“Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:”
For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh — peritomē (circumcision) is claimed by Paul's community: true circumcision is spiritual, not literal. 'Worship by the Spirit' (latreuo pneumati theō, serve/worship in/by the Spirit) invokes the promised new covenant where God's Spirit indwells hearts, making external markers obsolete. 'Glory in Christ Jesus' (kauchaomai en Christō Iēsou) is boasting in Christ, not ethnic privilege. 'Put no confidence in the flesh' (oudepoiē ptoitē sarki) renounces bodily markers as grounds of salvation. This is Paul's counter-definition: true Israel is Spirit-defined.
Church Fathers on Philippians 3:4
Dejection and care, whenever they strain the soul beyond due measure, bereave it of its native force. And therefore Paul relieves the Philippians, who were in great despondency, and they were in despondency because they did not know how matters were with Paul; they were in despondency because they thought that it was already over with him, because of the preaching, because of Epaphroditus. It is in giving them assurance on all these points that he introduces the words,…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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