Christ Our Confidence, Rejoicing in Our Identity of Faith

Dismiss the children if you haven’t already

GREETINGS

Good afternoon! As we continue in our worship through the preaching of God’s Word, please grab your Bibles...

…we are in The Letter of Philippians chapter 3 this afternoon, verses 1-11—Philippians 3:1-11

For starters I will read verses 1-3 to start us off and we’ll launch right into this sermon

Philippians 3:1–3 ESV

1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 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 title of our sermon this afternoon is “Christ Our Confidence, Rejoicing In Our Identity of Faith”

PRAY

Introduction

Paul starts this section with “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.” This is not “finally” as if this is the last thing he’s saying…he’s only at the middle of the letter at this point. “Finally” here is connecting “rejoice in the Lord” with the joy he’s been encouraging the church with so far:

In 1:25 he says, “I [Paul] will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.” - There Paul encourages JOY in the faith!

In 2:17-18, Paul says, “Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.” - There Paul encourages JOY in the fight!

In 2:28, Paul goes on to say, “I am the more eager to send him [Epaphroditus], therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again…” - There Paul encourages JOY in the fellowship! Or JOY in the friendship!

Joy in the faith, joy in the fight, and joy in the fellowship is the joy that Paul is building on in our text. “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.” The Lord! Don’t miss that … “in the Lord.” Paul desires a fulness of joy for the church that is rooted in Christ. Joy that is undiminished, unquenched, and unwavering all because of Christ.

The point of this sermon is to encourage the church with the joy they have in Christ. Whether it be in the faith or the fight or the friends … extend your joy, keep having joy because in Christ you have more joy to embrace and experience. As an aside, this is not going to be Paul’s last encouragement of joy, he will once again say in 4:4, “Rejoice!”

Philippians 4:4 ESV

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

The reason why Paul says this is because of their “partnership in the gospel” (1:5) and because they are “partakers of grace” with Paul (1:7). As such, they are already people who rejoice in the Lord. If Paul is writing this to a church that already knows this and that already does this, then I would venture to think that we too need to hear this. Even when we’re doing good, it doesn’t hurt to hear a message about joy. How much more when we’re hurting for joy! This is for you … this is for me!

In verses 1-2

Rejoice Because of the Joy You Have in Christ

Philippians 3:1–2 ESV

1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

Back in 1993, Michael Jordan retired from basketball. By that time he won three consecutive championships, was a 3-time finals MVP, 3-time league MVP, and 1992 gold medalist among many many other things. He was at the top of the basketball world and then, to a watching world, he suddenly retired. His father’s murder took a toll on him and rumors were spreading as to why he would do such a thing. The New York Times reports his public statement:

“Jordan said he’d lost the ‘sense of motivation’ to keep playing. (Aldridge)

It gets like that in the church, “I lost my sense of motivation”. Where once there was joy, there was no more joy.

I remember when I first came to Christ, these two older ladies from church came up to me and said “that’s so wonderful!” I asked, “what’s so wonderful?” They answered, “how excited you are about Jesus!” At the time I was a bit confused about that statement, but over the years I have come to understand how wonderful it is to be older in the faith and see people excited about Jesus. Sometimes we forget how special our new life in Christ is, how special our salvation is, how special his love and his grace is. Sometimes like Michael Jordan, we lose our sense of motivation. And then some young whipper schnapper comes along, gets saved, and says I love Jesus in such an uncontainable way, and goes all out for Him in ways that would challenge us in the faith with our witness and our worship. We see that and we say “that’s so wonderful!”

Joy in the Lord is wonderful!! I love seeing teh joy of new believers. Their joy is a reminder of what my joy needs to be like. If we’re not careful we’ll make our life in Christ something less than joy in the Lord. It’s like the church in Ephesus that Pastor Ryan preached about several weeks ago out of Revelation regarding their commitment and discipline, where Christ says of them, “I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” (Revelation 2:5).

Loving Jesus, rejoicing in Him, is the fundamental thing, the first thing we do as new believers—“the love you had at first.” The words of our Lord to this church at Ephesus is a call back to those first things. Paul does that here when he says, “Rejoice in the Lord.” It’s the same old message that brings them back to their first love.

———————————————

There is joy here and Paul says, “To write the same things to you is no trouble to me”. It’s not irksome; it’s not grievous to tell you the same thing once again. Previous conversations, previous communications, previous letters, including this one—to rejoice in the Lord—is no problem at all. It is the faithful minister and the faithful friend who constantly reminds you of the joy you have in Jesus.

Imagine Paul in this letter, several years in the ministry, now in prison, saying, “to write the same things to you is no trouble to me.” “Rejoice in the Lord”, for Paul, is something he tirelessly, zealously, and joyfully says over and over again for the people of God. It is the consistent message of His ministry despite His outward situation.

Isn’t it wonderful, especially when things are not going well in your life, or when you’re not doing so well in your Christian life, when a brother or sister in the Lord reminds you to rejoice in the Lord. For example:

You haven’t been in church for several months. For whatever reason be it a tragedy, be it sin, be it work or whatever reason it’s been that’s kept you from being at church … on this particular day you show up. And then a brother greets you and instead of guilting you, shaming you, or embarrassing you for your lack luster attendance, the brother says instead, “Man, it’s so good to see you! Isn’t it great to worship God together today! Isn’t God so good?! Praise the Lord! I’m so glad you’re here.”

To do that over and over and over again is Paul’s delight, it’s no trouble for him, and neither should it be for you.

———————————————

And then he says what? It “is safe for you” when he does this. What we find out in this text is that rejoicing in the Lord is not merely for the glory of God, but it’s also for the good of His people. When Paul is encouraging joy, he is trying to protect them from something harmful. We’ve seen some of this already.

According to 1:17, there are people proclaiming the gospel with an evil heart. Philippians 1:17

Philippians 1:17 ESV

17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.

In 1:28, there are opponents to the gospel. I like to think of myself as a friendly person who has no enemies, but the truth of the matter is we do have enemies. People who preach a different gospel. In Paul’s days these were primarily the Judaizers who pushed for a works based salvation and not one of faith. They will say that what you do plays a role in your salvation, in your becoming a Christian. They are the ones in Acts 15:1 who says, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Acts 15:1 ESV

1 But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

It will be your Law keeping that will in the end save you according to them. They are opponents to the gospel because that is not the gospel. The way Paul words it actually in 1:28 is they are “your opponents.” They are your enemies. In their false teachings they are against you, not for you.

———————————————

Here in chapter 3, Paul comes back to those people and says, Philippians 3:2

Philippians 3:2 ESV

2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

Dogs, biblically speaking, is a reference to unclean things. I have nothing against dogs, I have one, and I love her. She’s a part of the family. We bathe her, we groom her, we brush her teeth, I like to spray lavender on her and give her a nice brush. Now … if I drop anything on the floor, guess what she’ll do. She’ll eat it.

Because they’re unclean. Biblically, enemies of God have been referred to as dogs. As such, they are enemies to the truth, they teach counter to God’s Word and thus they are enemies of God, not merely your enemies.

In that messianic psalm where it says, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” it says in Psalm 22:16, 20

Psalm 22:16 ESV

16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—

Psalm 22:20 ESV

20 Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog!

Psalm 59:6, 14 (both verses say the exact same thing), this is where Saul sent some men to kill David.

Psalm 59:6 ESV

6 Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.

By calling these enemies dogs, Paul indicates their message is not pure. They do not have your good in mind. They are no friends. They are enemies. Lookout for them. Lookout for the evildoers. Lookout for those who mutilate the flesh. Which is to say that they took circumcision as outlined in Genesis 17:12 [show slide but do no read] and say that is how you will be saved, we saw that in Acts 15:1. Well it doesn’t save, that is not the gospel, and if that’s what you’re doing for the sole purpose of salvation then all you’re doing is mutilating the flesh.

Genesis 17:12 ESV

12 He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring,

———————————————

These enemies will say that somehow you need to earn that joy, work for that joy, or be worthy of that joy, but Paul is telling them, you already have that joy in Christ. It’s already yours. He’s just saying it again. It was your to enjoy when I said it earlier, it’s still yours now. The reason why he can continuously encourage your joy over and over again is because He is yours to enjoy always.

Rejoice because of the joy you have in Christ. Furthermore…

Rejoice Because of Who You Are in Christ

Philippians 3:3–7 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— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for 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; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.

Paul says “We are the circumcision”. Not “we might be”, but emphatically “we are”. The Philippian church were made up of Gentile believers who did not practice Genesis 17:12, they were not among those who were circumcised on the 8th day, most likely not at all. LIke, not even on the 8th month or the 8th year. In the Old Testament, circumcision was a sign of membership among God’s people, but the problem was that the external act of circumcision did not necessarily reflect the heart. So along with Genesis 17:12, you were supposed to also have Deuteronomy 30:6 in mind.

Deuteronomy 30:6 ESV

6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

So it’s a circumcision of the heart, not the flesh, that makes you truly a part of God’s people. Paul tells us in Romans 2:28-29…

Romans 2:28–29 ESV

28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

The point is this. This is a work of God. No man does this. No man operates at the heart level … but the Holy Spirit does. This circumcision has the approval of God … its praise is not from man but from God. God affirms spiritual circumcision. Not what the Judaizers are doing, but what the Holy Spirit is doing in the lives of people from the heart level.

Galatians 6:15 ESV

15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

Only God does that; only God can save and make you a part of His kingdom. It’s why Paul can say for himself and for this church, “we are the circumcision.” He’s affirming their faith and he’s giving them a reason to “Rejoice in the Lord…we are the circumcision!”

Show the verse, no need to read

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—

As the Circumcision, We Will Worship by the Spirit of God

In other words we give God the worship that is acceptable and pleasing to Him.

John 4:23 says, “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth…” Verse 24 goes on to say, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Worshipping God is spiritual and we do so by the Holy Spirit and in Christ as the circumcision we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

Romans 8:9 - the Holy Spirit dwells in you … if you don’t have the Holy Spirit in you, Paul says in this verse that it’s because you don’t belong to Christ, you’re not the circumcision … but because you do have Christ, you are the circumcision, the Holy Spirit is in you which allows you to worship God in spirit and truth.

1 Corinthians 6:19 - you are a temple of the Holy Spirit

As the Circumcision, We will Glory in Christ Jesus

In other words we have a Christ-centered existence. We glorify God rightly in Christ. Not in ourselves but in Him.

That’s why “Rejoice in the Lord” is so important. No Christ, no joy. No Christ, essentially, now worship. There’s not glorifying God outside of Christ.

As the Circumcision, We will Put No Confidence in the Flesh

This is why rejoicing in the Lord is safe. It puts your confidence in the right place not the wrong place. When the Holy Spirit circumcises your heart through faith in Christ, you will truly love the Lord your God. Put no confidence in the flesh. To press the point, Paul uses himself as an example because he’s such an accomplished person. His resume is stellar, to say the least. He will go on to say that it’s not worth trusting.

Some of you know that I recently have been looking for co-vocational work. It is one of the ways that a young church plant like ours can afford two pastors. It is also one of the ways that we can invest in and be involved in the planting of other churches. Well with that I’ve had to put a resume out. I’ve had to do interviews. Essentially, I’ve had to highlight myself and make myself look good to these employers. I have to talk about schooling, training, certificates and degrees. I’ve had to share about experiences, projects, working in teams, and being a self-starter. I’ve been doing this now for the 9 months I’ve been here in California. If you include the 3-4 months prior in Hawaii, anticipating my move here to California … that makes it one year everybody … and quite frankly, I’m kind of tired talking about myself.

I took a look at all the jobs I’ve applied to on LinkedIn in the past 12 months. It was paginated, showing 10 jobs per page. The past year showed 64.5 pages of job applications I’ve applied to which means 645 jobs on LinkedIn along. My resume is not stellar, otherwise I would have gotten a job right off the bat. As an aside I was officially offered a job on Friday … can you believe that … 646th application/resume submission later.

It’s hard to look good on paper, but Paul looks good on paper. Paul’s short resume covers a lot of ground. In covering all that he does, he says something in verse 3 and verse 7 that puts everything (all his accomplishments and accolades) into perspective.

First he says in verse 3, “put no confidence in the flesh” and then verse 7 “whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” Either I hold to the resume and trust in that, OR I let go and trust in Christ. In this resume we learn two things about letting go and trusting in Christ.

Do not put confidence in your privilege AND

Do not put confidence in your performance.

Put no confidence in your privilege (v. 5a)

Religious Privilege - “Circumcised on the 8th day”

This is more privilege than it is performance because at 8 days old, Paul was just recipient. As a baby he did not say, “you know what, mom, dad, I want to get circumcised.”

If anything, he grew up in a Jewish home that honored the Old Testament, that took God seriously, and took God at his Word.

Our privileges:

Growing up in church

Christian home

Walked down the alter … at a Billy Graham Revival

National Privilege - “…of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin…”

He was part of that nation of Israel. In particular Paul was of the tribe of Benjamin. That was the tribe that, when given land, had the city of Jerusalem within its borders (cf. Joshua 18:28). The tribe of Benjamin was also the tribe of Israel the remained with Judah when the nation split and fought with each other. The tribe of Benjamin remained loyal to the tribe that Jesus came from, the tribe of Judah.

Our privileges:

Denomination

Theological Framework

Family Name

Discipler

Cultural Privilege - “…a Hebrew of Hebrews…”

Even though Paul was a Roman citizen and well versed in the Greek culture and the Greek language, he never lost sight of his culture.

As a third generation American I can appreciate this. I’m the third generation in and I already can’t speak my cultural language, Tagalog. I could understand it, but I can’t speak it. My children, the next generation can’t speak it and can’t understand it.

Whereas national privilege has more to do with identity, this cultural privilege connected more with the ways and lifestyle of the people.

==> Do no put confidence in any of these things. Even though pride may well up over some of those things, it doesn’t save and it can’t ever save.

Put no confidence in your performance (v. 5b - 6)

Paul transitions from his privileges to his performances (his works)

He is a law keeping Pharisee - “as to the law, a Pharisee”

They are known for their meticulous observance of the Law.

If they had a choice between helping their parents or checking off a box in their spreadsheet of do’s and don’ts, they’ll choose the checkbox.

Example of giving over helping

Matthew 15:4–6 ESV

4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.

He is a zealous persecutor of the Church - “as to zeal, a persecutor of the Church”

Before Paul became a Christian, his name was Saul. In Acts 8:3 it says that…

Acts 8:3 ESV

3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

In Acts 9:1 it says…

Acts 9:1 ESV

1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

His reputation was this in Acts 9:13…

Acts 9:13 ESV

13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.

There was a fierceness to him. He was fiery in his pursuit of persecuting the church.

The word zealous can also be translated jealousy and Galatians 1:14 helps us to understand his zeal in that way when he says…

Galatians 1:13–14 ESV

13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.

Christianity was growing … and Saul was going to put it to an end.

He is blameless in the eyes of the law - “as to righteousness under the law, blameless”

Not sinless, but blameless. There wasn’t anything outwardly that you could use to justifiably condemn him.

==> You see, that is quite a resume. People have rejected Christ with far less on their resume. Paul has an amazing resume and he says it’s rubbish.

Brother and sister, rejoice becuase of who you are in Christ, you are the circumcised. Lastly...

Rejoice Because of a Complete Salvation in Christ

Really quick here, Paul rejoices with a complete scope of salvation in mind: Justification, Sanctification, Glorification.

Rejoicing in Justification (v. 8-9)

Philippians 3:8–9 ESV

8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order 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 comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

Paul discounts his resume because it’s rubbish. It’s trash. It’s of no value. On the other hand, knowing Christ Jesus as Lord if of great value. It is superior. It stands out above any privilege we can ever have or performance we can ever do. It’s like we learned in the Book of Hebrews that Christ is better.

When Paul talks about a righteousness from God that depends on faith, we understand he’s talking about justification. God makes you right through Christ by faith.

Rejoicing in Sanctification (v. 10)

Philippians 3:10 ESV

10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

In the Christian life you stay connected with Christ. There is a fellowship with Christ in suffering. There’s a joy here that is basically saying if knowing Christ is of surpassing worth, and suffering is the path to knowing Him, then let me share in his suffering. It’s sanctifying because through that process, we become like Him. Sanctification is the process in which we become less and less what we were like before knowing Christ and more and more like Christ in His death.

Humility, sacrifice, service, love, etc.

Rejoicing in Glorification (v. 11)

Philippians 3:11 ESV

11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

It appears that Paul might be uncertain about his future hope, but we know he’s not uncertain because we have those words of certainty in verses 20-21. He actually speaks of attaining the resurrection from the dead here in verse 11 as something that happened in the past. He’s actually sure; it’s as good as done.

This language of “by any means possible” meaning the things that unfold in our life between now and that future hope, speaking of a life that won’t hold back for God; a life that will go all out in this life and a life that yields completely to God.

It is being okay with whatever happens in this life because we already know the destination.

It’s living according to Romans 8:28

Romans 8:28 ESV

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Conclusion

What more can I say dear church except to say along with Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord. To say the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.”

If you don’t have a relationship with God today, you can have this joy. You can have a salvation that is safe and secure in Him. Believe in Jesu and He won’t hold back; He’ll give it all to you. True joy is in the Lord.

End Notes

Aldridge, David. “When Michael Jordan Walked Away from Basketball in 1993, the Recoil Was Seismic.” The New York Times, October 9, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4905700/2023/10/06/michael-jordan-retirement-anniversary-1993-bulls/.

Communion

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Isaiah 53:11 ESV

11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Jesus knew that His death would mean our salvation

It is His joy to be our Savior

When we are remembering His body and blood, it’s not a tragedy