Philippians 3:3 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.” Here we see that the Spirit is the means for us to serve, to worship, God. The Greek word rendered serve here means to serve as a priest. All New Testament believers are priests to God (1 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 1:6). Hence, our ministry to the Lord, in whatever aspect, is a priestly service. Furthermore, those who are the circumcision here are the New Testament believers, the ones genuinely circumcised by Christ’s crucifixion. They are absolutely different from the Judaizers. They serve as priests by the Spirit of God, not by the ordinances of law; they boast in Christ, not in the law; and they do not have confidence in the flesh but in the Spirit.
In Philippians 3:2-3 there is a threefold contrast: believers who serve by the Spirit of God, in contrast to the dogs; believers who boast in Christ Jesus, in contrast to evil workers; and believers who have no confidence in the flesh, in contrast to the concision. The Judaizers lived by their fallen nature, whereas the believers in Christ serve by the Spirit of God. The fact that the Judaizers had confidence in their circumcision was a sign that their confidence was in their flesh, that is, what they were and had in their natural being and their natural qualities and qualifications. But we who believe in Christ serve by the Spirit, boast in Christ, and do not have confidence in the flesh.
First Peter 4:14 says, “If you are reproached in the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” To be in the name of Christ is actually to be in the person of Christ, in Christ Himself. The believers, having believed into Christ (John 3:15) and having been baptized into His name (Acts 19:5), that is, into Himself (Gal. 3:27), are in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30) and are one with Him (6:17). When they are reproached in His name, they are reproached with Him, sharing in His sufferings, in the fellowship of His sufferings (Phil. 3:10).
When we are reproached and suffer persecution in the name of Christ, the Spirit of glory rests upon us and remains with us. The Spirit of glory is the One through whom Christ was glorified in His resurrection (Rom. 1:4). This very Spirit of glory, being the Spirit of God Himself, rests upon the suffering believers in their persecution, for the glorifying of the resurrected and exalted Christ, who is now in glory. The more we suffer and are persecuted, the more the glory of God rests upon us. This is truly a blessing. Therefore, we should rejoice when we are reproached in the name of Christ, because we are participating in the sufferings of Christ, and the Spirit of glory is resting upon us.
First Timothy 3:16 says, “Confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness:/He who was manifested in the flesh,/Justified in the Spirit.” In this verse He refers to Christ, who was God manifested in the flesh. The transition from the mystery of godliness to He implies that Christ as the manifestation of God in the flesh is the mystery of godliness (Col. 1:27; Gal. 2:20). This mystery of godliness is the living of a proper church, and such a living also is the manifestation of God in the flesh.
When Christ was on earth, He was God manifested in the flesh. The incarnated Christ in His human living was not only vindicated as the Son of God by the Spirit (Matt. 3:16-17; Rom. 1:3-4) but also justified, proved, and approved as right and righteous by the Spirit (Matt. 3:15-16; 4:1). He was manifested in the flesh but was vindicated and justified in the Spirit. He appeared in the flesh, but He lived in the Spirit (Luke 4:1, 14; Matt. 12:28) and offered Himself to God through the Spirit (Heb. 9:14). His transfiguration (Matt. 17:2) and His resurrection are both justifications in the Spirit. Furthermore, in resurrection He even became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17) to dwell and live in us (Rom. 8:9-10) for the manifestation of God in the flesh as the mystery of godliness. Hence, now we know Him and His members no longer according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (2 Cor. 5:16). Since the manifestation of God in the flesh is justified in the Spirit, and the Spirit is one with our spirit (Rom. 8:16), we must live and behave in our spirit that this justification may be accomplished. In this way, the Spirit will also justify the church as the manifestation of God in the flesh.
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