Paul’s enemies of the cross
Paul’s enemies of the cross
Enemies of the Cross
Commentary for Anglicans
I think most of us are comfortable with the word walk, for we say “walking with God” , and we know that this means a spiritual relationship with the Holy Spirit. When “Paul” says to be followers of me, he really meant his disciples to follow him.
In the years after the resurrection, the Apostles took “their own gospel” to various parts of Judea and Syria, so that each church followed a particular gospel. There were followers of: John the apostle; Matthew the apostle; Thomas the apostle; Peter the apostle. Philip the apostle, and so on. Each carried the teachings of The Master in his heart (as The Master had promised on the Day of Pentecost). The gospel was an oral tradition throughout the first century, and this was how it was taught in the various churches. The earliest mention by the Church Fathers of a written record of the Gospels and Epistles was c. 140.
This was about the same time that the Rabbis were putting their oral traditions into written form (The Mishnah).
“Paul’s” gospel was embedded in the Gospel of Luke. “Paul” referred to this gospel as “my gospel”.
For example he said:
Ro 2:16* In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
Ro 16:25* Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
2Ti 2:8* Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
Now, in this passage, the writer is warning the Philippians not to follow “anyone else”, meaning those teachers who did not believe that The Master had been resurrected by God. Paul is addressing the Philippians as a group here. They must all walk together. That is: there must be no disagreements on what is the doctrine of salvation. He suggests that they watch those who walk the Way, and implies that the brethren should compare the behavior of brethren with what they were taught by Paul and his companions, so that they can spot people who are teaching something different, whom Paul refers to as the enemies of the cross of Christ: By this Paul means: those who preach The Master’s teaching, but do not believe in atoning sacrifice of The Master, nor the real resurrection of The Master’s body.
“Whose end is destruction,”
Besides condemning their behavior, Paul means also to warn his flock that they could be lead down the path to destruction if they listen to these “false prophets” for there is no possibility of salvation unless the acolyte first accepts the truth of the resurrection of The Master.
“whose God is their belly,”
That is: they are interested only in personal benefit and not the benefit of the body of the church. It may also refer to preachers who charge the congregation for their services - Paul has said that one of the marks of a true Apostle is that he does not charge the disciples for food or accommodation.
Later he would say:
Ro 16:18* For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
and whose glory is in their shame,
Paul also uses the word “shame” in his letter to the Corinthians. He generally means he is ashamed of some behavior or other. So perhaps he means that they glorify in what he considers shameful behavior.
“who mind earthly things.”
which means: they are concerned about stuff around them, whereas the followers of Paul fix their thoughts on spiritual things where The Christ is to be found in heaven, which Paul thought, at this point in his wisdom, as a place above the earth (heaven here does not refer to the kingdom of heaven, which according to the author of the Gospel of Matthew, was definitely not a physical place).
“Our vile body” :
The Greek word tapeinosis here translated vile can also be translated as: humiliation; made low; low estate. Humility is a good grace, but as Paul seems to be dissatisfied with the body, he cannot mean humility. So, perhaps it is the low estate of the body that causes Paul to be critical of it. Origen talks about the soul being stained by the body, which applies to every person born. He said this stained body is sown into the earth to be replaced by a perfect (clean) spiritual body.
Most commentators think that Paul is referring to the flesh and blood of each person as being vile, even though it is translated “our” vile body, and then these commentators go on to agree with Origen that this condition is caused by the sinfulness of humans. At the resurrection, this body will become perfect.
Thomas the doubter, however, was teaching that The Master was divine but not human (Gospel of Thomas 2nd. cent.). There were also Hebrews from the Church in Jerusalem who were teaching that The Master was the Messiah, who the prophets had said would be descended from the line of David, and anointed by God. They taught that it was necessary for converts who were not Hebrew to first accept the Noahide Hebrew laws before they could be a follower of The Master (who were called the Nazarite sect of Judaism).
One could not be a follower of The Master unless he was a member of the Church that The Master had established (traditionally the Day of Pentecost). The Church is the vehicle that God has established to carry believers to salvation. Acts 2:47 “And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”
For more debate on this read “Introduction to Dogmatic Theology on the basis of the thirty nine articles” E. A. Litton by Classical Anglican Press ISBN 1-893293-52-1.
Saturday, November 10, 2007