Paul’s words in Philippians 3 are not mere devotional suggestions or memory verses to be tucked away for comfort. Here, he draws a sharp line between true spiritual maturity and the deadly counterfeit that threatens to undermine the very foundation of our faith. The stakes are nothing less than our justification, our inheritance, and our standing as sons—these are not secondary matters, but issues at the heart of the gospel itself.
The Language of Christ: More Than Jargon
Paul’s language—speaking of being a “drink offering,” of the “bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ”—is not religious jargon, nor is it simply a product of his culture. This is the language of Christ, given by revelation, expressing realities that natural thought cannot reach. God’s words are always strange to the flesh; they are higher than our ways and thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). You cannot simply study the vocabulary and assume you have grasped the reality. Many speak of “grace” and “the riches of Christ,” but unless God Himself has trained you—both in language and in life—these words remain empty, easily twisted into legalistic tools.
It is possible, and all too common, to use the language of grace while living under law. Entire religious systems speak eloquently of grace, yet mean nothing more than self-improvement and sanctification by works. This is not grace at all. True grace removes the burden from your shoulders and places it squarely on Christ, where it belongs. Until you have been brought to this realization by God’s own hand, your “grace language” will only serve to legalize and bind.
The Repeated Warning: The Gospel Under Siege
Paul’s warnings are not optional extras; he repeats them for the safety of the church. “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision” (Philippians 3:2). This is not mere polemic. Throughout the New Testament, the apostles relentlessly warn against those who corrupt the gospel—those who would draw disciples after themselves, introduce law, and bring the saints into bondage. Paul wept as he warned the Ephesian elders for three years, day and night, with tears (Acts 20:26-31). The threat is real, and the consequences are grave: corruption of the gospel, division, bondage, and the loss of spiritual inheritance.
If you find these warnings uncomfortable or excessive, you have not yet seen what is at stake. To accept the teaching of these “dogs,” “evil workers,” and “the concision” is to forfeit your freedom in Christ and fall from grace itself.
Who Are These Counterfeits?
- The Dogs: Unclean, indiscriminate handlers of the Word. They devour without discernment, using Scripture as a weapon to tear down rather than to build up. The Word, to them, is mere letter—spiritual truth is lost, and the result is spiritual uncleanness and division.
- The Evil Workers: Those who parade their service to God, yet their works are evil because they corrupt the gospel and enslave the saints. They boast in their labors, but their ministry brings bondage, shame, and disqualification from the prize (Colossians 2:8, 2:18; Matthew 7:21-23).
- The Concision: The party of fleshly religious ritual—those who trust in outward acts, law-keeping, and human effort to perfect themselves. They may profess justification by faith, but in practice, they seek sanctification and qualification through the flesh.
Paul does not hesitate: mark and avoid such men and ministries. Their teaching is not a harmless difference of opinion; it is a direct assault on the sufficiency of Christ and the freedom of the believer.
The True Circumcision: No Confidence in the Flesh
In stark contrast, Paul declares: “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:3).
The principle of circumcision was never a badge for boasting. It was God’s declaration that human effort is utterly unprofitable. When Abraham, in unbelief, produced Ishmael by his own strength, God responded not with approval, but with the covenant of circumcision—a cutting off of the very member used to produce Ishmael. God’s message was clear: “I reject your help. I do not need your flesh. My promise will be fulfilled by My power alone.”
Justification by faith alone qualified Abraham for the promise. Any attempt to “help God” only produced strife, shame, and delay. The same is true for us. To turn God’s promise into a law and strive to fulfill it by our own effort is to walk in the flesh, which cannot please God (Romans 8:8). The result is spiritual barrenness, division, and a forfeiture of rest.
What Is Lost If the Error Is Accepted?
If you accept the teaching of the dogs, evil workers, or the concision—if you place your confidence in the flesh, in law-keeping, or in your own religious zeal—you lose everything that matters. The gospel is corrupted. The inheritance is forfeited. You fall from grace and are left in bondage, wandering in spiritual wilderness, disqualified from ministry and fruitfulness. The very foundation of your sonship and justification is undermined. This is not a secondary issue; it is salvific. There is no rest, no fruit, and no qualification apart from the finished work of Christ and a total renunciation of the flesh.
The Pattern of the Fathers: Faith Alone
Abraham, after years of striving, was brought back to the beginning: standing before God with nothing but faith in the promise. Jacob, after a life of scheming, was crippled by God and renamed Israel—not because he became stronger, but because he was finally made weak, leaning only on God. Israel, after forty years of unbelief and self-effort in the wilderness, could only enter the land by passing through the Jordan—a burial of the old man, a confession that “we are dead,” and only God can bring us in.
This is the rule of the new creation. The old man is cut off; the flesh is buried. Our only boast is in Christ. “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
Only the True Circumcision Is Qualified
Only those who have come to the end of themselves—who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ, and have no confidence in the flesh—are qualified to minister, to enter God’s rest, and to inherit the promises. Their ministry is not a product of self-effort, but of mercy received (2 Corinthians 4:1). They are not building for themselves, but dispensing Christ to the heirs. Anything else is to be warned against, avoided, and exposed.
Do not be deceived: spiritual maturity, fruitfulness, and freedom are found only in the finished work of Christ. The flesh profits nothing. To persist in fleshly effort is to remain in shame and bondage. To boast in Christ alone is to enter into the inheritance, rest, and ministry God has prepared.
We are the true circumcision. Let us have no confidence in the flesh. Let us rejoice only in Christ Jesus. Anything less is to lose everything.
