Church at Philippi, Part 1

Thank you, Blake, very much for the special music. It's very, very enjoyable. Appreciate that very much. Today I want to begin part one of a two-part series that focuses on just one particular letter that was written by the Apostle Paul. It's a letter in which Paul addresses an age-old problem, and in fact, a letter in which he addresses the very problem that we're facing right now in the United Church of God, which has led to the present split in the Church. Not very long after the Jerusalem Conference, which took place about 49 A.D., according to Acts 15, the Apostle Paul, shortly after that, or within a year or so, had a vision. Let's turn to Acts 16 and begin there. Acts 16, beginning in verse 9. It says, You know, God looked down and saw this individual. He was coming to the knowledge that Christ was the Messiah, and he wanted to understand more. He desperately wanted to know and understand the truth. And God was opening his mind to that, but yet he didn't have anybody there to assist him in that. And God had to put it into the mind of the Apostle Paul by this vision that he needed to go there to talk to this individual who needed help. Going on to verse 10. Now, after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Sumatra, and the next day came to Neopolis. And from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, and which is a colony. Philippi was a Roman colony. Roman colonies were established in certain cities to keep peace and to be strategic locations and centers in Rome's far-flung empire, which to operate. And as a Roman colony, it would have probably had about 300 Roman soldiers, along with their wives and family, living there in that particular city of Philippi. And as this verse goes on to say, Paul and his companions stayed in Philippi, for a number of days afterwards. Going on to verse 13, Acts 16. And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made. And we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. And now a certain woman named Lydia heard us, and she was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshipped God. And the Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken of by Paul.

This, then, you could say, is the very fledgling beginning of the Church of Philippi. And Lady became one of the first members of that Church of God at Philippi. Later, as it says here in this chapter, I think later they met in her home. Now, as soon as they said she was a seller of purple, which indicates that she was maybe a more well-to-do member of the city of Philippi. Because purple was one of the most costly substances of the ancient world. And as a seller of purple, that would be a pretty good trade, pretty lucrative trade to be in at that time. Going on in verse 15, And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay. So she persuaded them to come to stay in her house for a while. Verse 16, It happened as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl then, possessed with the spirit of divination, met us, who brought her master as much profit by fortune-telling. So this just indicates here that there were also slaves in Philippi, as there were throughout the Roman Empire. And some of those slaves undoubtedly later became members of God's Church. As we know, in many cases, indications that slaves did become members of God's Church.

So about this time, Paul founded a church at Philippi. And as the time went on, because he founded that church, and was right on the ground floor of it, he became very, very attached to its members. It became very special to him, very much a part of his heart.

Now the Church of Philippi, so it had some slaves from the very lower class of society as members. It had people like Lydia, probably from the more well-to-do side of society. And also, as being a Roman colony, it had probably some Roman soldiers and some Romans, who had become a part of the church, and they would be more middle-class people. So the Church of Philippi would have been a very diverse church, even as our church is today, with members from all strata, all walks of life, and all levels of society, from the very, very poor to the more well-to-do, and the middle class, from the top to the bottom, and so on. With that background in mind, we'll now jump forward about ten years or more to around 61 A.D.

A little bit late, by 61 A.D., Paul is now a prisoner. He's a Roman prisoner. He doesn't know what his future holds. He knows he could well be facing death. He's appealed to Caesar, and he's being held in Rome, appealing to Caesar, waiting for that appeal. That's when he writes this letter to his beloved church at Philippi. That's the letter we'll look at today. Today we will look at Paul's letter to the church at Philippi, and we'll look at a particular problem that he addresses that was coming to a head in this particular church at that time. We'll look at the solution to that problem that he gives us. I just want to mention something. Evelyn bought me this Bible that I'm using today. She bought this back in Michigan all about this past summer, Sam's. She knew I needed an extra Bible. Mine was kind of becoming frayed, and so on. But this Bible has a very interesting introduction to the books. I want to read a little bit from the introduction this Bible gives. It's the New King James. It's the Nelson Bible, but it's the more recent one. The introduction it gives to the book of Philippians. It says, As a central thought is simple, only in Christ are real unity and joy possible. With Christ as your model of humility and service, you can enjoy a oneness of purpose, attitude, goal, and labor. A truth which Paul illustrates from his own life, and one the Philippians desperately need to hear. Within their own ranks, fellow workers in the Philippian church are at odds, hindering the work and proclaiming the new life in Christ. Because of this, Paul exhorts the church to stand fast, be of the same mind, and to rejoice in the Lord always. There was disunity in the church of Philippi.

So we're going to begin to look at this particular letter today, for part one, we'll conclude next time. But the title for my sermon here this afternoon is The Church of Philippi, Part 1. The Church of Philippi, Part 1. And if you want the full title, then under that you could put disunity, colon, the cause. Disunity, the cause. We'll look at the cause of disunity. Next time we'll look at the solution he gives in this letter. Paul considers—and when I look at the first list, you can be turned into the book of Philippians. I'm going to first read it in verse 4, because Paul considers all the members of the church of Philippi who are filled by his very, very dear friends. He found the church. He knows all of them personally. And that's very apparent from what he says in chapter 4, verse 1. Philippians 4, verse 1, where Paul says, Therefore, my beloved and longed forebrethren— and he's writing this from Rome as a prisoner— my beloved and longed forebrethren, my joy, my crown. He says, Stand fast in the Lord, beloved. Stand fast. Focus on Jesus Christ and stand fast. Don't let somebody persuade you to go some other direction.

Focus on and stand fast in Christ. Don't focus on being bothered by what you are outwardly experiencing, individually, in your own lives, or collectively as a congregation. You stand fast.

Now, the interesting thing also about this particular letter, there is no indication whatsoever in this letter that there are any doctrinal problems in the Church of God it's filled by. Also, there's nothing in this letter to indicate that there's any glaring sins that somebody has that they need to repent of. But there is a problem, which Paul gives evidence of in Revelation in Philippians 2, 2, where he implores them to be, quote, like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind. He realized that was being threatened by some in the Church of Philippi.

The one danger which threatened the Philippian Church, and of course what threatens our Church today, of all of us collectively, was that of disunity. Very interesting what William Barkley says in his commentary on this aspect of his letter to the Church of Philippi. In regard to disunity, here's what William Barkley says, is when people are really in earnest, and their beliefs really matter to them, that they are apt to get up against each other. The greater their enthusiasm, the greater danger that they may collide. It is against this danger that Paul wishes to safeguard his friends in the Philippian Church. So with that in mind, notice how Paul opens this letter. He opens this letter in a rather unique way. The only other letter that kind of parallels this a little bit is the book of Romans, but even here, Philippians is even unique compared to how he opens Romans. But notice how he opens this letter to the Church of Philippi in Philippians 1, verse 1. He says, Paul and Timothy bond servants of Jesus Christ. To all the saints in Christ, Jesus, who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons. So Paul opens this particular letter in a unique way. Most of his other letters, if you go and look at all his other letters, most of them he opens with Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, but not this letter. Here he opens by saying, Paul and Timothy bond servants of Jesus Christ. See, Paul was a prisoner at Rome, but that mattered little to the apostle Paul. Because first and foremost, whether he was a prisoner or whether he was free, first and foremost, Paul knew that he was a bond servant. He was a slave of Jesus Christ.

The point being made to those in Philippi, that in that regard, he could say that it doesn't matter who we are in the Church, it doesn't matter what our position is or whatever, we're all in the same boat. See, regardless of our office, regardless of the title we might have, regardless of our circumstances, good or bad, regardless of what happened to us, fair or maybe unfair, regardless of any of those things, whatever they may be, we're all slaves of Jesus Christ, which means that our life is not our own.

See, Paul may have had a high office and a high responsibility in the Church, but he was still only a slave. He was a bond servant of Jesus Christ. And you stop and think, if everyone understood that, there would be no cause for disunity in the Church. Why not? Because it puts everyone in the same boat. It reduces everyone to a common denominator, to that of being a slave, a slave of Jesus Christ. And he realized, in this particular situation, in addressing this letter, it was very important that everyone in the Church at Philippi, leaders and members alike, understood that concept.

Now, another unique way in which Paul opens this letter is by not only addressing it to all the saints, but also to the bishops and deacons. Most of his letter, he addresses it to the saints. But here he includes bishops and deacons. He includes the leadership. So obviously, part of this problem stems from the leadership. So he's telling the leaders in the Philippian Church that they also need to see themselves as bondservants of Jesus Christ, just like Paul and Timothy saw themselves.

What does it mean to be a bondservant of Jesus Christ? What does it mean to be a slave? Well, it means that Christ is our only master. It means that he bought us for a price, that he owns us. The price being, of course, his own blood and the giving of his life. And it means we can never belong to anyone else. It means that we cannot even belong to ourselves. We belong to Jesus Christ. He bought us with his own blood. It means that our life is not our own. That we can never follow our will or our agenda.

Our will must always be the will of our master. It must always be the will of Jesus Christ.

And Paul is writing this as a friend to his friends. Not as impossible as a friend to his friends. Going on here, Philippians 1, verse 2, he says, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God, if I never remembrance of you. I'm sure you remember them and thought of them often. Always in every prayer of mine, making requests to you all with joy. For your fellowship in the Gospel from the first day until now. And then the scripture that Tim read in the sermonette, Being come to this very thing that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. If we stand fast in the Lord, as he said in chapter 4, verse 1. If we focus on Jesus Christ, and we understand that we are slaves of Jesus Christ, God will work out his purpose in us and all that he has called. And some may go down another road. But as Tim mentioned in his sermonette, even there when some go down the road, God will still work out his purpose in their lives. In the long run. So he was saying, don't be swayed by what is happening. Don't let any man take your crown, Revelation 3.11. Because if we stand fast in Jesus Christ, God will complete the work that he has begun in us. We have to focus on Christ and what he taught and on his example. Going on here in verse 7, chapter 1. Jesus is right for me to think of this of all of you, because I have you in my heart, he said. As much as both in my chains and in my defense and in confirmation of the Gospel, you all are partakers of me of grace, with me, excuse me, with me of God's grace, in God's mercy and favor that he's bestowed upon us. We don't deserve. For God is my witness how greatly I long for you all with affection of Jesus Christ. And this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and in all discernment. He says, you better have the love of God, you better have the love of Jesus Christ. And you better, any knowledge that you get, you better put it in there with God's love. And understand what God's love is and how that fits in. And have the discernment of Jesus Christ and God the Father and God's love that can give you. They were in a situation where they needed discernment. We need discernment today. And he said, the way to have your discernment is to make sure your love for each other abounds more and more. Don't ever cut yourselves off from one another.

That you may approve the things that are excellent. He says, don't look at the things that are bad and negative and all this stuff. He says, look at things that are excellent, things that are good, things that are positive, things that are uplifting and encouraging. Approve the things that are excellent. That you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ. Make sure you don't do anything that would offend anybody or be offensive to God. Be filled with the fruits of righteousness, which comes, of course, from God's Spirit. Look to see, have discernment. Is this action? Is this producing the fruits of God's Holy Spirit? That's Holy Spirit, Galatians 5, 23. Love, joy, peace, long suffering, so on. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, are not from us. It's not our righteousness, it's righteous of Jesus Christ living in us. They're by Jesus Christ. To the glory and praise of God, not to our praise and glory, but to the praise and glory of God.

They only come from Christ living in us. See, we can never take credit for our righteousness, or for what we accomplish, or what we might seek to accomplish. Anything that is accomplished to any of us is accomplished by Jesus Christ living his life in us. See, we're all slaves of Jesus Christ, and whatever we accomplish can only be attributed to our Master. That's the point that Paul is making. A lot of bad things happened to Paul. As I said, even as he was writing this very letter, he was a prisoner of Nero. And, of course, Nero, not long after this would go mad, he wasn't mad at this point, but he was heading that direction. But he was a prisoner of Nero, awaiting a problematic death sentence. And yet, notice what he says next. You think in a situation like that, the apostle Paul would be discouraged, and think, wow, this is the end. God can't accomplish anything through me in this situation. I'm a prisoner. That's not what Paul thought. Notice what he says next in verse 12 of chapter 1. I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel. They're going to further God's plan. Because anything that happens, God's going to turn it around and cause it to further His plan. Do we still believe that today? Can things that happened to us, individually or collectively, good or bad, actually turn out for the furtherance of the gospel? Will our present disunity and split in united turn out for the furtherance of the gospel?

See, with Christ as our master, with Christ as the master of His Church, with Christ as the head of the Church, it could turn out no other way.

It will undoubtedly lead to the furtherance of the gospel. And everyone will learn what we all need to learn in the process.

But know what happened. Here's the thing that's amazing. You go back to history here, 2000 years ago, when Paul wrote this letter. Know what happened as a result of Paul being a Roman prisoner. Let's go back now for a second to Acts chapter 28. Acts chapter 28, verse 16. When we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoner to the captain of the guard, that was Paul. But Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him. He was probably chained to that particular soldier. Then the last two verses, verses 30 and 31. Then Paul dwelled two whole years in his own rented house and received all who came to him. Paul had been chained to this Roman guard during all that time because he was a prisoner. And going on, verse 31. Preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him. Well, for two years, Paul was chained to a Roman soldier who guarded him day and night while he was awaiting trial in Rome, having appealed to Caesar, as it says in verse 19 of Acts 28. And it was during that very time that Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians. It was this very time when he wrote that the things which have happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the Gospels we just read in Philippians 1, verse 12.

This turned out to further the spreading of the Gospel in a very, very remarkable way. When you look at it here to see how remarkable it is, how this turned around to fulfill what Paul said. Syndicated by the closing greeting of Paul's letter to the church in Philippi, Paul was a prisoner in Rome, a feeling to Caesar. He was chained to a Roman guard for two years. As we just read, receiving all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence. How far did Paul's teaching go?

Who are some of those who came to the apostle Paul during that time that he received? Did any from Caesar's own household hear of Paul's teaching and come to him? As we go, did any of Caesar's household become members of the church? Notice how Paul closes his letter to the church of Philippi. Go back now to Philippians 4. And let's look at the last few verses. Philippians 4. We'll pick it up in verse 20. Where, including this letter, Paul writes, Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. And then verse 21, Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. He says, The brethren who with me greet you. Who were some of those brethren who were now with the apostle Paul at Rome and who are now along with parts of the church and who are now along with Paul sending their greetings to the church of Philippi? Verse 22, All the saints greet you, but especially, and he's including us as part of the saints, especially those who are of Caesar's household. Now, that doesn't mean that those were part of Caesar's immediate family. They were kinship of Caesar, necessarily. But it would refer to those who were in the imperial civil service of Caesar. That would include his palace officials, his secretaries, those in charge of imperial revenues, those who may have been a part of Caesar's day by today administration, part of Caesar's government, in other words. So, if Paul is a prisoner in Rome, the presence of the gospel penetrated to the very center, to the very top of the Roman government, which is the most powerful government in the world at that time, right up into those who were part of Caesar's administrative government. You can't go any further than that in spreading the gospel. And some of those individuals became members of the Church of God at Rome. Back to chapter 1 of Philippians. Again, verse 12, I want you to know, brethren, the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the presence of the gospel, because he knew at that time that some, even from Caesar's household, were now part of God's church. They had gone to the very top, all because he was a prisoner in Rome, being guarded by a Roman guard, waiting to appeal to Caesar.

Going on to verse 13, So that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest that my chains are in Jesus Christ.

And most of the brethren in the Lord have become confident by my chains, and much more bold to now speak the word without fear, because of how God had worked through the Apostle Paul for the furtherance of the gospel. Then Paul begins to address the problem of discord and disunity, which seems to have come from some leadership positions in the Church of Philippi, which undoubtedly have been brewing below the surface for many years. Verse 15, Some indeed preach Christ, and he's addressing the Church of Philippi here, some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some from good will. The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains. Some were preaching the truth, but they were envious of others who were now in positions of leadership. And you could understand how that could happen if you understand the situation back then, because some who came into the Church were Jews, they were the circumcision, they had the law, and I think they always had a superior attitude towards others. And I think they always had a superior attitude towards others. And I think they always had a superior attitude towards others. Who maybe were not of that same background. And there were some, apparently here, there were stirring up strife and division. Yet others were promoting good will. So you have to ask, what was the difference between those who were stirring up strife and those who were promoting good will? So the former preach Christ from selfish ambition, verse 16, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my change, but the latter, out of love, knowing that I'm appointed for the defense of the Gospel. You know, remember how Paul opened his letter here? He opened it, saying that he was a slave, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ? Now you think about that. If you're a slave, you can have no selfish ambition. Slaves can't have selfish ambition. Slaves can't have selfish ambition. They can only do what their master tells them to do. There's no, you can't have any ambition of your own if you're a slave. A slave's only ambition can be that of serving and pleasing and carrying out the will of his master. But it would appear here that some in the Church of Philippi were maybe seeking positions of leadership out of selfish ambition.

Yet, even with all that going on, notice the overall attitude of Paul and his confidence in Jesus Christ as the head of the Church. Verse 18, What then? What do we make of this? He says, Well, only that in every way, whether maybe in pretense with the wrong motive behind it, or in truth with the right motive, is the least Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice and I will rejoice. So Paul had absolute faith and confidence in Jesus Christ as the head of the Church. And he had such confidence in Christ that he knew that even those who had maybe some selfish ambition or wrong motives behind their actions, and maybe were only in a pretense really carrying out the will of Christ, he knew that God could still further his purpose and his plan of salvation, even as was mentioned in the sermonette, even though those individuals maybe go a different way. But in the long run, God would still work out his plan of salvation through those individuals as well. So it reveals the true heart of the Apostle Paul. And it shows that Paul didn't really care who received the credit in the long run, who received prestige or position, didn't care what others maybe said behind his back, because I'm sure some did say some things behind his back that were not real positive. But he didn't care about that. He just cared about the truth getting out. He lives as a matter of God's personalities, put the matter totally into the hands of Jesus Christ as the head of the church. But at the same time, Paul was not naive.

He understood the seriousness of the situation, and he wanted to safeguard the members of the Church of Philippi. So it's interesting, and just when you might think he's ending this letter, about in the middle of the letter, just when you think he's coming to a conclusion, he suddenly takes a dramatic and sudden turn. So much so that actually you look at commentaries, some actually look at the letter to the Philippians and they say, this had to be two letters, because it's such a sudden turn in the middle of the letter, they say, well, there must be two letters, and later they were joined together and made into one letter.

Now, it's probably not the case, probably it's one letter. It's just that Paul, at one point, he says, I've got to address the problem here. And he suddenly turns to address the problem. It shows that Paul was aware of the problem of disunity, but he waited until this point in the letter to basically address it and to label those who were the source of the disunity and point out the wrong spiritual perspective that they had. Let's go to Philippians 3. Verse 1, we notice this very abrupt change that takes place.

Philippians 3, verse 1, he says, Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. It sounds like he's about to end the letter. That would sound like a closing remark. It almost sounds like Paul's about to conclude the letter. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe, which would seem to indicate that maybe Paul had written other letters addressing the situation of his problem previous to this that maybe were not preserved.

It could be that he wrote other letters prior to this. It indicates here then the reason why he may have repeated some things is for their good, for their safety, to safeguard them spiritually so they wouldn't be led astray by some who preached Christ from selfish ambition, as we read in chapter 1, verse 16. So Paul is saying here that it is not tedious for him to write the same things to you again, because he did it for their benefit to try to help them understand things and to keep them on the right road, to safeguard them spiritually from those who may have been pursuing selfish ambition.

Then the very next verse, Paul's language takes a very sudden and dramatic turn as he gives his beloved Prince of Philippi a warning. Verse 2, chapter 3, this is a strong language. He says, beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation. Now, we could read this today and not understand what he's talking about. And I want to qualify something here. I'm not in any way saying that any of those who are resigned, I would categorize them in this way. But there are things we can learn from this, things we can understand. But Paul was saying this and addressing this to the leaders in Philippi that were causing the division and disunity back then at that time 2,000 years ago.

But he's saying it in a very strong term, in a very strong way. But today we read this and we're not quite understanding what does he mean. Back then, people read this letter, they would understand what he meant by these particular terms that he used. They're not terms we would generally use today.

But he started, obviously, beware of dogs. Now, for us, you know, that might be a positive thing. We have a little dog. We have a lovely little dog. We can be very pretty ferocious at times, but she's a pretty cute little dog. Most dogs today, they're domestic pets that we have, that we love. And so it's a very endearing term to be a dog.

But back then, you have to understand the situation back then when Paul wrote this, most dogs were not domesticated like they are today. Most dogs were just, they roamed free. William Barkley calls them pariah dogs, that they would just roam around sometimes in packs, and they would just survive however they could through whatever people would throw away, maybe getting food from garbage dumps, things like that.

So Paul would understand the spiritual meaning of that. You have to think of this spiritually. And just in that regard, I would just say this. Be careful. Be careful what you take in.

Be careful of what you...you know, today... Be careful of the spiritual food you take in. It's not the physical food that defiles us. It's spiritual things that can defile us. And one area you have to really be careful of today is the Internet. Internet's a wonderful tool. A lot of great stuff on there. There's also a lot of garbage on there. So beware of the garbage, because it can defile your mind. It could take you places you don't want to go. Be very careful. Beware of garbage. And you say, beware of dogs. These dogs lived on garbage. Don't live on garbage. Don't take in garbage.

And also, I guess you could say, as these wild dogs, so to speak, they would probably do a lot of barking, make a lot of noise, sometimes maybe attack and defend their territory. Be very aware of anybody who does that, has that approach.

Then it goes on. It says, beware of evil workers. Those who Paul is referring to would not have considered themselves to be evil workers in any way whatsoever. They would have considered themselves to be workers of righteousness. But the evil work that Paul is referring to is the work of basically having the wrong motive, maybe having selfish ambition. That's what Paul is referring to here. The work of maybe someone following or promoting his own agenda, rather than what Jesus Christ taught and exemplified. Then Paul adds something that we would not understand. It says, beware of the mutilation. What in the world would he mean by that?

It could also be translated, beware of the party of mutilation. Now, there's a tremendous amount of meaning behind that. As William Barkley points out, there's really a play on words here. In fact, in the very next verse, he said, beware of the mutilation. In the very next sentence, it says here, verse 3, but we are the circumcision. See, the two Greek words, if you look them up, mutilation is circumcision. They're long words. I didn't write them down or try to pronounce them because I wouldn't get it correct. But they're very similar. Just the first part of those words are different. They're very similar words in the way they're spelled.

And I would add this just to tie the two words together.

Circumcision has to be performed very carefully, or it can become a mutilation. You don't want that. But what point is Paul trying to make? In the next verse, in verse 3, Paul mentions those who are of the circumcision. So there are some leaders in the Church of Philippi who consider themselves to spiritually being the party of circumcision, if you will. What Paul instead calls them the party of mutilation. Now remember that in the Jerusalem Conference back in 49 A.D., about 11, 12 years prior to this, the decision regarding circumcision had been decided by the Church. That a person did not have to be circumcised to become a member of the Church, to be saved, to receive God's Holy Spirit. Because some thought that, some Jews thought that way. He's going to have to be circumcised. But understand what Paul's really getting at here. We have to think spiritually. The matter of physical circumcision had been settled over 10 years before. But some still felt superior because of who they were. See, that was a problem with circumcision. Those who were circumcised, they were Jews and they were Israel. Because of that, they felt superior to others who did not have that same background.

See, some felt superior because of who they were. They probably felt that way for a long time, all along. And they were judging who they were by our circumstances, because of the fact that they were circumcised. That made them better than others. Some felt that way back at that time. Even as Jews in the past, they judged that they were superior because they were circumcised and they were Jews. But see, our true relationship with Jesus Christ and with God the Father cannot be judged by any outward circumstance. It has to be judged by what's going on in our heart and in our mind. It can only be judged inwardly. It can only be judged by our character and our actions, and how we treat one another and how we love one another based on what's in our heart.

Whether or not we truly show love toward one another. Some in Philippi were claiming righteous based on who they were outwardly. That's what you read between the lines, and especially in chapter 3 you can see that. They were claiming righteous based on their position in the church, maybe, maybe by their long standing in the church, maybe by their record of service to the church. See, none of those things make us righteous. They're all good, well and good, but they don't make us righteous. Only Christ in us makes us righteous. The only righteous we have is Christ in us.

See, all those things that these individuals had, their past service and so on, that Paul is addressing here at the Church of Philippi, that all may be well and good, but... If those same individuals that Paul is referring to here in this letter, they are now tearing the church apart, then even their spiritual circumcision has become a form of mutilation. In other words, what Paul is saying. Thus Paul calls them the party of mutilation rather than the party of circumcision, which they claim to be. They may have had an outward appearance of righteousness, an outward a sign or signs of righteousness, but they were tearing the church of Philippi apart. That's what Paul is addressing. So Paul calls them the party of mutilation. Very, very strong terms. Then Paul goes on to give three signs of how to identify those who are really a truly circumcised of the heart. Paul addresses that the true circumcision of the heart. It's not outward, it's inward. It's of the heart. That's having our heart circumcised to have the love of God in us and Christ in us. Then he gives the signs of those who have true inward conversion. I have inward circumcision. He gives three signs here. All three signs are given in the next verse in verse 3 of Philippians 3. Philippians 3 verse 3 says, first of all, for we are the circumcision, we are those who are truly converted inwardly.

We are the circumcision who worship God in spirit. Worship God in spirit. Not just according to the letter of the law.

Interesting what William Barkley says about this particular verse in his commentary. He says, Christian worship is not a thing of ritual or of the observation of details of the law. That can be a part of it, but that's not what it's really all about. It is a thing of a heart. It is perfectly possible for a man to go through an elaborate liturgy and yet have a heart that is far away from God. It is perfectly possible for him to observe all the outward observances of religion and yet have hatred and bitterness and pride in his heart. And that's what Paul is addressing. Some of the signs Paul gives here to identify those who are the true followers of Jesus Christ is that they worship God in spirit, which will then be manifested by what proceeds from their hearts and it will produce the fruits of God's Holy Spirit. It will produce spiritual fruits. Gentleness, kindness, long suffering, love, patience, meekness, temperance. Against us, there is no law, as Paul said. They're in Galatians 5. Number two, it says they are those who rejoice in Christ Jesus. There's a lot of meaning there. See, a true Christian will not rejoice or boast over what he has accomplished in the past, in regards to how wonderful it might be, or about what his opposite position is in the church or what has been, or I won't boast about how he has served for many years in the church. That's all great. It's wonderful. That's nothing to boast about. See, a true Christian will only rejoice and boast in what Jesus Christ has done for him or her, not what we've done. What has Christ done for us? Where would we be if Christ had not died for us? What would we be if Christ had not called us? God had not called us and drawn us to Christ, I should say. What would we be if Christ was not living his life in us? What would we be on our own? We'd be nowhere. We'd be nothing. We're here because of the mercy and grace of God and because God has called us and worked with us, not because of anything we've done. We're here in spite of ourselves. See, a true Christian will only rejoice in what Christ has done for him or her, about how Christ suffered and died that we might live.

They are those who only rejoice and boast in Christ Jesus. And number three, they are those who have no confidence in the flesh, have no confidence in themselves, have no confidence in their righteousness, no confidence in their abilities. They know all that comes from God. They have no confidence in the flesh. They only have confidence in Jesus Christ. And their only confidence for the future of the Church is in Christ as the head of the Church. That's their confidence. Undoubtedly, those individuals, whoever they were back then, were saying things against Paul, in an attempt to probably discredit him. I'm sure that was going on behind the scenes. So Paul then goes on to list the things that he could, along with them, boast about if he wanted to in the flesh. Paul said, if I really wanted to boast the things in the flesh, as obviously some of them were doing, I could do that. It's not going to get me anywhere. It doesn't make me righteous. But if I wanted to, I could do that. He goes on here in verse 4, he says, Though I also might have confidence in the flesh if I wanted to. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I could have more confidence. Then he goes on to say this in verse 5, I was circumcised also. I'm of the circumcision. I have that background. I was circumcised on the eighth day. I'm the stock of Israel. I'm an Israelite. Not only that, he said, I'm of the tribe of Benjamin. I've got it better than most of you guys do. I'm from Benjamin. That's the Paul and the Lee category. You stop and think about it and analyze it. See, Benjamin, as we know, was a son of Rachel, the one whom Jacob loved. She actually died giving birth to Benjamin. In the first king of Israel, King Saul, after whom the apostle Wal was originally named, he was of the tribe of Benjamin.

And Benjamin, think of this, Benjamin was the only full tribe of Israel who remained faithful to God along with Judah at the time Israel became divided into two kingdoms. It was just Judah, Benjamin, and a half-tribe of Levi. Judah was the only full tribe other than Judah that stayed with God when that happened. And the tribe of Benjamin were at the very forefront of the fighters. They were ferocious fighters. They held the place of honor, and they were the tribe which led Israel into battle. And they had to go into battle. In the Song of Deborah, after Israel's defeat of the Canaanites, it was recorded in Judges 5.14, and they said, after you, Benjamin, with your peoples, Benjamin led the way. They were the tribe that led the way into battle when Israel went to war. They were ferocious fighters. So Baal could especially boast. I'm not only a circumcision, I was a tribe of Benjamin. Put Paul in a unique category if he wanted to boast and have confidence in the flesh. See, Paul could have boasted a great deal about his credentials because he was a Benjamin. Going on to verse 5, I'm also a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and concerning the law of Pharisee.

See, Paul could have boasted about a hearing to the letter of the law as much as anyone.

And even more zealously, the most Pharisees did, as he goes on to say in verse 6, concerning zeal, you think you're zealous. I can boast of being zealous. Concerning zeal, I persecuted the church. Concerning the righteousness of the law, I was blameless. I kept the law perfectly from outward appearances. Now, I'm really according to the Spirit. He blew it all the time. But see, none of those things that he could boast about in the flesh if he wanted to and have confidence in him, none of those things really mattered in the long run. To the apostle Paul, as indicated by what he says next, beginning in verse 7, But all these things which could be gained to me, these I've counted all the loss for Christ. They don't mean anything. Yes, indeed, I also count all things lost, the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, of whom I have suffered the loss of all things. And I count them as rubbish that I can gain. Christ, it doesn't matter what my past was or what I could boast about in the past. But it is the most precious to me at all, as long as I can gain Jesus Christ and have him living his life in me and fulfill his purpose. As long as I can be found in him, verse 9, not having my own righteousness which only leads to death, because none of us are really righteous, other by ourselves.

Be found in him not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Jesus Christ. That's the only righteousness we have, is faith that Jesus Christ has forgiven us, that he's living his life in us, that he's still working with us, which is not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith. Verse 10, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. But again, here, in concluding for today, the main cause of disunity in the Church of Philippi was selfish ambition, as indicated especially by chapter 1, verse 16, where he says, the former preached Christ from selfish ambition. In chapter 2, verse 3, where he says, nothing but nothing be done through selfish ambition. So I'll conclude part 1 for now. I'll finish this two-part series next time, and we'll go into the harden core of this extremely important letter, the Apostle Rice to the Church of Philippi. It's not only extremely relevant, but extremely relevant to what is even now has taken place within the United Church of God. And we'll look next time closely at Paul's solution. And we will look at the meaning of this concluding Scripture, and how it applies to all of us today. Let's conclude with this Scripture, Philippians 2, verse 12, where Paul says, As you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. I believe we are now entering such a time as that today. We need to look at that and realize, I need to work out my own salvation for fear and trembling, and understand what that really means. And we'll look at that next time.