This
morning my attention was drawn to, “Let
those of us who are mature think this way…”[1] There is a connection
between the “those of us who are mature,”
and the “think this way.” This brings
to mind that being mature, and what we believe, are not identical. People often
argue doctrine out of immaturity. They grab hold of facts about God, holding on
to the right information (or not), but without having the maturity to think in
the Spirit, or to think of others.
What
becomes clear is that, while both the mature and the immature may hold the same
beliefs, the mature are able to relate to people differently than the immature.
Paul shows this when he identifies the possibility that the mature may have
things in which they “think otherwise.”[2] When there is a way to think about things, the mature are able to
process this in the fellowship of God, the apostles, and the church,[3]even while working out differences of belief. They are not only
dealing with information, but the relationships the information speaks about.
This
means that the “think this way” is
not so much about the facts and details, as important as they are, but about
the relationship connection in our thinking. There is a way to think, and to
fellowship in our thinking, that is of the Spirit, that is of our new heart,
and God wants us interacting with him in our thinking. There is a way to think that governs not only
whether doctrine is correct, but whether relationships are working properly.
This
brings us back to where we set our minds,[4] not the just specifics of what we believe. When people band
together in different denominational groups, there is often very little thought
to where we are setting our minds. Most of what I have seen in churches is the
expression of people who set their minds on the things of the sark, not the
Spirit. Even the so called “Spirit-filled” churches seem more filled with sarky
interest in excitement and sensuality than with a true connection with the
Spirit. When the most experiential churches seem the most distant from true
doctrine, something is suspect![5]
What
Paul is speaking of in his “think this
way” is what comes before this. When he says that we ought to think “this way,” he is not about to introduce
the thing we ought to think. He is concluding what he has already said with the
clarification that all in the church who are growing in maturity should have
this same way of thinking. All the mature in the church are to lead the way, or
set the tone for the church, by setting our minds on the same things. Paul has
already told us to “Have this mind among
yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”[6]He now clarifies that the things he has just expressed to them are
the way all the mature in the church out to think.
So,
what has Paul written in this section that we could say that these are the
things on which our minds must be set? The chapter begins with, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord.
To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.”[7]
The
first thing that stands out is that Paul is speaking to them of things in way
of reminder. On one side, he has to speak of “the same things” as he has already stated; on the other side, he
wants them to receive these things as no trouble for him, and necessary for
them.
It
almost sounds as if Paul is encouraging them to rejoice in the Lord about what
he is sharing, not become sad or disappointed that Paul is writing these things
because he is in prison, or that he needs to address these things for their own
safety. If they would receive his letter with rejoicing, perhaps with that
underlying reality of God working all things together for our good,[8] they would then be able to receive the goodness of God as expressed
through this letter.
Then
Paul jumps into a very strong statement: “Look
out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate
the flesh.”[9] Because of Paul’s love for the churches, and his brothers in the
Lord, it is not trouble for him to remind them of the danger of the counterfeit
teachers. It is for their good, and their safety, for him to do so.
The
way Paul wants them to think of these people who seek to bring the church back
to dependence on the law, is that they are dogs, evildoers, seeking to mutilate
the flesh. They are not doing good, but are like ravaging dogs seeking to mutilate
people, seeking to destroy their faith, hope, and love. No matter how nice
people are in their presentation of law-based thinking, they are the enemy,
leading people astray.
On
the other hand, and as motivation to watch out for the flesh-mutilating
legalists, Paul clarifies, “For we are
the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus
and put no confidence in the flesh…”[10]
Paul
is making clear that it is not those who perform circumcision who “are the circumcision,” but those who
believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. What was once an external evidence
of obedience to the covenants of God has been replaced by the new covenant in Jesus’
blood. All requirements of the earlier covenants are now fulfilled. The law is
abolished from usage, not as something discarded and unfulfilled, but as
something that did its work, is complete, and is now declared a finished thing
that is replaced by something vastly superior.
What
stands out here is that this is one more expression of how the law has been
replaced by the “Spirit of God.” We
were once guarded and guided by the law, but no longer.[11] The law was put in place to get us to Christ, but now the Spirit
works in us, lives in us, is Christ in us the hope of glory.[12]
I
think of Jesus’ conversation with the woman at the well.[13] She wanted to know where to worship, whether Jerusalem, or the
mountain of the Samaritans. John describes Jesus’ response like this:
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the
hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship
the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for
salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the
true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is
seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in spirit and truth.”[14]
When
Jesus said, “the hour is coming when
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father,”[15]he was making another statement indicating the end of all earthly
systems. What Jesus came to do was not to pick sides between Jews and
Samaritans.[16] He would not answer what they were asking, but give them an answer
that none of them could have imagined.[17] He was going to replace religion with relationship. Instead of
worship defined by or confined to a place, God was about to bring about the
transformation lives that would cause sinners to become worshipers.
The
distinctive quality of these worshippers would be that they worship “in spirit and in truth.” The Father is
looking for those who will worship him in spirit and in truth, or in spiritual
reality, or in a genuine spiritual encounter with God that is plumb to the
truth. Instead of living by the law that communicates doctrinal truth, the true
worshipers will worship by the Spirit who is truth. The true worshipers will
put their faith in Jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life.[18]Through him, the church will be those, “who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus.”
Everything
in the new covenant is about the Holy Spirit. We are not led through the
wilderness of the world by the guardianship of the law. We are now led through
everything in a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit that is given to us
through the finished work of Jesus Christ.[19]
We glory in Christ Jesus who fulfilled the law, and we glorify him by living in
the Spirit.
In fact, when
we revert to the law, even to say we must keep the ten commandments, we insult
the work of Christ that gives us the completeness of righteousness by faith. Instead,
we glory in Christ Jesus by living in the Spirit.
While Paul has
much more to say in this chapter about how the mature should think, this
contrast between the legalizers who wanted to return the church to law-based
thinking and action, and the true church that worships by the Holy Spirit and
glories in Jesus Christ, is enough to encourage us greatly.
I am very
thankful for the way God has been emphasizing to me that there is one kind of
religious life we can live in the sark, or the flesh, and another relational
life that we live in the Spirit. Knowing that the only worshipers God seeks are
those who worship in spirit and in truth, who are identified as those who
worship in the Spirit and glory in our Lord Jesus Christ, invites us once again
to set our minds on the things of the Spirit.
“Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth!”[20]
©
2015 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless
otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy
Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway
Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.)
[1]
Philippians 3:15
[2]
Philippians 3:15
[3]
I John 1:3-4
[4]
Romans 8:5-6
[5]
I am speaking of my experience with churches, not a detailed analysis of all
churches.
[6]
Philippians 2:5
[7]
Philippians 3:1
[8]
Romans 8:28
[9]
Philippians 3:2
[10]
Philippians 3:3
[11]
Galatians 3:23-29
[12]
Colossians 1:27
[13]
John 4
[14]
John 4:21-24
[15]
John 4:21
[16]
Ephesians 2:11-22 shows how both Jews and Gentiles are brought together into
the one new man that is the church. This would have included all Samaritan
believers as well.
[17]
Ephesians 3:1-13 describes Paul’s connection to the mystery of the gospel which
no one would have known apart from God revealing it.
[18]
John 14:6
[19]
Romans 8:14
[20]
Psalm 96:9
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