shepherds and prophets who did not warn the people nor feed the flock.” – J. Vernon McGee. That is a dangerous situation, believer. Be careful who you trust. If the pastor is not teaching the whole Word of God, he is not serving Christ or tending the flock (Isaiah 56:10-12). He is leaving the flock vulnerable to the demonic forces who are working to neutralize what little they’ve learned.

The Jews set great store by the “mark” of circumcision, which identified them as Abraham’s children and the people of God. It originated as a physical sign of Abraham’s faith in the promise of God (Genesis 17:10-11). It was continued through the generations of Israel as an identifier of that covenant. Problem was, they continued the physical sign in all their males, but the meaning of the mark had long since been lost in their ritualistic religion. Therefore, Paul called it “false” circumcision, because it no longer retained its original meaning to the people, for they did not understand or believe in the God who ordained it. Circumcision to the Jews is much like baptism is to Christians. It is a ritual that depicts a reality, and without the reality of the symbolism in one’s soul, it means nothing. There is no righteousness in human works of any kind, nor in physical ritual. True righteousness belongs to God and is imputed by God to those who believe in His Son. This was Paul’s only goal. GOD’s Righteousness.

Paul gladly tossed away the accolades he earned as a model Pharisee, because it is only IN CHRIST that he could ever realize the eternal life God provided for all of us. He spent the rest of his life preaching the very gospel he had tried to destroy, and indeed he died for that very gospel.

“We” who worship God in Spirit and Truth; we who believe in and love the Lord Jesus Christ; we who know that the flesh cannot please God, “We” are of the true circumcision of the heart (Romans 2:29). That is what makes us God’s people, not a physical scar.

If anyone could glory in his fleshly pedigree, it was Paul. He gave his qualifications in verses 5 and 6. No one was a more Jewish Jew than Saul of Tarsus. His parents had kept the law concerning their son’s circumcision. He himself had kept the law to the very best of his knowledge. He was a Benjaminite, a Pharisee, a zealot for defending the Jewish religion by persecuting the Christians. As Jews go, Saul took the prize. But he didn’t want that prize anymore. That prize is worthless. The only thing of value is faith in the Perfect Person and finished Work of our Lord Jesus Christ.