biblenuggets10

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This is Nugget #10, submitted by yours truly...Tina. Please pray that God will give inspiration and revelation to all contributors, using them to His glory and for the edifying of every reader.

Nugget #10: Background Passage: Philippians 3 Focal Passage: Philippians 3:1-3
See also Romans 8

1   Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. 2   Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
3   For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.

1   Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.
Ministers and teachers of the Word should proclaim the message of God as often as is necessary, not looking at it as burdensome, but as a safety measure. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, and the Word should constantly be set before the people as a reminder and warning. Recognize that danger is present not when only when there is physical threat, but also whenever the Word of God is distorted or ignored, whenever it is tainted by adding human opinion and philosophy, or whenever someone comes in to confuse and cause division within the church and pull the believer back into the grasp of the enemy.

2   Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
*** Beware of dogs- be watchful, understand, perceive, recognize, be discerning of men with impure minds, of impudent men- men of contemptuous or cocky boldness or disregard for others
*** Beware of evil workers- not those that may fall into sin or error, but those that labor at doing that which is evil, those who strive to be troublesome, injurious, destructive, wicked, to cause irreparable harm, deadly
*** Beware of the concision- those that separate, cut up, cause dissension
In this case, Paul is referring to false teachers, to those who teach that works of the flesh bring salvation, those who wanted to mix the old law and observances whch were from Moses with the doctrine of Jesus Christ. He speaks as harshly about them, maybe even more so, as the most vile of people. We, too, should look at those who teach doctrines other than those of Jesus Christ with caution. However, this warning should be applied not only to them, but to anyone who possess these characteristics, whose life work is to cause division and harm.

3   For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
The circumcision refers to those in covenant with God, the true Jews, the chosen people of God, metaphorically referring to the Christian separated from the unclean multitude and truly consecrated to God, the one whose passions have become extinct and whose spiritual impurity has been removed. The circumcision has less to do with the physical, external act now, but rather more to do with the spiritual internal act of truly being separated to God. At least that is the case initially, for one can not truly change outwardly with success unless they have had an inward change first. The circumcision is not the Pharisee and Sadducee who follows the letter of the law to the tee. The circumcision are not those who clean up good outside, do good deeds, obey every law, etc. but :
*** Those who worship God in the spirit- with the right spirit, a spirit to serve God, the Spirit of God Himself, those who worship God not only through outward signs and acts, but inwardly, through a changed heart, a heart turned toward God, a heart seeking to know God and to know and do His will.
*** Those who rejoice in Christ Jesus- glory in Christ Jesus, to rejoice proudly in Him. To rejoice in Him, you must first believe that He is, that He is the Savior, and you must accept Him as such. Those who are truly separated to God are those who have been saved by grace through Jesus and not those seeking salvation through good works. They recognize that it is because God made Him who had no sin to become a sin offering so that we could become the righteousness of God (2 Cor 5:21).
*** Those who have no confidence in the flesh- are not persuaded by the flesh, have no faith in the flesh, does not listen to, obey, or yield to the flesh. They recognize firstly that they can do nothing to earn becoming the righteousness of God. Secondly, they recognize that no other person can do anything to or for them to make them the righteousness of God. They recognize that it is in the flesh that sin lives. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh (Ro 8:3). The body is dead because of sin. Should Jesus tarry, we will all suffer death. Thankfully, because of the Spirit, we still have life, for though our mortal bodies die, our Spirit will live eternally with God (Ro 8:10). We are to crucify the flesh, so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we will no longer be slaves to it (Ro 6:6).

This doesn�t mean that the outer man has no part in being the circumcision. But, we must look at it the right way. What profit is it to change, clean, and perfect the outer man, when the spirit within is vile and corrupt? It is those who have the Spirit of God, not a good lifestyle, that Jesus will one day return for (Ro 8:10-12). It is wrong to take the mindset that I obey the law and do what is right, and therefore am the circumcised of God, have relationship with God, and belong to God. Rather, I am the circumcised of God, have relationship with God, belong to God, and therefore I obey the law and do what is right. What I do does not determine who I am, but who I am determines what I do. External acts are the effect, not the cause.

...to be continued in our next Bible Nugget.......