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Of all the Epistles written by Paul, only Philippians is clearly and definitely related to the experience of Christ. As we have seen, Philippians comes between Ephesians, a book on the church, and Colossians, a book on the Head. This indicates that in order for us, the members of the Body, to reach the Head, we need the experience of Christ.
In Philippians 1 Paul says, “Christ will be magnified in my body” (v. 20), and, “To me, to live is Christ” (v. 21). The statement, “To live is Christ,” is simple but very profound. If we had spoken these words instead of the apostle Paul, others might accuse us of blasphemy. They might wonder how we could dare say that for us to live is Christ. Paul had the boldness to utter these words because his vision was clear and his experience was rich. Paul had seen clearly that in God’s economy for him to live was Christ. He not only saw this but also lived according to this vision. We also need to have such a clear vision and a rich experience of this matter. We should be able to say, “To us, to live is Christ.” To us, to live is not a good man. To us, to live is Christ.
In verse 20 Paul says that Christ would be magnified in his body. Not many Christians know the significance of the word magnify in this verse. Some may say that to be magnified means to be expressed, exalted, glorified, or honored. Yes, it does mean these things, but these words do not touch the significance of the word magnify. For Christ to be magnified in us means that we experience the unlimited Christ. Christ is magnified through His unlimitedness. For example, our love is limited because it is not Christ. The reason there are so many separations and divorces is that human love is limited. Christ is unlimited, but we are limited. If we live by Christ in any matter, that matter will be unlimited. But if we live by ourselves in the same matter, it will be limited. If we love others with our own love, we will discover that eventually our love will be exhausted. The ones we love will place more and more demands upon us to exhaust our love. The love of a husband is exhausted by his wife, the love of parents is exhausted by their children, and the love of the elders is exhausted by the saints. Although we may be exhausted, Christ is never exhausted. The more love we require, the more love He affords to meet our requirements. Therefore, to live by Christ in the matter of loving others is to magnify Christ by His unlimitedness. The same is true regarding humility and patience. Our humility and patience are limited, but the humility and patience of Christ are unlimited. If we live by Christ in the matters of humility and patience, we magnify Him.
In the book of Philippians Paul was bold to speak not only in a positive way but also in a negative way. For example, in 3:2 he said, “Beware of the dogs.” The Lord Jesus had actually been the first to speak of dogs. In Matthew 7:6 He said, “Do not give that which is holy to the dogs.” The dogs here refers to the Pharisees, the religious people, the Judaizers. Paul followed the Lord Jesus in telling us to beware of the dogs. By the time Paul wrote the book of Philippians, the dogs had become worse than in Matthew 7.
Some may wonder how we can be sure that the dogs in Philippians 3:2 refers to the Judaizers. The proof is in the grammar of this verse. Paul says, “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the concision.” In this verse the words beware of are used three times. Moreover, there are no conjunctions in this verse, only commas. This indicates that the dogs are the evil workers and that the evil workers are the concision. The word concision is a contemptuous word for circumcision. Circumcision is a term of honor, but concision is a term of contempt. Paul purposely referred to Jewish circumcision in this way. When the Jews who had been circumcised were called the concision, they were being called a people of contempt. Thus, the dogs are the evil workers, and the evil workers are the circumcised Jews. Paul was so bold as to call the Judaizers dogs and evil workers. The Jewish religionists, of course, never thought of themselves in this way. Rather, they considered themselves worshippers of God and workers of good, for they tried their best to keep the law. Moreover, to them circumcision was honorable. But in this verse Paul calls them dogs and evil workers and belittles the practice of circumcision by calling it concision.
In verse 3 Paul says, “We are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.” Serve by the Spirit of God is in contrast to the dogs; boast in Christ Jesus is in contrast to evil workers; and have no confidence in the flesh is in contrast to the concision. According to the revelation in these verses, anyone who tries to do something for God without being in the Spirit opposes the genuine worshippers of God in spirit. In the eyes of God, such a person is a dog.
The Lord’s word about not giving that which is holy to the dogs indicates that dogs are not holy. The holy things are not for dogs because dogs are not holy. We need to drop the concept that to be holy is simply to be sinless or right and perfect. In the Bible to be holy means to be of God, by God, and with God. Anything that is not of God, by God, and with God is not holy, for in the entire universe God is the only One who is holy. You may be perfect and right but still not be holy. Only by being a person of God, by God, and with God can we be holy. Thus, to be holy is to be one with God.
For this reason, God the Spirit is called the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is God reaching man. When God reaches man, He is the Spirit. No one can contact God except by the Spirit. God cannot reach us except by His Spirit, and we cannot contact Him except by His Spirit. The Spirit by whom we touch God is holy. Therefore, when He reaches us, we become holy. If we do not have something of God, we are not holy at all, but if we are related to God, we become holy.
The first time the word holy is used in the Bible is not in the book of Genesis but in the book of Exodus. In Genesis it is difficult to find a hint that God became one with man, but in Exodus we see that God begins to be one with man. Therefore, in Exodus many things are described as being holy: the Holy Place, the holy mountain, the holy tabernacle, and the holy anointing oil. In Exodus many things are described as being holy because in this book God comes to man and man is brought to God.
To be holy is absolutely a matter of the Holy Spirit. Today all the religionists serve God, but it is very doubtful that they serve God by the Spirit of God. Any religionist who does not serve God by the Spirit of God is a dog. Whoever tries to do something for God or to serve God apart from the Spirit is a dog in the eyes of God. This is a serious matter. If we see this vision, it will exercise a strict control over us. We will be fearful and trembling, and we will say, “I dare not serve God unless I am assured that I am serving by the Spirit of God. If I am not in the Spirit, I will not serve Him.” If we see this, there will be a great change in our Christian life. Everything we do for God must be by the Spirit of God. We must have the confidence to say, “We are the circumcision of honor who serve by the Spirit of God.”
Many Christians today do not know the Holy Spirit. They have the terminology but not the experience. When you are about to serve God or do something for God, you must be reminded not to do these things in yourself. Then you should repudiate yourself and set yourself aside. If there is nothing left after you put yourself aside, then there is nothing of the Holy Spirit in what you are about to do. But if there is something left after you put yourself aside, what remains is the Holy Spirit. This understanding of the Holy Spirit does not come from theology; it comes from experience.
Suppose a bottle is filled with dirt. The more the bottle is emptied of the dirt, the more air will get into the bottle. The amount of air depends upon the degree of emptiness. Likewise, in order to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we need to empty ourselves. If we empty ourselves, the Holy Spirit will fill us immediately. If we put ourselves aside when we are about to pray, serve, or do something for God, we will find that the Holy Spirit will be there as the remainder. There is no need for us to speak in tongues in order to have the Holy Spirit. As long as we have a heart for God and the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit is with us. But in order to experience the Spirit, we need to empty ourselves.
Do not serve God in your natural life. One who does this is called a dog by the apostle Paul. A dog is someone who tries to serve God apart from the Holy Spirit. If we see this, we will be fearful and pray, “Lord, have mercy upon me. When I pray, I don’t want to be a dog, someone who prays in himself.”
Some may wonder how anyone can pray to God and still be considered by God as a dog. Have you never accused others in your prayers to God? In the past I have done this many times. I prayed, but as I prayed, I accused others. This kind of prayer is certainly not by the Spirit of God. When Saul of Tarsus was persecuting those who called on the name of Jesus, he certainly must have prayed. He might have said, “O God, I am zealous for You and for Your law. Help me to arrest everyone who calls on the name of Jesus.” Saul’s prayer was like the barking of a dog. Therefore, Paul knew what it meant for the Jewish religionists to be dogs, for he used to be one of those dogs himself. In fact, he was a “top dog” in the Jewish religion. Like Saul of Tarsus, many times our prayers are not by the Spirit of God. This means that we also can be praying dogs. When some hear this, they may say, “No, I am a child of God. Every time I pray, I pray to my heavenly Father.” However, the question is, by what do you pray, by your natural life or by the Spirit of God? If you pray by your natural life, you are a dog. We should not pray without the Holy Spirit. Neither should we serve God apart from the Spirit of God. We need to be careful regarding our prayer and our service. We need to pray and serve not by our natural life but by the Spirit of God.
When the Lord Jesus was on earth, He did not deal mainly with the Gentiles but with the Jews. Moreover, He mainly dealt with them concerning their worship of God. On one occasion the Lord even called them vipers, something worse than dogs (Matt. 23:33). Do not think that as long as you serve God or pray to God, everything is all right. Everything is all right only if you serve and pray by the Spirit of God.
The second contrast in Philippians 2:2-3 is the contrast between the evil workers and those who boast in Christ. Whatever we do for God, no matter what it is, is an evil work if it is not Christ. In Matthew 7 the Lord Jesus said that many will come to Him and say that they prophesied in His name, cast out demons in His name, and did many works of power in His name. However, the Lord will say that they were lawless. This means that what they did was not Christ. Hence, anything we do that is not Christ Himself is evil in the eyes of God, and when we do things that are not Christ, we are evil workers. Instead of being evil workers, we must be those who boast in Christ. Our boast must be Christ Himself, not anything of ourselves.
It is not easy for us to boast in Christ. In order to do this, we need to see the vision that anything we do that is not Christ is evil in the eyes of God. God’s will is not that we do good things for Him. God’s will is that we live out Christ. God only cares for Christ. Therefore, anything we do that is not Christ will not please God. On the contrary, God will consider it evil because it is the doing of our will, not the carrying out of His will. It is actually a form of rebellion. Our works may be good in our eyes, but if they are without Christ, in the eyes of God they are rebellion. If we see this vision, we will hate not only our hatred but also our love. When you are about to love someone, you must check whether or not you are loving by Christ. The issue is not one of love or hate; it is whether we act by Christ or by our natural life. If what we do is something other than Christ, God does not want it. God does not want our love, our humility, or our goodness. God does not want anything of us. He only wants Christ.
According to the Gospels, the Pharisees boasted in their good works, but in the eyes of God all their good works were evil. Thus, the Pharisees were evil workers. This is proved by the verses in Philippians 3 where Paul says that he was circumcised the eighth day, that as to the law he was a Pharisee, that as to zeal he persecuted the church, and that as to the righteousness which is in the law he had become blameless (vv. 5-6). But all these things were evil in the eyes of God because they were not Christ. The Jews boasted that as to the law they were Pharisees, that as to zeal for God they persecuted the churches, and that as to the righteousness which is in the law they were blameless. In their own eyes they were very good, but in the eyes of God they were evil workers.
The word evil here does not denote such things as murder, stealing, or fornication. It refers to something good that is outside of Christ. Even if you do something good, it is an evil work if it is without Christ. We may do many good things, but are these things Christ? If not, we are evil workers. When Paul was Saul of Tarsus, he was such an evil worker. However, at that time he did not realize his real condition. Rather, he thought that he was zealous for God and that he was perfect, righteous, and blameless. He thought this because he was in darkness. But after he received the vision and was enlightened, his eyes were opened to see how foolish he had been. He came to realize that all those good things were actually evil in the eyes of God and that he was an evil worker because he was doing things outside of Christ.
Suppose a certain brother is humble and polite, and another brother is tough and rough. We would all prefer the humble brother and regard him as a very good brother. However, the goodness of this brother is outside of Christ. Hence, he is actually an evil worker. Do you have the boldness to say this? We would all be willing to say that the tough brother is an evil worker but not the humble brother.
Some may feel that they do not have the ability to discern between Christ and the good points of the natural life. The way to discern is by noticing the difference in weight. Christ is much weightier than anyone’s good characteristics. In this way we can make a distinction between these things and Christ. However, we should not weigh others but ourselves. We need to determine whether our love is weighty or light. If we test our love, we may find that it is as light as a feather. We may also find that our patience and niceness are light, superficial, and easily exhausted. But anything that is of Christ is weighty and long lasting.
Paul’s intention in verses 2 and 3 is to lay the foundation so that in the following verses we may know how to experience Christ. Paul belittled religion to the uttermost, calling the religionists dogs and making light of all natural goodness. If we have Paul’s vision, we will hate our love, our patience, our humility, our niceness, our kindness, and our goodness. I doubt that very many of us have such a practice. Thus, we need the revelation that everything apart from Christ is evil, even the best things. These things are evil because they are a form of rebellion against God’s will and against God’s economy. God wants us to live out Christ, but we want to live out something else. This is rebellion. We need to see that nothing but Christ Himself is acceptable to God. If we see this, we will boast in Christ, not in any good works.
In verse 3 Paul also says that we have no confidence in the flesh. Many Christians think that having confidence in the flesh means having confidence in the sinful elements of our human nature, but this is not the meaning of flesh here. In this chapter after Paul says that he had no confidence in the flesh, he goes on to say that he was circumcised the eighth day, that he was of the race of Israel, that he was of the tribe of Benjamin, that he was a Hebrew born of the Hebrews, that as to the law he was a Pharisee, that as to zeal he persecuted the church, and that as to the righteousness which is in the law he had become blameless. All these things were aspects of Paul’s flesh. However, probably you have never regarded such things as the flesh. We think that the flesh includes only evil things but not good things. Nevertheless, the honorable, lovable, and superior aspects of our natural being are still the flesh. All that Paul did as to the law and as to zeal was flesh and of the flesh. His righteousness as to the law was also flesh. All the seven characteristics listed by Paul in these verses are aspects of the flesh because they all are natural and are neither of Christ nor of the Spirit of God. Anything natural, whether it is good or evil, is the flesh. The Jews had confidence in their flesh, having confidence in what they were by their natural birth. But we Christians should not have confidence in anything we have by our natural birth, for anything of our natural birth is part of the flesh.
In order to experience Christ, we need to see that everything we do must be by the Spirit of God, in Christ, and with no confidence in the flesh. The flesh denotes all that we are by our natural birth. Both natural foolishness and natural wisdom are of the flesh. Do not think that foolishness is of the flesh and that wisdom is necessarily of the Spirit. As long as it is natural, wisdom is just as fleshly as foolishness. I repeat, in Philippians 3 Paul did not list any negative aspect of the flesh. Everything he mentioned was very good. This indicates that his concept of the flesh was vastly different from ours. To Paul, whatever he was by his natural birth was the flesh. We should not have any confidence in our natural being. As long as we have confidence in our natural being, we are through with the experience of Christ.
In order to experience Christ, we must learn to count as loss things that were once gains to us. We need to count every gain as loss for Christ. There is no comparison between any gain and Christ. If you make such a comparison, you will count everything as loss. The reason we regarded certain things as gains in the past was that we did not know Christ. But once our eyes were opened to see Christ, we realized how foolish it was to keep those other things. Because Paul had this vision, he could say, “What things were gains to me, these I have counted as loss on account of Christ” (v. 7).
Only by serving by the Spirit of God, by boasting in Christ Jesus, and by not having any confidence in our flesh can we be acceptable to God. These three things are basic for the experience of Christ. If we see these things, we will spontaneously count all things as loss for Christ. We will not treasure them anymore. We will realize that even the best worship of God is the barking of a dog if it is done without the Spirit of God. Even the best things apart from Christ are evil works in the eyes of God. This includes our love, our humility, and our patience. We also need to see that God has no interest in our flesh. If we see this, we will have no confidence in the flesh. If we have the vision regarding these three things, a good foundation will be laid for the experience of Christ.
