Philippians 3:3 (ESV)
[3] For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

The Jewish leaders of Paul’s day prided themselves in their external submission to God’s Law. Circumcision was the symbol indicating that they were God’s people. In Philippians 3 the Apostle turns that around. The true circumcision, he says, are not those who have been circumcised properly, but those who do three things. 1. They worship by the Spirit of God rather than by the external rites of the Law. 2. They glory in Christ Jesus rather than in the Law. 3. They put no confidence in the flesh rather than exalting in their disciplined efforts to keep the most minute parts of the Law.

Paul’s argument is emphasized further by pointing out that from man’s perspective, he was blameless, yet he considers his heritage, his discipline, and his zeal to be worthless. Those things accomplished nothing. He calls them “rubbish” (Php 3:8). The word refers to table-scraps thrown to the dogs, dung, or muck. There is nothing redeeming about them. His glory is in Christ through faith. His desire is to know God, to experience his power, and to share in Jesus’s sufferings. That is where life is found.

There is so much more in this chapter, but that is enough to challenge me. Where is my glory? Is it in my own personal discipline? Is it in the externals of obedience and law? Is it in the things I don’t do? I don’t swear. I don’t look at pornography. I don’t … I fear that, as those who claim to be believers in Christ, we too often embrace the spirit of the Pharisee rather than the heart of God. When will we learn to “put no confidence in the flesh” (Php 3:3)? When will we truly embrace the passion of the Apostle Paul, “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Php 3:9-10)? That is true worship.

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