The Pulpit Commentary — Philippians — Section 136

no resl symbolism connect.ed with it, as when the Mosa.ic economy had Divine eanctlon. 'l'bcy were cutters of the body, _a.s the pri~ of Baal in Elijah's time, who, with loud crying, cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out uPon them. They had no more reaS?n for continuing the cutting of the body from Mnsa,sm. than the heathen had for c1:1ttmgs_i~ connection with their religion. There- fore he will not allow them to be the c1rcumc1s10n, but only the concision, or mutilators of the body. II. HE DESCRIJIES TIii!: TRUB OIROOVCJSION. " For we are the circumcision." Whet.her circumcised in body or not, simply a.s Christians they answered to the idea bore the character of the circumcision. 1. Spiritual worshippers. "Who worship by the Spirit of God." If he had characterized them by their outward mark, he would have said "the baptized;" but he prefers to point to the inward reality, The meanin11 of the mark of circumcision on the Jew was that he was set apnrt ns a worshipper of God; in his own home and when he went up to the temple, he was to acknowledge God according to the appointed forms. As answering to the circumcision we also are set a.pa.rt as worshippers of God, and the catholic element in our worship is that H is by the dynamic influence of the Spirit of God that we worship. There is a power of the Spirit exerted over our carnality by which we are enabled to render an inward and a cordial worship. " The hour cometh, and now is," said Christ, "when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for such doth the Father seek to be his won;hippers. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and truth." :.!. W7w have Christ a.s High Priest, to glory in. "And glory in Christ Jesus." .As worshippers we cannot approach God without having the services of a high priest. And Jesus is the High Priest of our confession. We glory in him because he has made real and fully satisfying atonement for sin. We glory in him as still making interceasion for us. With such a High Priest we can have hope under the consciousness of sin, which is our daily experience. " My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye may not sin. And, if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the Propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." 3. And have renounced t/,e jlei;h. "And have no confidence in the flesh." Glorying in what is outside of us, in Christ and his work, excludes having confidence in the flesh. Even under the Jewish theocracy outward earthly marks were not to be trusted in. One might have a special theocratic me.rk on him, and yet be untrue to the theocracy like S:ml the King of lsrad. If natural descent from Abraham had been sufficient to constitute a child of Abraham, then God of the very stones could have raised up children unto Abraham. Only on Christ, on no fleshly marks, must we place our dependence for justification e.nd adoption. lIL HE THINKS or IDJlBELF AS IB A BETTER POSITION FOB BAVING OONPIDENCE IN THE FLESH TRAB ANY or THE Jun.&IZEB8. "Though I myself might have confidence even in the flesh: if e.ny other man thinketh to have confidence in the flesh, I yet more." Be singles himself out from the "we" of the rrevious verse. He bad, in fact renounced confidence in the flesh ; but, for the moment, taking up the same gro~d with the J uda.izers, he challenges comparison with thenr. He claims to be in a better position for confiding in the flesh than any of them. 1. Four marks connected with irdterited privile<Je, (1) Oircu11ncision. "Circumcised the eighth day." The heathen were uncircumcised. Proselytes from heathenism were circumcised, but not the eiahth day. The rite of circumcision was duly performed on him. He thus could claim to belong to a circle within the circle of the circumcised. (2) Race. "Of the stock of Israel." There were some who were circumcised the eighth day who were not of pure Israelitish extraction, They were descended from members of an alien race who had been grafted into the stock of Israel. '!'here had been no grafting in of any of Paul's ancestors· he was of the original stock. He could thus claim within the narrower circle to belo~" to a narrower still. (3) Tribe. "Of the tribe of Benjamin." H<: alw menti~ns his tribe in writing to the Romans. His original name, Saul, pointed to hi.s Leiner of the same tribe with the first king of Israel. 'fhe renegade tribes were rtJ,resented among the Jews. He we.s not a Jew of pure extraction belonging to any <Jf tl:it ttn tribes, but he belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, which alone bad remained faithful to Judah when the kingdom was rent, (4) Langooge and custom,. "A CII, Ill, 1-21.] 'l'lrn EPISTL~ TO THE PHILlPPIANd.