Philippians 3:1-11

Introduction

Hello everyone, if I haven’t gotten the privilege to meet you yet, my name is Tristan Thomas and I am so grateful and excited to be here. This really makes me feel at home because I grew up going to a couple different smaller country churches. It feels like a family here and that is so exciting to see. I am a college student online at Midwestern Seminary pursuing an aspiration to ministry. I am joined here by a supportive crowd of my girlfriend Sophie and my mom and two younger brothers.

I will be in Philippians chapter three today, I will be in the first 11 verses of Philippians.

Read Philippians 3:1-11

Look Out For The Dogs (1-2)

Here in Philippians 3, we see that Paul starts off with the command to rejoice in the Lord. In the letter to the Philippians, Paul often mentions this command to rejoice. Paul has encouraged the Philippians multiple times before in this letter and this time is nothing new. The Philippians should be making much of Christ for all that He has done in their lives.

Paul acknowledges that he has said these things before because after he has commanded the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, he says that it is no trouble to write the same things to them again. We often need reminding that we need to rejoice in the Lord. Rejoicing in the Lord really does no wrong. The more you rejoice in the Lord, the more spiritually minded you will become.

Like I said, I think we often need to be reminded to rejoice in the Lord. That has been a personal conviction over my life recently. I have prayed to God to remind me of what He has done for me and help me never forget that. Help me rejoice in Him sending His only son to die for me. So that I can live today and I can preach His word faithfully. Help me rejoice in that.

Paul has said it so many times that he says it is not a trouble for him to say it again but what Paul also says is that it is safe for the Philippians. He says at the end of verse 1 “it is safe for you.” That word safe that is used is used in order to firmly anchor that command to rejoice in the Lord. To secure it in their hearts and minds. Anchor and secure that truth to rejoice in the Lord is what Paul is trying to do.

Paul then goes on in verse two to tall about the dogs or the villains or bad guys. The ones who are against the Philippians. What is different about the opponents that Paul is talking about is the language that Paul is using to describe the opponents. Who Paul is talking about is the Jewish false teachers. He calls them dogs. The dogs are selfish and quite frankly doggish.

These were Jews who accepted Christ as the messiah but still wanted to hold to forms of Judaism. They were in Acts 15 and said that unless you are circumcised according to the custom, the law that was prescribed by Moses, you can’t be saved. They were teaching false teachings and these are the group of Christians that Paul is talking about. The Jews actually called the Gentiles dogs but Paul flips the switch and calls the Jews dogs. They are called evildoers because their mission was evil, not good.

Some time ago, there was a song everyone used to sing called “Who Let the Dogs Out.” The chorus was a little bit light-hearted but the lyrics were terrible. The song was not very good but it was really catchy. Well that song is much like these false teachers. Though the message may appear attractive on the surface, when you examine it, you realize that it is perverted.

So who let these dogs out? The evil one did. The devil would like nothing more than to have people believe in a false gospel. He would love nothing more than to send his dogs, his evildoers out on a mission to try and destroy you. So beware of dogs. Like physical dogs, there are many different spiritual dogs who do different things and look different. A lot of it is adding to the gospel. When you add to the gospel, you lose the gospel! It is not Jesus plus your good works.

I would just say, evaluate the voices that you allow to shape your faith. Not every Christian influencer, or voice is preaching the true Gospel. Paul doesn’t use any soft words when he is talking about the false teachers here. He is literally calling them dogs. They will try to tell you something and in this day and age, a lot of people just believe what they see on the internet and don’t think twice about it. The true source that will always be right and never lead you astray is the Bible. Let all of your information come from that.

Marks of Those Who Know Christ (3-6)

We then get into the second part of this passage in verses 3-6. Paul gives us the marks of those who know Christ and what some of those marks are. Paul first gets into this by starting verse three off and saying that we are the circumcision. This is not speaking of a circumcision of the flesh but of a changed heart. Paul also points this out in Romans 2:28–29 when he says, “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 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.”

Paul points out that true believers have received a heart of change. The new heart, the circumcised heart is a change or a promised part of the new covenant that we are in. This circumcision is a sharp contrast to the circumcision that the false teachers were showing. They were requiring the external circumcision for one to be considered a Christian. I believe that Paul then gives us three marks of those who know Christ.

The first mark is that we serve by the spirit of God. In 3b, Paul tells the church of Philippians that true believers worship by the Spirit of God. The worship that God is talking about is awesome. He is not just talking about how we worship here on Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights but he is speaking of a service to God. A life that is devoted to God in spiritual service. The worship that we owe God.

We worship the spirit of God. Another root word of worship that is used in the John 24 literally means like a dog licking its masters hand. Dogs really are the greatest things. Have you ever had a dog come up when you’re laying down and just lick your face or hands? Sometimes gentle, sometimes crazy, probably slobbery. That is worship. Worship should be us licking God’s fingers. The spirit of God causes you to worship so much that you feel like a dog licking its masters hand.

Does the Spirit of God dwell in you? Do you truly feel like a dog licking its masters hand? Do you worship and serve God by the spirit? God wants to see you, His child showing immense love to Him. So much love that other people can tell how much the Spirit of God is dwelling in you and moving. Think about if the Spirit of God is dwelling in you. If it is, let that Spirit be a guide for your worship.

The second mark comes from 3c. The mark is that we boast in Christ. We see in 3c that Paul says that the true believers will boast in Christ Jesus. Our glory is in Christ alone. Paul says in Galatians 6:14 “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

We don’t get glory in any earthly things. Not in any achievements or success in this earthly life. But in the salvation that we have because of why? Christ Jesus. That salvation that came to us from another that loved and still loves us so dearly. That is our boast. The glory that radiates so bright that we can see that who we once were is not who we are now. The Christian life is a Christ-exalting life. If you are a Christian and you are not exalting Christ, what are you doing?

We find love in Christ. We find grace in Christ. We find life in Christ. We find an advocate in Christ. We find a healer in Christ. We find a savior in Christ. We find everything we would ever need in Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ alone! Not in any false teacher, not in any idol, not in any show or movie. Not in anything but Christ. Let us boast in that.

Do you boast in Christ around your friends? Does Christ’ glory show in your ministry publicly? How do you use your platform? Is it to glorify Christ? What are you known for? What is Ponce Baptist Church known for? Churches can be known for so many different things. Let this church be known for boasting in Christ.

The third and final mark is found in 3d through verse 6. The final mark is that we put no confidence in the flesh. I just talked about what you are known for and this goes along with that. Paul is telling the church that they need to put their confidence in Christ. Not their own effort or goodness. That is why the Christian finds their hope in Christ and boast in Him. That is where their confidence is.

The flesh is wicked, we all know that. It is sinful and corrupted and that is because we are human. We are not Christ, we are not God. So if we choose to put our confidence in the flesh and the things of this earth or our accomplishments, we will surely fail. Choose not to put your confidence in what you have done but what He has done. He did what He did which was die on the cross so that you have freedom to do what you do. You are free to make decisions and live a life where you may have accomplishments or achievements in this life. That is because of Jesus Christ.

The Jews really loved to show off their Jewish credentials and when we move on to verse 4, Paul is showing off his own credentials which were like no other. Paul had a very impressive Jewish life and did many things that he could show off but Pauls point here is to show how empty fleshly confidence is. How compared to the amazingness of Christ, is merely rubbish.

Like I said, Paul had many reasons to boast. Paul had the birth, education, and religiousness that any Jew would have loved to show off and we see how disclaims those moving on in the passage. In verse 5 Paul gives multiple different things that he could be boasting in in the flesh. He says that he was circumcised on the eighth day, which was what was done in the Jewish first class day. Paul was of the tribe of Benjamin which was a distinguished tribe because it gave Israel its first king in Saul. Paul was a Hebrew of Hebrews.

Going on, Paul says that he is a pharisee. Pharisees were mentioned a lot in the New Testament but there were only around 6,000 of them in Pauls day. And he was one of them. Pharisee meant separated. They were wholly dedicated to God. In verse 6, Paul says not to put your confidence in zeal. The claim today we hear would be something like “It doesn’t matter what you believe, as long as you really believe it.” No one was more sincere about what they believed than Saul who is Paul. He wasn’t just a pharisee but was really zealous as we see here in verse 6. Even in Galatians 1:14, Paul says that he was extremely zealous for the tradition of his ancestors.

In his pre-conversion life, Paul was known for persecuting the church. That’s what his zeal was expressed through. He wanted to keep the tradition of his fathers so much that he was persecuting the church because it is not what the tradition was. Salvation does not come by passion. There are so many things in this world that people are passionate about. But that is not where salvation comes from. Salvation comes from knowing the real man of zeal, Jesus.

It is like counterfeit money. Bank tellers know what money is counterfeit not from studying the fake money but the real thing. They learn the things like the texture and the ink, those marks that will tell if it is fake or not. Us Christians are marked by the real things like worship, boasting in Christ, and having no confidence in the flesh.

Let your confidence come from Christ, not your resume. Paul had the greatest resume for any Jewish man to have, yet he chose to boast in Christ. He realized that he had been in the dark his whole life and encountered Jesus. Jesus saved Paul and Paul chose to find his confidence in Jesus and proclaim that to all of the world.

How to Know Christ (7-11)

My third and final point is how to know Christ and it comes from the last 5 verses 7-11. These are very powerful verses in the book and they should be dwelled on. Paul starts off in verse 7 by saying whatever he had gained, whatever list of accomplishments that he had achieved, he counts them as loss. All that Paul was, all that he did, it has no value to him anymore. That which the other Jews in the world would have loved to have, that means nothing to Paul.

Paul gives the reason why he counts all of those achievements as a loss in verses 8-11. It is because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus! Just knowing Him! Knowing Jesus as a friend, savior, healer, advocate, knowing Jesus makes everything else in life rubbish. It makes it “dung” as the King James puts it. Everything that we know that is not Jesus Christ is nothing.

Life apart from Jesus is worthless, it is nothing. Think about it like this. You can have a plate that has the Bread of Life or you can have a plate of dung. Of poop. That plate of dung is worthless! It can’t do anything but smell bad and taste horrible. That is not what the Bread of Life is though. The Bread of Life gives fulfillment that no other food, person, place, or anything else can give you!

The end says that For His sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. That rubbish is the dung I was talking about. A good reminder that this life is rubbish and means nothing. For Christ’ sake we suffer the loss of all worldly things. When you hear loss, you usually think bad, but not here. The loss is amazing because the gain that we have recieved from the loss is more valuable than anything that we could’ve lost. Another thing to note is that everything is multiple. It is everything that Paul has gained. Everything he has gained he counts as one big loss. Not multiple losses but one loss.

Moving on in verse 9, we see also how to know Christ. We need to be completely unified with Him. It is not being righteous in ones own eyes but to have righteousness in Jesus that comes from faith and depends on faith. Not any righteousness that comes from works or anything that comes from ones self but a righteousness from God. Your ultimate goal should be to be counted as righteous before God. Not before anyone else. That is all rubbish.

The goal in every Christian life should be to be completely unified with God. That comes from you choosing to put your faith wholly in Him and nothing else but it also depends on that faith. You can not be truly unified in Christ if you do not depend on Him in everything. To be unified is to have faith in Him but then depend on that faith when times in your life get hard. You are not called to leave but to demonstrate that faith through the great times and the bad. Ultimately, you need to embrace the righteousness of Jesus that was not earned by any works but recieved as a gift.

Going on to verse 10, Paul mentions another purpose to why he counts all things as loss. That is so like verse 10 says, that Paul may know Him. Paul wants to be found in Christ like verse 9 says and Paul wants to know Him like verse 10 says. This is the greatest purpose of them all. The greatest gift and joy that this life has to offer is to know Christ. In John 17:3 it states “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

Knowing Christ involves knowing both His life and resurrection. To know the power of His resurrection. The power of not only His actual resurrection but to know the already resurrected Christ that is working in the life of the believer, raising them from life to death. Knowing the resurrection also means sharing in Christ’ sufferings. God has given us the gift of suffering. When we share with Christ’s sufferings, we become like Him in his death. We do not suffer for the sake of suffering but that the suffering makes us like Jesus.

Sharing in suffering also means to share in glory though. And that leads us to verse 11. Even though, we will share in the suffering with Christ and becoming like Jesus in death will also lead to resurrection. This is to be attained by any means possible as Paul says. Not shying away from the faith but coming closer. Day by day, working towards sanctification in Christ. Allowing our hearts to be redeemed and letting God shine in our hearts to give us knowledge of Christ.

This should motivate us to want to know Christ more. There is an ocean of Glory in Christ for us to know and experience. Isn’t it awesome how you can read a passage many times and get something new from it every single time? That is God working in your heart, shining and revealing knowledge. We should be trading our self righteousness for God’s righteousness. Let us not be content with just putting a toe in the water but pursuing a deep relationship with Christ. Longing for the day in which we see HIm.

What Paul is saying here is like a story of a pearl diver. There is a pearl diver that has been diving for pearls his whole life. He finds some good ones but nothing crazy. One day, deep under water, he finds a very big and bright pearl but it is wedged between two rocks. The man has pearls with him in his hands that he had been getting but in order to get the big and bright one, he has to drop the rest. He drops the other ones and grabs the one that he was made to find. Paul says that everything that he had before knowing Christ was a loss and rubbish compared to knowing Christ. To know Christ is to drop lesser pearls so you can take hold of the greatest treasure.

Or to make it more practical, think of the small parable in Matthew 13:45–46 It says “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Selling all of the things that you have upon finding the greatest pearl ever to achieve is what Paul is talking about. That pearl gives you everything you ever need so why would you need anything else?

Knowing Christ doesn’t begin with doing more, but trusting more. Paul says in verse 9 that he traded self righteousness for God’s righteousness. Paul threw away his Jewish credentials because they were nothing compared to the surpassing knowledge of knowing Christ. Ask yourself, “Am I trying to earn what God has already given me?”

Conclusion

I really thank you guys for having me here. It has been amazing getting to be here and getting to know this amazing congregation. I just want to leave you with a few things this morning.

Watch out for the dogs. There are many people in this world who are preaching a false gospel or they are trying to add things to the gospel. Like I said earlier, when you try to add to the gospel, you subtract all of it. Stay true to the one source that will always lead you faithfully, guiding your steps and guarding your ways. Find people who truly preach the word rightfully and truthfully and follow them.

Second, there are marks of people who know Christ. If you are not showing those true marks and are choosing to put your faith in the earthly achievements that mean nothing in comparison to knowing Christ, you need to rethink those things. God doesn’t ask for that. He wants you to be like Paul. Who he was before, a Jewish persons dream, was not who he became. God could’ve encountered Paul and Paul could’ve chosen not to listen. He did though and left that what seemed like a perfect life to follow Jesus and share his name through the world. Don’t show false marks as a Christian, show those true marks.

Lastly, this passage gives us an amazing way of how to know Jesus. We know Jesus by gaining Him, truly knowing Him, sharing in His sufferings with Him, and sharing in His glory with Him. The Christian life is not easy. Jesus never promised that. He did say that you would suffer in this life and you would be persecuted for His names sake. But imagine that day when we all get to share in glory with The Father and The Son and all of the heroes of the faith. Knowing God means faithfully serving Him, not trusting or boasting in ones self but in the Lord.