Paul the apostle instructed
the church members in Philippi to be followers of him as he followed
Christ, however, because he knew there were those who were enemies of
the cross, he wept as he warned them about their pernicious ways. In
chapter three and verse nineteen Paul shares the attributes of the
enemies of the cross of Christ where he wrote:
Whose end is destruction, whose God is their
belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind
earthly things.)
The
verse begins, “Whose end is destruction,...”
Though there are enemies of the cross, there is a fate awaiting
them. Paul said their “end is destruction” which means,
“destroying, utter destruction, a perishing, ruin, and destruction
which consists of eternal misery in hell”. Though it may appear for
a time that those who are the enemies of the cross of Christ have an
upper hand, they have an “end” or “finality, limit and
termination” to their ways.
The
verse goes on to say, “whose God is their
belly,...” In addition to
their end being destruction, Paul includes the enemies of the cross
of Christ's spiritual practices. Their “God is their
belly” which refers to “the
innermost part of a man, the soul, heart as the seat of thought,
feeling, choice”. In other words, they care for their sensual
appetites and seek to satisfy the fleshly desires more than any other
thing. They in effect worship the satisfying of the flesh.
Paul adds, “... and
whose glory is in their shame,...”
Not only do these enemies of the
cross have a “destruction”
end and worship of their own bellies, but their “glory”
which means “exalted and majestic position” “is in
their shame” or “ignominy,
disgrace, dishonor, a thing to be ashamed of”. In other words,
where there would normally be “shame” over sinful
practices, they rather “glory”, brag, and boast about
them.
Finally
Paul says they, “... who mind earthly things.)” The
enemies of the cross not only have a “destruction”
end, worship of the flesh, and boasting in shameful practices, but
they also “mind”
which means “to direct one's mind to a thing, to seek, to
strive for” “earthy things” which are “things which
exist on earth”. Rather than being spiritually minded and thinking
upon the things of God and heaven above, these enemies of the cross
are interested in the temporal, perishing things of the earth. No
doubt Paul's opinion of them was very pointed, and he desired for the
church members to be aware of their attributes so they would distance
themselves from them.
As we consider Paul's list
of attributes of the enemies of the cross, hopefully we do not find
ourselves with any of their traits. Let's ask ourselves a few
questions to be sure. Do we know our end? Is our God our flesh and
fulfilling it's desires? Do we glory in things that should be
shameful, and do we direct our attention towards “earthy
things”? Hopefully we can answer these questions according to
the way Paul and ultimately Jesus would. It was Jesus who made access
to God through the cross, and it is Jesus whom we should worship,
glory, and seek as we conduct ourselves in this world.
Next
time Paul tells the Philippians the fate of the enemies of the cross
of Christ, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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