Good be time time if you are here for joy and disguise you were in the right spot you are here for some other reason you’re welcome to stay after Dean just told me she watched me on the YouTube or the I don’t know the internet uh from 5: to 7 this
Morning I thought that’s probably enough for anybody we came back for a moment I guess it’s back and a front one page I managed that’s our chapter that we’re supposed to be studying Today Chapter eight and nine we’re gonna begin uh chapter three of Philippians which he
Entitles we got last part to is unity in Christ and this one is confidence in Jesus So when you say when someone says confidence in something what does that what does that word mean to you count on it count on it book it book it yeah that’s you have confidence in something
That means it’s some some kind of a faith statement as well might be a little bit different but does it come from the word confide I think it does and when we confide in someone what does that mean we we uh tell some truth about ourselves
To someone or we open up about we open up about ourselves trust yeah so I think confidence is is part of that and confidence then is not just confident uh people say all the time like confidence in institutions right things that you know are going to be there or stand the test
Of time or whatever that is or this is my grocery store and I I can I go there and I have confidence that their produce is generally fresh or whatever but this is particular confidence in Jesus right this is confidence in Jesus and Bishop little thinks it’s this gets
Born out in the third chapter of Philippians so um meaning if you had confidence in something or now you have confidence in Jesus what does that mean what does it mean uh like in a real life lived out way if you can do that he’s always be with me count on him
Count on him still he says he is I like that idea too he said he’s who he says he is and how would that most impact you Sharon I take it to the bank I mean I can have um I think a better understanding even of of forgiving myself and my humanness
Um because he’s got my why does it have to just be confidence in Jesus if that’s what we’re learning about well that’s what we’re learning about I mean I always think of it as the Trinity you know yeah whole concept his point is that Jesus is Holy Spirit yeah
I yes I suppose you can say that Kate I I think that his point being if he’s if he’s using Philippians as his guide to write this Paul is trying to to convince his readers his church that Jesus is the same as God as the Holy Spirit right
Like he’s trying to say I know y’all don’t know a lot about this dude Jesus you’ve heard about him I told you about him um but since Jesus is the kind of real lived out thank you this is our notes for today since this is our real true lived out vergins of the
Divine Jesus is the word made manifest the word incarnate you know the the the blood the flesh and blood that you know the in the person and uh that’s what makes this Faith different than other faiths the in the person that theology of Jesus is what makes this different and that’s
What uh the new church is trying to both understand and contain and transmit to other people and hold on to so um we’ll read more uh so it says that so this is that this part three is confidence in Jesus and the first two chapters that we’re
Going to look at are um I think uh knowing Jesus and growing in Jesus so I’d like to start on the back of your handout for today is the text from Philippians and I wonder if we could read guess we could just go go ahead and read the whole thing the citations for
The just to be aware that the the way I formatted or didn’t format this the verse citations are the same size as the bir that precedes it so it it can be hard maybe to who would like to start and read uh through verse six so read verses 1 through six okay
Finally my brothers and sisters rejoice in the Lord to write the same things to you is not Troublesome to me and for you it is a safeguard Beware of the dogs Beware of the evil workers beware of those who mutilate the flesh for it is we who are the circumcision who Worship
In the spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and have no confidence reason for confidence in the flesh if anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh I have more circumcised on the eth day a member of the people of Israel of The Tribe of Benjamin a
He as to the LA Mery as to Zeal a persecutor of the church as to righteousness under the law BL so so much in those first six verses and uh a lot of um the interpretation there was remember what it was called I didn’t have notes over here there was this thing called
The circumcision party right this is a group of no no I don’t mean the party I mean there was a group around this time in the first and second century called the circumcision party like Republican party or Democrat Party thinking that in order to uh if you were a gentile and had not
Been circumcised in order to become a Christian you would first have to become a Jew and then become a Christian uh he’s he’s dispelling that like that this is not someplace we want to like put all of our uh marbles right now we don’t want to get all involved in like these
Groups of people that are walking around trying to say that you can’t really experience Christianity unless you really experience you know circumcision um there was spiritual circumcision is what Paul is talking about in accepting Jesus the circumcision of the heart uh that had little to do with circumcision of the
Flesh although he was a Jew and so is a Jew really aren’t I mean he’s a you know he’s in between I guess so um it was Peter arguing about the the other way right I mean Paul was Peter was more I do think there was yes even the disciples were split on
This idea of what you know because I just think of it I don’t know um many of you were in sororities and you know that there are of you and David I mean we’re we’re just a token people don’t just okay so there are forties too there are
That way uh or even the Masons or whatever organizations there are uh to which you have to there are certain rituals with that one has to right go through are they necessary I don’t know I mean if you’re if you’re a member of that party yeah it’s pretty important that you do those
Things because that shows your commitment to whatever it is that you’re uh getting ready to join it’s like a baptism it is or it’s like receiving communion I think more David like there are some of us who are for open communion right like if you want to
Receive communion come get it and there are others of us in the church where the church says no you got to follow these rules and I understand why rules but if you go into that grouping there’s only one baptism right and then there are rules right right but that’s still a r
There’s only one circum yeah we hope there’s not hope so so are do they still are they still necessary is every right of initiation still necessary for you to become part of that group no because things change well it was for my grandsons we had a bris for each one and
The mo who came he must have had the sharpest KN ever he could flip that b of Flesh off and less than two seconds it was good and we had a party cated no one likes a dull night I had C that was still that was the healthy
Thing to do and that’s part of that’s part of what it is to Gage yeah well um what he’s what is he trying to dispel here what in your opinion what does all that have to do those first six verses what is Paul trying to say to the church in Phil in
Philippi you don’t have to be circumcised J to be CHR right this is not there that is not the threshold you have to cross right there are other thresholds like what is going on in your heart yeah uh that would be as important denigrating what Jews do in
Their in their practice uh to become part of the community that’s not what that’s about it’s about certain people saying in order to become a Christian you have to go through these rights of Passage and from Paul’s point of view you don’t and since we have decided to maintain honor keep uh
Canonized Paul’s letters to the early church that’s kind of what we study and how could that be the same for us no one’s asking us to be circumcised in that way um again as Ginger said or as others have said it’s now it’s a medical procedure um that has something to do
With cleanliness and health right that’s but it’s not the who are the dogs and the evil workers so um there are ways people have interpreted that in an anti-semitic way right but I don’t think it was Paul’s intention so um but it would be anybody who would be disagreeing with them who
Is trying to lead you astray whose voice are you hearing these are not the voices of the Church of the church these are not the voices of Christians this is not the voice of God um and this is a very serious this language is very strong right
Um and these are just these were just Gentiles that he’s talking to right well no because there would been Jews who had been who were now worshiping Jesus as well so they would be the communities probably had some of everyone in them they could have had who knows who uh
That were you know coming to join them but uh a lot of them were Roman soldiers we know that um we know that uh so so they were Romans they were Gentiles there were some Jews there were uh probably Jews who hadn’t wored in Jerusalem right so
What even though this is in Asia Minor but there were probably Jews who had some practices but were not probably would not have been considered by Pharisees and Sadducees to be Jewish enough right because they would have never gone to Jerusalem and they would part of some diaspora right from the 5ifth century
BC but there were Jews living in all parts of as you know right since the Babylonian exile all over uh Asia Minor so they could have been that so it’s hard to know exactly what their um pedigrees were but this is Paul with some very strong language um
Because dogs were not considered um like pets remember even the dogs get to eat the crumbs under the table the dogs licked Lazarus wounds the dogs don’t really you know they’re not really they eat they eat food scraps right they they eat trash they they’re not considered to
Be they weren’t like you didn’t keep them in your house dogs lived outside I I know Shar you’re upset by that but it was 2,000 years ago so yes the the Egyptians kept the dogs in the house yeah is that right yeah no not these folks and not by the
Language and then and also corresponding literature tells us how dogs would have been used the derogatory term the word dogs to call someone a dog but be a latory term used a lot yeah you dirty dog yeah yeah yeah yeah you continue that let’s not so uh so then Paul gives his pedigree
Yeah he’s telling them who to avoid and then he gives his pedigree right like look I I I I’ve a this is you know I everything that I did I did the proper order I was raised correctly by my parents I I was a je you know and I
Belong To The Tribe of Benjamin me wasn’t just you know when he’s say like look what I did if I can do this you can do it too maybe maybe he’s saying I have every reason to be able to speak about this from a a PO a posing point of view
Because I am that and I’m not that is not our my that don’t think that’s God’s intention for you you know I think he’s able to speak from that from the other side of his mouth in a way well that’s what I’m I mean my first response when I read it
The second time was easy for you to say I mean you got all your bases cing bu right you know um you’ve done the you kept the Covenant that God made with the he so you can tell the other people it’s okay for them not to right because just in case it’s not
Okay you’re covered right and so here’s that thing law and love although Paul doesn’t talk about he does talk about love but let’s say he’s saying the law is reimagined in the person of Christ Christ if the law is reimagined in the person of then many of these
Practices that we’ve clung to in order to be righteous remember that’s the whole point the law clinging to the law was a way to gain righteousness to be a righteous person meant that you would be us in line for salvation and you were doing what God
Asked ask of you you were keeping the Covenant that God had established so you know this has all kinds of things attached to it and uh and Paul comes in the middle of this and tries to say here’s what Jesus said here’s what Jesus did here’s what this
Life meant and how that transforms the law well you can take the two words and say the Old Testament was the law the New Testament was law the Old Testament was law and the New Testament was love um sure I mean yes but does that I think that
Leaves a lot out right because TR to simplify I know but when we simplify we might lose some of the nuances that but yes generally speaking I mean Jesus himself said it you know yeah right love your neighbor right I came not to you know whatever he said he said several
Things change the law no to fulfill it to fulfill it ah so that’s that right but what was why was the law given the law was given in order to help people live in a covenant relationship with God because the first Covenant is I am
The Lord your God and you are my people
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