The Pulpit Commentary — Philippians — Section 114

EXPOSITION. Vor. 2.-BJ'.,?,re of dogs, beware of e,,,t CHAPTER Ill workc1·;;, b~Wr\~~ et the C(Jncision. 'fbe cou~ Ver. l.-Fin11!ly, my tnthren, rojoio9 in n0ction ia, u.s given in vcr. 3, Rejoice in the the Lord. 'l'his word "finally" ( To l\011r6v Lord, not i'l tho flesh ; have cr,ufidence i!I ia frequently used by St. Paul lo lutrodnco him, not in tlio ccrcmon:e.i of t::e Jewish u vrnctical conclusion after tho doctrinril Law. Compare tl,e so.me contrast in Gal portion of his Epistles: thus it occurs ag,iin vi. 13, H. There is certainly som8thinc iu eh. iv. 8, and also in 2 Car. xiii. 11; Eph. abrupt in the sud,len introduction of th~ vi. 10: 1 Thes3. iv. 1; 2 Tbcss. iii. 1. Some polemic against J udaizing, especially in render xalpn• "farewell;" but " rejoice" wrWng to Philippi, where there were net seems moro suitable here. 'fhe goJ.len thread mo.ny Jews. But there may ham been of spiritunl joy runs through this Epistle. circumstances, unknown to us, wbich made "Rejoice in the Lord " is the oft-repeated the warning nece=ry; or, as some think, refrain of St. Paul's solemn liymn of praise. the apostle may have written this under To write the same things to you, to me in- excitement caused by the violent opposition deed is not grievous, bnt for yon it is-safe. of tbe Jewish faction at Ucme. Beicare; "The same things : " does he refer to his literally, mark, observe them, to be on yuur oral in~tructions, to a previous EpLstle now guard against them. The dogs. The artide lost, to liis exhortations to unit.y, or to his must be retnined in the translation. 'fJ,e reiterated command "Rejoice"? Tlic words Jews called the Gentiles "dog," (comp. Matt. seem most naturally to point to something xv. 26, 27; Rev. x:i.:ii. 15), i.e. unclean, in the same Epistle rather than to advice mainly because of their disregard of t':c given on former occasions. It ia true tbat distinction between clean and nnclean for;J. Polycarp, in his letter to tbe Philip1Jians St. Paul retorts the epithet: they are the· (section 3), says tho.t St. Paul wrote Epistles dogs, who have confidence in the flesh, not (errurTol\&;) to them ; hut there is n<> trace in spiritu,1 l religion. Evfl work~s; so 2 Cor. of any other Epistle; 11ml the mere pluro.l xi. 13, where he calls them "deceitful number is not sufficient to support the workers." The J utlaizcrs were active enongh, theory of other letters, the plural word like the Pharisees wLo "eompnsse,l sea and heing frequently used of II single letter. land to make one proselyte;" but thc:r Bishop Lightfoot suggests the exhortation uctivity sprung from bad motives-they were to unity in eh. ii. 2. But this topic does not evil workers, though their work was some- reappear before oh. iv. 2. And the hypothesis times overruled for good (comp. eh. i. 15 - of an interruption, which (ns Bishop Light- 18). The concision (1Ca.TaTou11, cutting, muti- foot and others think) suddenly turoell the lation): 11 contemptuous word for "circul!!- apostle's tlioughts into another ohanuol and cision" (1r,p<Toµfi). Compnre the Jewish proveuted him from explaining Ta a,hd (the contemptuous use of Ishboshetb, mnn of same things) till eh. iv. 2, seems forced o.nd sho.me, for Eshbanl. wun of llaal, etc. Their unnecessary, notwithsto.nding the great circumcision is no better than a mutilation. nuthority by which it is supported. It Observe the paroncimasb. tho combin:ttion seems more probnblo (Dengel and others) of li.ke-soumliug wonls, which is common iD thnt St. Paul rcfors to tho constnnt o.drao- St. l'aul's Epistles. Winer gives many c:i.:- nition of this Epistle," Ilejoice in tlio Lord." amples in sect. b:Yiii. 'fo rcpeo.t this ago.in ancl ngain was to him Ver. 3.-For we 11;'.a the circumcision. not grievous (ro.ther, with R. V., "irksome"), We: the apostle of tho Gcutiks i<lentitil·s but so.re for the Philippians. Ohristian joy hiwsclf witb the Gentiles (I Car. ix. 2l); has II close connection with so.fety, for it himself circumcised, ho rocognizes the grcut implies unswerving faith, o.nd, more than truth tlint they only nro the true circum- tho.t, the prnscnce of Christ. Compo.re the cision whuse hearts are mortillell from all oft-repented exhortation of Ps. xxxvii.," Fret worhlly anti carnal lusts. Which worshi:;, not thyself: it tends only to evil-doing" God in the spirit j rout!, with the best m11nu- (ver. 8, in tho Hobrew). Possibly, however, soripts, which worsl1ip by the Spirit of Goel. a.£Tq,all.ls here, as in Acts xxii. 30 and xxv. 'fho word 71.a-rpda, worship, is used specia!!y 26, mny meo.n " certnin." 'l'he repetition is of the Jewish ceremonial service ( corn p. uot irksome to St. Puul, whilo it makes his Rom. ix. 4; Luke ii. 37; Acts xxvi. 7). meaning and his wiahes eortilin to tho We Christians, St. l'Lrnl mean~, have:- 1wt l'hilippiaus. only the true oircuwcisiou, but thu ouly tn,,, '  112 THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILlPPIANS. [on. m. 1-21.