This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Philippians-8 Human Rubbish vs Divine Righteousness – Daily Wisdom

Joy in Sharing – Human Rubbish vs. Divine Righteousness Philippians 3:1-11

Last week, we discussed Paul being thankful for two close friends, Timothy and Epaphroditus, in a message, “A Son and a Brother.”

Today, we begin the 3rd section in the letter to the church in Philippi, Joy in Sharing. True joy is a fruit of the Spirit in the life of believers. It ranks second, after love, in Paul’s list in Galatians 5:22–23: But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Like all manifestations of the Spirit’s work in our lives, joy is constantly attacked by the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The deeds of the flesh will try to weaken our joy through things like hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, and envy. (Gal. 5:17–21). The world will try to stifle our joy through pain, suffering, tragedies, and stress. The evil one will try to thwart our joy by taking our attention away from Jesus Christ and tempting us to find joy in things that cannot satisfy, as is mentioned in our closing hymn, “Fill my Cup, Lord.”

The real threat to the joyful Christian life comes into focus in the third part of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Remember the overarching purpose of Paul’s letter to the Christians at Philippi: to encourage them to find Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered joy in living, serving, sharing, and resting. Paul reinforces this theme in the opening line of chapter 3: “Rejoice in the Lord.” Yet, knowing that there are threats out there, he wants to share with his readers a “safeguard” for their joy (Phil. 3:1). This comes first in the form of a warning about putting confidence in the flesh rather than worshiping God in the Spirit and glorying in Christ in today’s message (3:2–11). Paul also shares the goal of joyful Christian living—the upward call of God in Christ in next week’s message(3:12–16)—and calls his readers to follow the pattern he has shown them, until the glorious day when their mortal bodies will be transformed to be like Christ’s in two weeks (3:17–21).

This week's focus is a comparison message titled Human Rubbish vs. Divine Righteousness.

1 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

(Point to trophies) Our world honors and rewards high achievement. Trophies, medals, plaques, and awards are given to those who stand out among the crowd. Though there’s nothing inherently wrong with appreciating and applauding significant accomplishments, these accolades can be very deceptive, leading many to believe that their earthly successes and temporal earnings can somehow translate into heavenly merits or eternal rewards.

Among the many worldly messages we’re tempted to believe, the one that emphasizes self-promotion—finding confidence in our own pedigrees and achievements—can be the most alluring. In such a world, how desperately we need God’s truth! If for no other reason than to counteract society’s lies, we need His principles and precepts to guide us correctly. Again and again, in the Bible, we discover a perspective that starkly contrasts the rubbish on the streets of life. In our fight-back, get-even world, embracing the philosophy espoused by the world/ and adopting its methods/ is easy.

If anyone ever had the opportunity to boast of their accomplishments, Saul of Tarsus was that person. That’s precisely what he did throughout his adult life/ until he met and bowed before Jesus as Lord. That encounter changed everything. From then on, he considered everything outside Christ and His righteousness mere “garbage” (3:8).

—3:1–3—

Paul opens the third chapter with a unique phrase that appears for the first time here and only again in Philippians 4:4 and 4:10 >in the entire New Testament: “Rejoice in the Lord.” Yet this refrain repeatedly sums up what Paul has accentuated, emphasizing joy and rejoicing. Suppose we recognize Philippians 3:1 as a hinge that transitions Paul from one subject within a broader theme to another. In that case, we can better understand the significance of the unique phrase “rejoice in the Lord.”

In 3:1, Paul uses an introductory phrase that suggests he is shifting lanes, so to speak—still driving in the same direction, but covering a different line of discussion. He begins with a Greek phrase, to loipon. The NIV Bible translates the word “further,” and the NLT translates it as “Whatever happens.”  Paul goes on to write two more meaty chapters!

The imperative “rejoice in the Lord,” serves not simply to sum up his previous discussion, but to advance it to “safeguard” his readers from imminent harm to their authentic joy. In particular, Paul knew there were legalistic joy stealers, often referred to as Judaizers, on the prowl, hounding the Gentile believers to live by their strict, artificial religious codes. Instead of rejoicing in the Lord and the grace of salvation that comes only through Christ's person and work, they were rejoicing in their own accomplishments in fulfilling the Law. This threat was so severe that Paul denounced it with three disparaging descriptions (3:2).

First, in comparing the legalists to “dogs.” Paul didn’t have in mind polite, pampered, and potty-trained house pets. Instead, picture feral dogs roaming the backstreets in packs—dirty, flea-infested, disease-ridden scavengers with uncertain pedigrees … mangy mutts! They were uncontrolled and dangerous to anybody who got too close. So Paul warns the Philippians to stay away! Some self-righteous Jews of the time also used the term “dogs” to refer to unclean Gentiles. Thus, it’s ironic that Paul turns the insult on these Jewish Christians who were trying to prop up their artificial ways of purity.

Second, he calls them “evildoers.” Ironically, the Judaizers claimed to be the promoters of good works—works so good they could merit a right standing before God. However, Paul says they were people who do evil. They sowed a corrupt, twisted non-gospel, teaching that people could be saved only by faith plus works of the Law. However, the good news of Jesus Christ is that salvation is by grace alone (it’s a gift!), through faith alone (not by works!), in Christ alone (not by any means other than the person and work of Christ!). We are to rejoice in the Lord and what He has done for us, not in any human means of trying to gain favor with God.

Third, the false teachers are “the false circumcision.” This translation softens the harsh language evident in Paul’s original Greek. He uses a Greek term that sounds similar to the word for “circumcision,” but he modifies it slightly to render the word for “cutting off,” “mutilation,” or perhaps, in this specific context, “castration”!

This is how Paul describes those who say that men must be circumcised to be saved. Having fired back at the robbers of Christ-centered joy, Paul concludes his warning by reminding the Philippians that genuine Christians are “the true circumcision” (3:3). He mentions three fundamental differences between the authentic bearers of God’s redemption and the pretenders. First, true believers are “we who serve God by his Spirit,” meaning their focus is on the work of the divine Spirit in salvation, not on fleshly means of personal merit. Second, unlike those who bragged about their achievements before God by keeping the Law, Christians “ who boast in Christ Jesus.” And third, authentic Christ followers “put no confidence in the flesh.” (human effort). They rejoice in the Lord/ not in human works,/ personal holiness, /or anything but the person and work of Christ.

—3:4–6—

Paul uses himself as an example to expose the absurdity of those who place confidence in their own achievements, wrought in their own power, for meriting approval from God. Remember, the rabid dogs in Paul’s crosshairs tried to boast about keeping the Law. Now, with one twang of his bow after another, Paul pierces the Judaizers’ position by demonstrating that if anybody could boast about their fleshly achievements, it was he himself (3:4). Bulletin Insert If anybody could have merited favor with God, it would have been this ex-Pharisee whose religious trophies could have lined the walls of a Hall of Fame:

circumcised on the eighth day as a son of the covenant (3:5)

born into the nation of Israel, not a converted Gentile (3:5)

a member of the tribe of Benjamin, an honorable people (3:5)

a true Hebrew among Hebrews, the best of the best (3:5)

a Pharisee with respect to the observance of the Law (3:5)

a zealous persecutor of the church in the name of the Law (3:6)

blameless with regard to external righteousness found in the Law (3:6)

If you were a first-century Jew, you’d be impressed by this list! Paul was the Jew par excellence. He set a high bar for his fellow Jews and an impossible standard for any Gentiles who would hope to fulfill the Law themselves. If the Law were the authentic standard of right standing with God, Paul would have been the paragon of righteousness.

—3:7–8—

If you had been able to listen to the Jerusalem rabbis of the day, perhaps you would have heard them name-dropping Saul of Tarsus—that brilliant, passionate rabbinical student who studied under the famous teacher Gamaliel in Jerusalem.

When his teachers wanted to scold the less rigorous young men, they may have pointed at Saul and said, “Why can’t you be more like him?” And when Saul secured a special commission from the high priest in Jerusalem to help end Christ's followers (Acts 9:1–2), his future as a rising star in Judaism seemed bright…Until a brighter light blinded him. Until his encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus.

At that point, everything changed. A blazing light from heaven blinded him instantly, and he heard a voice calling out to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). Traumatized by the sudden encounter with what was a heavenly being—but still utterly clueless that he was following the wrong path of devotion— Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. (Acts 9:5). Saul must have stopped breathing, and his heart must have sunk when he heard the reply: “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!” (Acts 9:5).

At that moment, the entire checklist of achievements became a pointless scribbling on parchment. The trophies of spiritual accomplishments in the display case of his pride turned to dust and blew away. (Cover up trophies)The years and years of torturous labor to distinguish himself “as to the Law … as to zeal … as to the righteousness which is in the Law” (Phil. 3:5–6)—an utter waste of time, energy, and talent. The words of Isaiah 64:6 became a personal reality for Saul: “When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.” (menstrual clothes)

Having highlighted his accomplishments in Philippians 3:4–6, Paul starts verse 7 with a pronounced BUT! There are two main words for the contrastive> conjunction “but” in Greek: de and alla. The softer transitional word de is a continuative conjunction, sometimes rendered “but,” though also translated as “and” or even “now.” It could thus imply a very gentle contrast: “Now, whatever things were gain to me …” But that’s not the word Paul used. Instead, he used alla, which implies a much more pronounced contrast: “But whatever were gains to me.” The point is clear: Paul utterly rejects his former self-righteous self-confidence based on his pedigree and prominence in Judaism in favor of “the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (3:8).

Next, to avoid any sense that he was regretting the loss of those things he had so highly valued in his former life in Judaism, Paul insists, “What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8). Everything that had shined so brightly in his life—not just the glory of his former emphases in Judaism—had faded to darkness when placed in the exceedingly brilliant light of the knowledge of Christ’s salvation.

Finally, Paul pulls out all the rhetorical stops as he reaches a shocking climax: “for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (3:8). The term translated as “Garbage” would have likely raised eyebrows or caused a few gasps when the Philippians first read or heard it. The Greek word Paul chose to compare all earthly treasures and accomplishments to Christ/ is skybalon. The term means “dung, excrement, manure.”

—3:9–11—

With his ego-laden ship sunk, Paul wasn’t mourning his loss /but shouting out a jubilant “Good riddance!” What Paul’s spiritually blinded eyes had seen as a boatload of treasures, the light of Christ had revealed as a pile of manure! Instead of mourning the loss of those useless things he had hoarded by his own strength, (Bulletin Insert) Paul rejoiced in the Lord (3:1) for receiving eternal rewards he could never have earned on his own:

being found in the Lord Jesus Christ (3:9)

receiving righteousness from God, not from himself (3:9)

being justified by faith, not by works of the Law (3:9)

knowing Christ (3:10)

experiencing the power of Christ’s resurrection (3:10)

sharing in Christ’s sufferings and death (3:10)

embracing the hope of resurrection from the dead (3:11)

(Accounting scenario)

In 3:9, we find an excellent summary of the doctrine known as imputation, which refers to crediting something to a person’s account. Here’s a simple definition of how the word is used theologically: “In salvation, our sin and guilt are credited to Christ, and His righteousness is credited to us.” Because Paul was now “in Christ” (3:9), everything Christ had accomplished through His death and resurrection—payment for sin and eternal life—had been credited to Paul’s otherwise bankrupt account. Paul thought the massive sum in his “righteousness” account had made him rich. What he hadn’t realized was that the balance was a negative number! The righteousness credited to Paul’s account the moment he embraced Christ by faith was the unmeasurable righteousness of the perfect God-man. Christ’s righteousness not only canceled Paul’s debt but also placed in his account that “God has given us everything we need for living a godly life” (2 Pet. 1:3). We need nothing more, as the song we sang this morning, ‘Jesus Paid it All.’

The result of this new relationship was that the power of Christ’s resurrection became a present reality for Paul, allowing him to rejoice even as he shared in Christ’s sufferings (Phil. 3:10). Paul could now see that the sufferings he was enduring for his faith were a means of conforming him to Christ’s character of selfless humility. And this new relationship sealed the promise of future hope—attaining the resurrection from the dead (3:11).

Application: PHILIPPIANS 3:1–11

An Invitation to High Achievers

To put Paul’s accomplishments in Judaism in perspective, let me cast them in a more modern idiom. He had obtained all the honors: Eagle Scout, homecoming king, valedictorian, and a full-ride scholarship to an Ivy League school. He had graduated summa cum laude, going on to excel in his field with every possible honor. But then he realized that, compared to knowing Christ, everything he had accomplished turned out to be filthy rags. Rubbish. Useless. Manuer!

If we succeed for our own glory, or the accolades of others, it will drive us further away from depending on Christ alone for salvation. This warning also addresses believers who have received Christ’s salvation by grace alone through faith alone, but who nevertheless turn to their own strength and accomplishments to live Christlike lives. That, too, is an impossibility.

(Bulletin Insert) A couple of straightforward reminders emerge from Paul's contrast in Philippians 3:1–11.

First, trusting in your own achievements can bring you glory now, but it leaves you spiritually bankrupt later. The hardest part of getting driven, self-made, “type A” people to understand the gospel is to help them understand that grace is unmerited favor. It can’t be earned. It can’t be bought. It can’t be sought and found. It can only be received. This hard truth is painful for go-getters who believe anything worth having is worth sweating for. I fall firmly into this camp. The truth is, when it comes to salvation, surrendering our efforts is the only way to gain a restored relationship with God, the result of which is eternal life.

Second, trusting in Christ’s accomplishment on the cross gives Him the glory now and results in our eternal righteousness. This is what Paul means when he tells the Philippians to “rejoice in the Lord” (3:1). We glory in Him, not in ourselves. We celebrate His accomplishments for us, not our work for Him. We praise and thank Him for who He is and what He has done, forgetting ourselves and our achievements and ignoring our own résumés. We give Him glory now. Paul discovered/and perhaps we will too/that all human efforts to live a life pleasing to God apart from Christ are pointless and fruitless. Let us do as the Hymn writer put it best: All to Jesus, I surrender, All to Thee I freely five. I will ever love and trust You. In Your presence daily live.

All to Jesus, I surrender. Lord, I give myself to Thee. Fill me with Your love and power. Let Your blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus, I surrender. Now, I feel the sacred flame. O the joy of full salvation.

Glory, glory, to Your name

Next week, we will continue studying Philippians as we continue in part 3, Joy in Sharing.  We will focus on Standing Firm without Standing Still in a message titled:  “Hanging Tough and Looking Up.”  Please read Philippians 3:12-21 in preparation for next week.