Bg – Paul’s Opponents 3: 2-3

Paul’s Opponents
3: 2-3

Paul’s opponents DIG: Who were the Judaizers? What problem accounts for Paul’s change of tone between verses 1 and 2? Why was it important for Paul to give all his Jewish credentials? Why does Paul call the Judaizers dogs, evil doers, and mutilators? Instead of militating the flesh, what does Paul propose? Why is it important to get back to the basics? What conclusions does Paul draw for us today?

REFLECT: There were plenty of opponents during Paul’s day. Who are the opponents of Isra’el today? Who is the real enemy? Why is the ability to discern so important for believers? Why is replacement theology so dangerous today? How does this file speak to the need for Jewish evangelism today? How can you stand up for Isra’el today? What are the differences between a Gentile, a Jew, and a Messianic Jew? 

Salvation equals faith plus nothing.

As David Stern relates in his Jewish New Testament Commentary on Philippians, apparently there was a problem with Judaizers in Philippi as there was in Galatia (see Galatians, to see link click Ag – Who Were the Judaizers). Indeed, it seems as though this was the major cause of dissension in Philippi. Some believe from the shift in tone from 3:1 that Paul had planned to end his letter there, but suddenly evaluated the new activity among the Judaizers and responded with the sharp warning that follows. But the apostle probably had already decided to repeat what he had written before (namely, the appeal to the humility of Chapter 2), by restating it negatively as a warning not to boast (2:3), since humility excludes pride. Further, just as he used Messiah Himself as the supreme example (2:5-11), Paul uses the boasting Judaizers as a counterexample.

Some think that those Judaizers were not Jews by birth but fanatical Gentile proselytes (see the commentary Acts Bb – An Ethiopian Asks about Isaiah 53: see proselytes at the gate), preoccupied with physical circumcision, in which they took great pride, regarding it as the necessary means of initiation into the people of God (see Bj – A Tale of Two Citizenships). Against this hypothesis is raised the objection that Paul would not list all his Jewish credentials (2:5-6) if the Judaizers had none themselves; hence the Judaizers must have been born Jews. Possibly a little distressed at having to toot his own horn, Paul hastens to add that he does not put any confidence in the flesh and regards it as garbage (3:8). He introduces his credentials only because those who oppose him consider their own meager qualifications so impressive.¹²³

After commanding the Philippians to rejoice (see Bf – Rejoice in the Lord), Paul turns to his next major theme in the letter. His strong and direct warning implies another distinguishing mark of true believers: their ability to discern. Yes, there is the spiritual gift of discernment (see the commentary on First Corinthians Cq – The Distinguishing of Spirits), but every believer needs to understand the fundamental truths of the Gospel (Romans 6:17, 10:14 and 17). But since discernment, like faith, needs to grow and mature, Messianic rabbis, pastors and elders must warn their congregations about the danger of false teachers (see Ephesians Bk – Building Up the Body of Messiah). So in the present passage, Paul tells the Philippians how to recognize them. They were more than critics (see Ap – Paul’s Critics), they were his opponents. He describes those false teachers who opposed the Gospel using three terms, each introduced by the word Beware.

Beware of the dogs (3:2a Greek). Unlike the pet dogs (Greek: kunarion) described in Matthew 15:26-27, the dogs (Greek: kuon) Paul refers to are wild scavengers that plagued ancient cities. They roamed in packs, feeding on garbage (Exodus 22:31; First Kings 14:11, 16:4, 21:23-24) and occasionally attacking humans. They were despised, and dog was frequently used as a derogatory term (cf. Deuteronomy 23;18; First Samuel 17:43 and 24;14; Second Samuel 9:8 and 16:9; 2 Kings 8:23; Psalm 22:16; Revelation 22:15).¹²⁴

By labeling his Jewish opponents as dogs, Paul turns the tables on them. It was a common Jewish slur to refer to Gentiles as dogs. In a world view that denies the people of God on the basis of Jewish privilege, all who are outside of that circle of privilege are dogs. But in a world view that defines the people of God on the basis of their relationship of Messiah, all who seek to define the people of God on any other basis are in fact the dogs. For the world view that grants the Jew a privileged position before God on the basis of ethnicity, all Gentiles are dogs. Such a mindset thinks that being Jewish provides a privileged seat at the table in the Kingdom, while the Gentiles remain outside as dogs to scavenge the discarded leftovers of the feast. But instead, it is those who abandon confidence in their status and cling to Yeshua Messiah by faith that are the true sons of the Kingdom who enjoy God’s Great Wedding Banquet (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Hp – The Parable of the Great Banquet), while all who stubbornly cling to their privilege status ironically find themselves outside the Banquet as scavenger dogs feeding on the discarded scraps.¹²⁵

Beware of the evil workers (3:2b Greek). In contrast to Epaphroditus (see Bd – Send Epaphroditus at Once), Paul’s fellow worker in 2:25, these men were evil workers. In Second Corinthians 11:13b, Paul calls them deceitful workers. It is in a similar light that the apostle warned the Philippians to beware those evil workers. Typically, those involved in external, ritualistic, ceremonial religions see themselves as doing good to please God. In Galatians 1:14, Paul himself had once been proud of advancing in Judaism beyond many of [his] contemporaries among [his] countrymen, being extremely zealous for the Oral Law (see The Life of Christ Ei – Oral Law). After his conversion, the apostle realized that all his good works were worthless: But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Messiah. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Messiah Yeshua my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as mere rubbish, so that I may gain Messiah (3:7-8). Instead of seeing himself as doing good in God’s sight, Paul, at the end of his ministry, felt that he was in fact the foremost of sinners (First Timothy 1:15-16).

Only believers controlled by the Ruach Ha’Kodesh can do genuine good works (Eph 2:10; Colossians 1:10; 2 Timothy 2:21 and 3:17; Titus 2:14). Unbelievers can do bad things for bad reasons. They can also do good things, but only out of selfish pride, not for God’s glory. Only the redeemed can do good deeds motivated by a desire to glorify ADONAI. The false teachers plaguing the Philippians saw themselves as pleasing God, earning His favor and their salvation. But they perverted the commandments of God through a legalistic interpretation of the Torah. Thus, Paul exposed them for the prideful evil workers that they were.¹²⁶

Beware of the mutilators (3:2c). Finally, these false teachers are those who mutilate the flesh, or more literally the mutilation (Greek: katatome). Although they claimed to be promoting the true circumcision (Greek: peritome), they were promoting mutilation. Paul skillfully uses a play on words to indicate a point that he makes elsewhere, that physical circumcision is not required to be right with God (Romans 2:28-29; Galatians 5:2-12 and 6:15). The irony here is as sharp as the circumcisers’ knife – the circumcision that Paul’s opponents promote as the path of obedience to the Torah, is in fact, a violation of the Torah in light of the coming of the Messiah and the Dispensation of Grace (see the commentary on Hebrews Bp – The Dispensation of Grace). Thinking they were advocating for the removal of the foreskin as the clear sign of their covenant status; they were actually encouraging a mutilation that separated them from the B’rit Chadashah sealed in the Messiah’s blood (see The Life of Christ Kk – The Third Cup of Redemption).

Of course, believers today can fall prey to the same type of attitude displayed by Paul’s opponents. We can look down on others for their lack of status and privilege, which is in fact the opposite of thinking more highly than ourselves. We can encourage others to pursue a life of good works, but do so in a way that encourages them to place their confidence in those works rather than Messiah. In doing so, we become evildoers.¹²⁷

Beware of those who say you must be circumcised to be saved (3:2 NLT). Pagan priests mutilated their own bodies, and the Judaizers mutilated the message of the Gospel by adding legalism to grace. Paul was saying that circumcision did not provide the Judaizers with any spiritual advantage but resulted in their spiritual mutilation.¹²⁸ The apostle was only human, and he became so upset at their false teaching that he exploded: I only wish those who are agitating you would castrate (Greek: apokopto, meaning bodily mutilation, to cut off) themselves (Galatians 5:12)! Paul expresses the wish that the Judaizers would not stop at cutting off their foreskin, but would go on to cutting the whole thing off for all the good it would do! If cutting off a little bit of skin would improve your standing before God, why stop there? Why not cut a lot of skin off! Obviously, he was using exaggeration to make his point that no amount of cutting would result in justification^.129

On the contrary, the spiritually circumcised are we who have circumcised hearts and ears (Acts 7:51a), we who have had the foreskins of our old nature removed, we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Messiah Yeshua has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort (3:3 NLT). Later, Paul would write to the church at Colosse: Also it was in union with Yeshua that you were circumcised with a circumcision not done by human hands, but accomplished by stripping away the old nature’s control over the body (Colossians 2:11a). An important question for Messianic Judaism is whether Paul is teaching that believing Gentiles are counted as the circumcised and unbelieving Jews are not. The answer is that this is a verse with several levels of meaning, so that it teaches several things; but it is important not to get the levels confused. The p’shat, the plain, literal sense of the text, is not that unbelieving Jews are not circumcised, or, as some Christians (who believe in Replacement Theology) claim, that “Christians are the true Jews.” Rather, the apostle is saying that Gentiles who undergo an outward conversion of Judaism without an inward change of heart are certainly not spiritually circumcised, even though they might claim to be.¹³⁰

Back to the basics: Jews are Jews . . . always have been, are, and always will be. Messianic Jews are Jews. Non-Messianic Jews are Jews. Messianic Jews and believing Gentiles (Jews and Gentiles who put their trust in Yeshua Messiah) constitute the Body of Messiah. By their faith, Gentiles become believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and as such, they are grafted into the Olive Tree without becoming Jews (see the commentary on Dani’el Dx – The Mystery of the Olive Tree). They remain Gentiles, but can become non-Messianic Jews by conversion to either Orthodox, Conservative, or Reformed sects.

Conclusions: A believing Gentile, spiritually circumcised but physically uncircumcised, has been grafted into Isra’el by faith (Romans 11:16-26; Ephesians 2:11-16), so that the promises given to Abraham apply to him as well (see the commentary on Galatians Bn – There is Neither Jew nor Greek in the Body of Messiah). Yet, he remains a Gentile, and is not the so-called “True Isra’el” or the “House of Isra’el” (specifically the “lost tribes” of Isra’el) as espoused by false cults like the Hebrew Roots Movement (see Galatians Ak – The Hebrew Roots Movement: A Different Gospel). One the other hand, a non-Messianic Jew, physically circumcised but spiritually uncircumcised because he does not trust in Messiah, is however, still a Jew; and even though he is a cut-off branch, he can be grafted back in again (see the commentary on Romans Cz – The Illustration of Isra’el’s Future). A Messianic Jew, circumcised both physically and spiritually, should take Paul’s warning (see Bh – Paul’s Response to His Opponents) not to make this “double circumcision” into an excuse for boasting, which is always a temptation. For in the Body of Messiah there is no first-and-second class citizenships based on whether one is circumcised (First Corinthians 7:19; Galatians 5:6 and 6:15) or Jewish (Ephesians 2:14), or any other external criterion (Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11).¹³¹

Dear heavenly Father, praise You that though there will always be opponents in this world, You are always right there by my side, to guide and comfort me. Your power and wisdom are always much greater than all the opponents in this world. Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds (Psalms 36:5). Praise You that no opponent is greater than You, and You open the door to union with Your Messiah to all. The plan of the fullness of times is to bring all things together in the Messiah – both things in heaven and things on earth, all in Him (Ephesians 1:10). Opponents may say many things; but what counts is what You say: Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Messiah alone, so that God alone receives all the glory. For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). In Messiah Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen