Add Nothing to Our Complete Christ
10/9 Reading Portions: 1 Kings 12; Philippians 3; Ezekiel 42; Psalm 94
Online Bible Audio/Readings Links (ESV)
10/9 Reading Portions: 1 Kings 12; Philippians 3; Ezekiel 42; Psalm 94
Philippians 3:3
For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—
COMPLETE
In the preceding verse, Paul warns us to…
Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. Philippians 3:2
In the KJV, the ‘evildoers’ is translated “evil workers,” and ‘those who mutilate the flesh’ is translated “the concision.” Our verse today hints at just who those “dogs” were. They were the Jews and circumcised Gentiles who taught that one must also be circumcised to truly be Christian. But we, who trust in Christ by faith, are the true circumcision. The covenant of circumcision was truly fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ by the cutting of His flesh and the spilling of His blood while hanging upon the cross. Our conversion, therefore, is a circumcision of the heart, performed by God in Christ (Deut 30:6). Today, however, we don’t find a lot of Judaizers tempting us to add circumcision to our faith. Yet we should still beware or rather look out for those who would tempt us to place our confidence in the flesh, to add our righteous deeds and outward works to make us “more complete” Christians. Though we are transformed as new creations by God’s grace through faith (2 Cor 5:17), our confidence must remain steadfastly upon the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. The Lord Jesus Christ is the “Head of all principality and power” so we “are complete in Him” (Col 2:10, KJV). What can we add to faith in Christ that can make His righteous life and His sacrificial sufferings and death more perfect? Circumcision? Baptism? Righteous works? Random acts of kindness? A martyr’s death? No! None of it! Any act, work, deed, or behavior that does not spring forth from “faith working through love” (Gal 5:6) is placing confidence in the flesh, which is sin (Rom 14:23). Our loving and holy response to God’s love in Christ, however, is by the Spirit of God and boasts for the glory in Christ alone. Hallelujah! What a complete Savior!
We’re confident in Christ alone,
Yes, by His life and death:
His work suffic’d for sin’s atone,
Complete to pay our debt.