Philippians 3: Deep Dive (Contextualizing and Absorbing the Text)

The Obvious

Philippians 3:2 is one of the most quoted of all Bible verses in America. It’s opening words are printed out and nailed to fences and tree trunks everywhere:  “Beware of the dogs.”  

But of course, Paul has people in mind, not four-legged canines. And the topic Paul is driving at isn’t property protection, it’s circumcision.  It was the hot argument of his day.  Are Christians subject to all the laws—including circumcision—mentioned in the Old Testament?  In other words, should Christians be required to be practicing Jews? 

When it comes to being a practicing Jew, Paul argues that he has “been there, done that.” In fact, no Jew has better credentials than him.  (vv. 4-6)  But then he suddenly swerves away from his accomplishments and credentials: “Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss.”  He notes that his stellar adherence to Jewish rites actually delayed his discovery of true life, joy, and goodness. Paul argues that a legalistic approach to religion and life is essentially a “wrong turn.” A legalistic mindset waylays a person from the worthiest goals in life.  

Paul goes on in this chapter to couple legalism with hedonism (vv. 18-19) and asserts that both approaches to life are mere illusions—they do NOT lead to fulfillment or the good life.  In Paul’s thinking, both self-righteousness and self-indulgence are ultimately destructive, of both the individual and the society.  Both choices shut God out of our lives and lead to misery.

Therefore, when Paul was converted to Christianity, he renounced his former legalism, and even celebrates its loss.  He viewed his former legalism as rubbish—something necessary to toss out.  

Paul then writes of a new form of “righteousness” that is found in Jesus Christ.  (vv. 7-11)  This is not a righteousness that comes from passing those litmus tests demanded by the self-righteous.  Rather, this righteousness evolves out of holistic faithfulness to the spirit and ways of Jesus. 

For Paul, the death and resurrection of Jesus are central benchmarks of this new righteousness. Interpreting Jesus’ death and resurrection as metaphors for our own lives, we surrender our past obsessions with self-righteousness and self-indulgence.  Such surrender is how we participate in the death of Jesus.  Then we find ourselves miraculously awakened in a new day, with new strengths and possibilities—in this life—a sample of our resurrection.

Paul confesses that he himself has not yet experienced full resurrection, but just partial.  The mind of Christ is fully within him, influencing him, changing him.  But he has not fully arrived yet.  He is still pressing on, forgetting what lies behind, straining forward, with his eyes on the prize yet to be gained.  

Finally, Paul mentions “citizenship.”  It is only briefly mentioned, but is evocative.  We are left to ponder the meaning of “heavenly citizenship.”  Is this simply a pie-in-the-sky notion?  A tease of the after-life?  An escapism?  Or is it a powerful way of knowing ourselves differently in this life?

The Less Obvious

First, let’s start with the dogs (v. 2)  Let me apologize in advance to all dog-lovers out there.  In 2024, dog owners in the U.S. spent $90 billion on their pet dogs.  This is more than three times the annual budget for USAID.  We have our priorities.  But back in Paul’s time, dogs were about as popular as mosquitoes. Faithful Jews thought that dogs were more unclean than pigs.  Dogs were considered shameful in their behavior and filthy in their scavenging.  Paul really, really had a problem with you if he called you a “dog.”

So, who are these dogs?  It turns out that they are promoters of circumcision.  The first Christians were split in hot debates over the issue of circumcision:  should you or shouldn’t you?  In Paul’s day, circumcision was a required surgery for all Jewish males. It was generally done right after birth, at an age when guys could neither articulate nor remember any anguish. By the time a fellow was old enough to talk, however, the recipients became more resistant.  But it remained a necessity for men and boys who would convert to Judaism.  (The religion found other, more on-going ways of making life miserable for women.)

Circumcision was such an accepted practice among Jews that it had long ceased to be debatable.  The first Christian men were all Jewish, and so all had already been circumcised. Everyone just assumed that Christians should be circumcised too.  Because Jews and Christians had the same sense of God, the same ethic of neighborliness, and the same belief that rules mattered—some thought that the distinguishing rules of Judaism should be appropriated to non-Jewish converts without argument:  circumcision, dietary laws, sexual moral codes, etc.  

But when Christianity began to spread to the non-Jewish populations around the Mediterranean Sea, old assumptions began to fray.  Christians such as Paul said ‘not so fast.’  Let’s sort through the “requirements” one at a time to make sure none of the rules diminish the grace and humanitarianism of Jesus.

Thus Paul came to the conclusion that Christians should toss out the requirement for circumcision. He sided with Old Testament writers who believed that the most important thing was the life-changing metaphorical circumcision of the heart, not the one-and-done circumcision of the flesh.  (Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 9:25)  Paul felt so strongly about this argument that he called his opponents “dogs.”                

The larger debate—over rules for being a Christian—continues to our own day: what is righteousness and how do we become righteous? For both Jesus and Paul, the definition of “righteousness” was the opposite of how the Pharisees of their day defined it. 

Despite their sincerity, the ancient Pharisees were prone to self-justification and hypocrisy.  They are the forerunners of today’s political correctness and Christian nationalism. If transported in a time machine to the 21^st century U.S.A., some Pharisees would identify as liberal, some as conservative.  None of them would offer the other side much respect or understanding. Then and now, those who focus on the letter of the law (the letter of liberalism, the letter of conservatism) are more likely to subvert the way of Jesus.  On the other hand, those who are rooted in the spirit of the law (the spirit of liberalism, the spirit of conservatism) are more likely to bear the fruit of goodness in our world.  When Paul calls on “those who are mature to be of the same mind,” (v. 15) we might say that coming to the same mind means going deeper into the spirit of whatever spiritual or religious beliefs we have.  It is in the depths of the spirit we find unlikely connections with our opponents.  

For Paul, the spirit of circumcision led to abundant life and community.  On the other hand, those who insisted on literal genital surgery were disgusting—”dogs.”

Second, those who read Philippians 3 without the context of the full epistle miss some of the nuances.  The ancient city of Philippi was located in present day Greece, along the northern shore of the Aegean Sea, along a busy trade route that connected Rome with Byzantine.  Paul helped found a church there and kept in close touch with them over the years—through visits, letters, and envoys.  

The Christians in Philippi had their struggles. In this epistle, Paul only generalizes when addressing those troubles.  But there is internal conflict and there are people in both the surrounding area and other Christians who are causing the church folks great stress. Paul’s letter is an encouragement to stay positive and discipline their thinking so they won’t be brought low.  When followers of Jesus find ground where they can stand together, they will not be intimidated.  And the refusal to be intimidated is the secret to victory.  

Jouette Bassler, in her introduction to Philippians in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible suggests that this letter provides a foundation for creating and maintaining friendships.  It is filled with memorable phrases that provide friendship advice and keep one from becoming disheartened.  

Third, there are a number of Greek words in the chapter that stimulate our thinking.  

“Dikaioesunae” is translated “righteousness” in the NRSV.  The Greek term is more relational than English word “righteous” indicates.  We often think of righteousness as “being right,” particularly on moral, academic, or political matters. The Greek word, however, implies justice in our relationships and being willing to go the second mile in a relationship. Even in Paul’s time, however, many people only thought of “righteousness” in legalistic terms—where one could be “righteous” but not anywhere close to having good and right relationships with others.

“Sarkae” is translated “flesh.”  Paul uses this term in many different ways throughout his writings.  Here, the term could best be understood as referring to “outward appearance” in contrast to who we actually are in our hearts.  Physical circumcision, like a tattoo for instance, does not necessarily reveal the important truths about an individual.  One can have a full love for God and one’s neighbors without announcing it through circumcisions or tattoos.

“Skoepon” is translated “goal.”  Philippians 3 emphasizes the importance of having a goal in mind as we develop our religion or spirituality.  For Paul, the goal was to imitate the mind of Christ:  joy, empathy, willingness to sacrifice, and a desire for goodness.  Paul realized that he could not have “goodness” as a goal if he pursued other goals such as self-righteousness, self-justification, or self-indulgence. 

“Polituema” is translated “citizenship.”  The term refers to the rights, privileges, and responsibilities of belonging to a specific collective.  In v. 20, Paul raises the notion of a “heavenly” citizenship.  The word “heavenly” in the New Testament has several possible meanings.  It could merely mean the sky.  Or it could mean a place in the afterlife.  Or it could mean the earthly community that gathers to worship and obey God.  This last definition is the most likely in the context of Philippians 3, as it goes along with v. 3:  “the true circumcised are those who worship in the Spirit of God and boast in Jesus Christ and have no confidence in the flesh (outward appearances.)”