Today was Week 103 of Rightly Dividing the Word of truth…our study / overview of Paul’s epistles to believers in this dispensation of the grace of God. We were able to begin Philippians 3, with Paul’s encouragement to apply the doctrines that Paul has been writing in this great letter.
In v.2, Paul warns them, and us by default, to beware of three types of dangerous people who would creep in to the fellowship of the local church.
Beware of:
Dogs – impudent / impertinent men who would wrest or twist the scripture to teach bad doctrine.
2 Peter 3:15-16: And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Evil / Wicked Workers – those who would seek to undermine the message and ministry of the local church, under the guise of serving in the church.
The Concision – mutilators, who in the first century would enter the assembly and demand adherence to the Law of Moses, especially circumcision. We experience similar issues, though not anything like circumcision. The concision of today is guilty of mutilating scripture, claiming things like supersession / replacement theology, with the Church replacing Israel as God’s beloved, and claiming that all the covenants made with Israel are now being fulfilled by the Church. The doctrine of infant baptism, as a replacement to circumcision, and baptism being linked to participating in the Eucharist / the celebrating of the Lord’s Supper.
We will continue our discussion of the circumcision of the heart, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit contrasted with the baptism of fire next Sunday.