Philippians 3:2

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. BEWARE, [ blepete (G991)] - 'Have your eye on' so as to beware of. Contrast "mark," namely, so as to follow (Philippians 3:17). DOGS, [ tous (G3588) kunas (G2965)] - 'the dogs;' namely, those impure persons "of whom I have told you often" (Philippians 3:18); "the abominable" (cf. Revelation 21:8 with...

1-11 Sincere Christians rejoice in Christ Jesus. The prophet calls the false prophets dumb dogs, Isaiah 56:10; to which the apostle seems to refer. Dogs, for their malice against faithful professors of the gospel of Christ, barking at them and biting them. They urged human works in opposition to the faith of Christ; but Paul calls them evil-workers. He calls them the concision; as they rent the church of Christ, and cut it to pieces. The work of religion is to no purpose, unless the heart is in it, and we must worship God in the strength and grace of the Divine Spirit. They rejoice in Christ Jesus, not in mere outward enjoyments and performances. Nor can we too earnestly guard against those who oppose or abuse the doctrine of free salvation. If the apostle would have gloried and trusted in the flesh, he had as much cause as any man. But the things which he counted gain while a Pharisee,...

Verse Philippians 3:2. _BEWARE OF DOGS_] The _Jews_, who have here the same appellative which they formerly gave to the _Gentiles_: because the Gentiles were not included in the covenant, they called _them_ DOGS; and themselves, the _children of the Most High_. Now, _they_ are cast out of the covenant and the Gentiles taken in; therefore _they_ are the _dogs_, and the _Gentiles_ the _children_. _EVIL WORKERS_] Judaizing teachers, who endeavoured to pervert the Gospel. _THE CONCISION._] κατατομην. The _cutting_ or _excision_; not περιτομην, the _circumcision_: the word is used by the apostle to degrade the pretensions which the Jews made to sanctity by the _cutting_ in their flesh. _Circumcision_ was an honourable thing, for it was a _sign_ of the

BEWARE OF DOGS - Dogs in the east are mostly without masters; they wander at large in the streets and fields, and feed upon offals, and even upon corpses; compare 1 Kings 14:11; 1Ki 16:4; 1 Kings 21:19. They are held as unclean, and to call one a dog is a much stronger expression of contempt there than with us; 1 Samuel 17:43; 2 Kings 8:13. The Jews called the pagan dogs, and the Muslims call Jews and Christians by the same name. The term dog also is used to denote a person that is shameless, impudent, malignant, snarling, dissatisfied, and contentious, and is evident

EXPOSITION PHILIPPIANS 3:1 FINALLY, MY BRETHREN, REJOICE IN THE LORD. This word "finally" (τὸ λοιπόν is frequently used by St. Paul to introduce a practical conclusion after the doctrinal portion of his Epistles: thus it occurs again in Philippians 4:8, and also in 2 Corinthians 13:11; Ephesians 6:10; 1Th 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:1. Some render χαίρετε_ _"farewell;" but "rejoice" seems more suitable here. The golden thread of spiritual joy runs through t

BEWARE OF DOGS,.... By whom are meant the "judaizing" teachers, who were for imposing the works and ceremonies of the law upon the Gentiles, as necessary to salvation; and they have the name retorted on them they used to give to the Gentiles; see Matthew 15:26; nor should they think it too severe, since the Jews themselves say p, "the face of that generation (in which the Messiah shall come) shall he, כפני הכלב, "as the face of a dog".'' The apostle calls them so, because they returned to Judaism, as the dog to its vomit, 2 Peter 2:22; and because of the uncleanness in which many of them lived, and the impudence they were guilty of in transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ, and putting themselves upon an equal foot with them; as also for their calumny and detraction,

Philippians 3:1. _Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord._ As much as to say, «If this were the last sentence that I should write to you, I would say, Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.' It is your privilege, it is your duty, to rejoice in God; not in your health, your wealth, your children, your prosperity, but in the Lord.» There is the unchanging and unbounded source of joy. It will do you no harm to rejoice in the Lord; the more you rejoice in him, the more spiritually-minded will you become. «Finally, my brethren.» That is, even to the end, not with you the bitter end; but even to the end of life, rejoice in the Lord. Make this the finis of everything, the end of every day, the end of every year, the end of life. «Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord.» Blessed is that religion in which it is a duty to be happy....

III. CHRIST, THE OBJECT AND THE GOAL CHAPTER 3 __ 1. The true circumcision (Philippians 3:1) 2. Paul's past experience (Philippians 3:4) 3. The one passion (Philippians 3:8) 4. Pressing towards the mark (Philippians 3:12) 5. The goal of glory (Philippians 3:17) Philippians 3:1 Finally (or, for the rest), my brethren, rejoice in the “Lord.” Rejoicing in the Lord, not m

PHP_3:1-3. A WARNING. Paul says Finally although he is only half-way through his epistle; he uses the word again at Php_4:8, though even then he adds fresh paragraphs. Some have tried to find a meaning not so suggestive of a conclusion, but the exhortation rejoice that follows is a form of the Greek valediction. So plainly the apostle was about to end when new ideas crowded into his mind and he proceeded to deal with them. It is not clear what he means by the same things. He may be referring to some previous letter, since lost Polycarp speaks of _Epistles_ to the Philippians or perhaps only to his encouragements of rejoicing. His after-thought takes another turn. Suddenly he thinks of an attack on the faith of his beloved friends made by the Jews, whom he designates with the horrible title, dogs the very name they gave to Gentiles. Paul will not reckon them as within the pale of the true...

THE INDESTRUCTIBLE JOY (Php_3:1) _ 3:1 As for what remains, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble to me to write the same things to you, and for you it is safe._ Paul sets down two very important things. (i) He sets down what we might call the indestructibility of Christian joy. He must have felt that he had been setting a high challenge before the Philippian Church. For them there was the possibility of the same kind of persecution, and even the same kind of death, as threatened himself. From one point of view it looked as if Christianity was a grim job. But in it and beyond it all there was joy. "Your joy," said Jesus, "no one will take from you" (John 16:22). There is a certain indestructibility in Christian joy; and it is so, because Christian joy is in the Lord. Its basis is that the Christian lives for ever in the presence of Jesus Christ. H