Pastor Chris’ Corona Quarantine Epistles to the Flock of AIC Ngong Road, in Dispersion and Isolation. 29th. Edition.
Dear People Who Are God’s own Possession,
Today marks the end of four weeks, since I arrived back, went into isolation and wrote the first epistle. It seems so long ago! In these 28 days, we have all learned a lot of things about ourselves, others and the world around us. I trust that all of this will make us better people.
Today, we start on Philippians 3. Paul is beginning to wind up, so he says, “Finally.” But never let that fool you. We are just a little past midway. Paul is not writing an essay or term paper, so he can disregard order. In this case, the concluding statement provokes new thoughts, which this chapter is about.
In verses 1-3, he Encourages the Christians to Rejoice in the Lord. He then reminds them that his repetitiveness is for their benefit, so they should not complain about the tedium. What follows does not seem to be a repetition of anything so far said, except maybe an allusion in Chapter 1, verses 16-18. This has led some to the conclusion that Paul may have written an earlier letter to the Philippians, which is lost to us. No matter, one cannot gain from crying over spilt milk, not to mention that this is only an educated guess. Maybe there was no previous letter.
Paul then Reminds them (verse 2) that there are dangerous people out there. He has three terms to describe them; 1. Dogs – this is a term that Jews used in reference to Gentiles (non Jews). They considered the Gentiles immoral and uncouth, like dogs. Paul turns this term on the Jews, who were trying to convince Gentile Christians to observe Jewish rituals!2. Evil workers – this phrase suggests that the motives of the Jews were evil, and what they did or planned to do to the Gentile Christians would have a bad outcome. 3. Mutilators – this is the crux of the matter. The Jewish people were pushing for Gentile Christians to be circumcised.
What Paul is saying is that circumcision will add nothing of benefit to a person who is a Christian, so it amounts to mutilation. Paul Reiterates (verse 3) the need for the Christians to rejoice in Christ, because they are the circumcision, already. The circumcision that matters is the spiritual. The Jewish people circumcised their baby boys as a sign that they were people of the covenant. God has written his covenant in the hearts of believers, by his Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). For this reason, believers should ignore any ritual merit (confidence in the flesh) and rejoice instead, in what Christ has done for us. This will bring glory to him, not to us.
This brings to mind the words of Reuben Kigame in one of his songs, ”Tutavua mapambo yetu Vitu vyote vya thamani kwetu” (We will strip ourselves of every ornament, things that are of value to us). Let nothing but the glory of Christ remain.
Your loving Pastor Chris.