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What Will It Take to Change Your Mind? 14 FEB 10

The history context is one of people seeking a religion that really meet their perceived spiritual needs. The basic pagan religion that was part of the early Roman Empire had proved a failure. People sought other ways. Dr. Herschel H. Hobbs writes “The Roman Empire was flooded with mystery religions. They were combinations of Greek philosophy, Hebrew theology, and Oriental mysticism Salvation was thought to be obtained through mastering certain mysteries in an upward gradation.” Today’s USA is the same. Only the labels have changed. Now we have Mormonism, New Age and Revelation Christianity. Judaism then was a unique religion since it had only one God but it was nothing but rules and laws. Into this world Christ launched the Church and Paul was the thrust into the Gentle world.

PHIL 3:1 “Finally” means as for the rest. Paul used this as a summary and transition between topics. It does not means finally to stop. So based upon chapter two, Paul called for the readers to “rejoice.” Certainly what he had said should make then realize joy. But note, it is only joy if it is “in the Lord.” The transition idea of “finally” is Paul is going to start comparing religions and there is no joy in them. Note also that happiness and joy are not the same things. Happiness depends upon emotions. Joy depends upon acknowledged facts.

PHIL 3:2 So Paul begins by issuing a threefold warning. The Greek means to watch out for. He named three types of thought and practice as “dogs.” This is open to speculation. The Jews called Gentiles “dogs”, i.e. unclean animals only fit to [as one Rabbi put it] “to fuel the fires of Hell.” Paul would not be saying the same. But he could well mean Gentiles who were evangelists for the mystery religions. “Evil workers” is a similar problem. Certainly it includes people who practiced pagan and mystery religions. It could also include church members who did similar things. See Rev 2:14-15; 20-22. “The concision” is easier to understand. The Greek is katatome, kat-at-om-ay'; from a comp. of G2596 and temno (to cut); a cutting down (off), i.e. mutilation (ironically):--concision. Hence Paul means the Judaizers who believed that God sent Salvation only to the Jews. So for a Gentile to be saved, a Gentile had to first become a Jew, which included circumcision. Paul use of katatom is from the mindset of a Gentile. God started the rite of circumcision in Gen 17:10-11 to be a sign that a physical descendent of Abraham agreed to the covenant God made with Abraham. But God gave no such sign to the Gentiles so circumcision had no spiritual meaning to them. Thus it was mutilation of the male body; today we would say child abuse. So Paul said to “Watch out for the Judaizers!” And remember, the Jerusalem Church was Judaizer in doctrine.

It is interesting to note the growth position of Paul. We often come to the view that Paul was always a brilliant teacher of Christianity and all his letters are from equal understanding. We dare not miss that Paul also had it and did grow and do this as well. 1 Tim 2:15! So Paul shows it here. In (ACTS 16:3 RSV) "Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek." Thus Paul himself “mutilated.” Now, some 10 years later, Paul recognizes that it was not necessary. Even Paul grew in understanding and wisdom!

PHIL 3:3 Paul now makes a most significant and fundamental theological statement that is fundamental to Christianity. Yet the majority of preachers and teachers in Christianity fail to understand it and usually preach the opposite. The statement is “For we [Christians] are the circumcision...!!!” If Christianity understood this, the massive number of books on Revelation that are published every year would stop. And Christians would try to evangelize the Jews. What does Paul say? First, “the circumcision” means (ROM 2:28-29 RSV) "For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly, nor is true circumcision something external and physical. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and real circumcision is a matter of the heart, spiritual and not literal. His praise is not from men but from God."; (COL 2:11 RSV) "In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of flesh in the circumcision of Christ;"; (EPH 2:11 RSV) "Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands--" Or as Paul put it in (GAL 3:6-9 RSV) "Thus Abraham "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." So you see that it is men of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." o then, those who are men of faith are blessed with Abraham who had faith." In other word ONLY CHRISTIANS ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD AND THAT ONLY BECAUSE OF A SPIRITUAL ADOPTION! Jews who are only related to Abraham by birth or have only a Jewish mother are lost! Yet preachers and writers on Revelation say Jews are a separate family of God and God will save them in a special way. Nothing is further from the truth! As Paul said, Christians and only Christians are the family of God and heirs of Christ. We could spend several lessons on just this point. “We” in the Greek is emphatic: Christians over against the Jews. WE are, they are not. Thus real Christians have a spiritual circumcision [which now includes women equally] that makes them the family of God. Christians “worship God.” “worship” means to minister or serve. “God” means the Father. “in spirit” should read “in the Spirit.” Better: “in the sphere of the Holy Spirit.” As Jesus said in (JOHN 4:24 RSV) "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."" Here “in spirit” should read “in the sphere of the Holy Spirit” as well. Once more Paul says a Christian’s cause of joy is “in Christ Jesus.” So it is the Trinity that makes Faith People the “true circumcise.” Thus “have no confidence in Jewish or Judaizer physical acts of worship.”

PHIL 3:4-6 If there was ever a Jewish man who had meet all the Law’s and Jewish religion’s requirement to be the perfect Jewish man, it was Paul.

PHIL 3:7-8 While he was a Jew, Saul of Tarsus was their rising Super Star with all that meant. But now that he was a Christian, all these physical things were a TOTAL LOSS to him. So much so that Paul said “total loss” three more different ways. “all things but loss”, “loss of all things”, and “but dung.” This is the strongest possible point of emphasis by Paul. Also the Greek tenses add to this. In verse 7 it is perfect tense meaning he had completed a thorough evaluation and the result is as he has stated. It may have been that Paul took the time to do such an evaluation because prison forced it upon him. In verse 8 it is present tense meaning he still agrees with his previous analysis results. “but dung” in the Greek means what is thrown to the dogs, i.e. refuse (ordure):--dung. Plain-talking Paul! Dr. Hobbs suggested Paul was thinking also of (ISA 64:6 RSV) "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." The Israelites had become this way because they were relying upon their physical relationship to Abraham and not a spiritual relation to the promised Messiah. Thus Paul’s continuing statement and emphasis upon being “in Christ.” This means more than a verbal statement of intent to God. One must believe in the Trinity. One must believe that Jesus is the only point (way) to get to a relationship with the Trinity. He is their Salvation focal-point. Acts 4:12 "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."" No mystery, Jewish, pagan, non-religion, etc that Man can devise will produce anything but dung. One must believe that the Father raised Jesus from death. One must accept Jesus as one’s Lord as well as one’s Christ [Savior]. (ROM 10:9-10 RSV) "because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved."

PHIL 3:10-11 Paul was never satisfied with His spiritual growth. Nor should we be with ours. It is a lifetime task (2 PET 3:18 RSV) "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." Paul purpose, his drive was to “know” Jesus. “Know” in the Greek here should read “come to know.” It means to know by experience. Thus it takes time to “know Jesus”; yes, a lifetime. Hobbs says it could read “Come to experience him.” It is not just on a theological basis but a daily real-world life-living basis. Paul wanted to know by experience “the power of his resurrection.” What is that? The Father raised Jesus from the dead. It is as Paul put this thought in (ROM 6:5 RSV) "For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his." Also the “fellowship of his suffering.” Not that Paul wanted to hurt. He means the all-out commitment and the dedication to task completion shown by Jesus. He wanted to be as brave in being willing to die for his mission as Jesus was. Again Paul expresses humility, and not doubt, about his salvation. The Greek is “if by any means.” and “come to.” He didn’t want readers to think he had reached maximum growth. One must always keep on growing “in Christ.”

PHIL 3:12-14 Continuing the discussion of his knowledge (know with/through experience) about being an adopted son of God, Paul says he himself has not finished his growth. Certainly many look at Paul’s life at this time and think “What else is there to get except going to Heaven?” “Not” is a strong negative, i.e. most certainly not. “Obtained” in the Greek means to take hold of. The usual English translation uses “perfect.” Hence some get the ideal that Paul is speaking about being sinless. However the word means to accomplish a task or reach a goal. Thus Paul has not reached his goal in spiritual growth. But his purpose to do just that. Human studies show that a person will rarely, if ever, go beyond the personal goals set by one’s self. This is one reason why human disciplines and helpers seek to build up a person’s self-esteem so that higher goals will be set. Here Paul has set for himself the highest goal, to achieve the full measure of the calling of the Father through Jesus. This involves his call as an Apostle and to be a perfect Christian. (MATT 5:48 REV) "You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." This verse uses the same Greek but the significance is “as your heavenly Father is perfect!” Paul is obviously seeking to do so himself and the calling all his readers to do the same. Therefore it can be done. So the question is “How can I do it.” We get the answer from an unexpected source: Peter. He sets out the Growth Process in (2 PET 1:5-7 RSV) "For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love." The word “love” here means God’s kind of love thus meeting the requirements of Matt 5:48. And Peter also wants his readers to achieve perfect so he motivates as well. (2 PET 1:8 RSV) "For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." Peter’s word “knowledge” means in the Greek full discernment. Paul continue to use sports metaphors which shows he and his readers were aware of, if not fans and the good sports of the day. Here he liken his activity to running a race. In this race he knows the “prize” to be won. He knows the rules : “the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus. He has the effort. The Greek means to stretch forward in a race as is usually done right at the finish line to get the last forward thrust that may mean victory in a tight race. Paul has not stopped in his race and he has no intention to do so now. Do you have a list of “What I use to do in the Race?” I hope not. Peter and Paul calls us onward. A quote from Dr. Hobbs: “We never stand still spiritually. The moment we cease to grow, we begin to lose our spiritual sensitivity.”

PHIL 3:15-16 Here Paul uses “perfect” in a manner that means spiritual adults and not “babes in Christ.” (1 COR 3:1-3 RSV) "But I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as men of the flesh, as babes in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food; for you were not ready for it; and even yet you are not ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving like ordinary men?" Also he uses the same idea in (ROM 15:1 RSV) "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves;" No person will achieve the “Call” unless that person is trying. This requires thinking about what and how to do it. Even Paul has limits. So he says that if there are any “babes” who think themselves to be adults, he will have to leave it to God to get such people to recognize their real spiritual state (place in the race).But for those who really are spiritual adults, keep on running the race. Paul calls them to the “same rule” and the “same mind.” Remember he has already defined this in (PHIL 2:5 RSV) "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus," Jesus never stood still and nor are we. Looking again to Peter, he points out that when Christians stop going forward they may get so behind that (2 PET 1:8-9 RSV) "For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ or whoever lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins." A saved person can get so away spirtually that he/she may even forget they are saved and most certainly will live that way.

PHIL 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Marvin Ganote, Hobbs Study Class, Adult Teacher. Lesson at: http://dma.dreamhosters.com/~ganotemd/lesson.htm or http://homepages.udayton.edu/~ganotem/bible/lesson.htm