August 3, 2025 - Philippians 3:3 - "The Spirit of God"
- Pastor Ken Wimer
- Aug 3
- 4 min read
Philippians 3:3
"For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."
This verse is a concise yet profound description of the true believer—those who are born of God, given hearts to worship the LORD Jesus Christ in Spirit and truth, and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Here, the apostle Paul sets forth the distinguishing marks of God’s elect, contrasting them not only with the carnal religion of the Judaizers, but with every fleshly confidence that exalts itself against the grace of God.
To worship God in the Spirit is no mere external ritual, but the fruit of the revelation of Christ in the heart, life given by the sovereign will of God, not by the works or will of man. This Spiritual worship is the result of the Spirit’s indwelling, by Whom we cry, “Abba, Father,” and by whom we are brought into communion with the living God.
Our rejoicing is not in religious performance, but in Christ Jesus Himself. His person, His righteousness, obedience, and blood shed unto death at the cross, and His triumph over the world, sin, and Satan, in rising from the dead and ascending back into glory. The Spirit glorifies Christ in the hearts of His people and gives them a foretaste of glory— by the earnest of the Spirit, a pledge of full inheritance upon the death of the child of God, in God's time.
Because of the depravity of our sinful flesh, we have no confidence in it. Rather, every remnant of human merit is cast away. The Spirit of Christ has taught us to renounce ourselves, and by His witness, we rest wholly in the finished work of Christ.
In this inspired Scripture, we behold the Spirit of Christ as the earnest of our inheritance—the seal of God’s eternal purpose in His elect, the surety of our preservation, and the divine witness that we are Christ’s and Christ is ours (Romans 8:16). By the finished work of Christ on the cross, He put away the condemnation of the flesh of His people (Colossians 2:11-13). His circumcision by His death on the cross was the circumcision of His people, wrought not with hands, but revealed by the Spirit, who causes them to worship, to rejoice, and to rest in Him alone.
The work of the Spirit in the heart does not produce a perfect nature in the elect child of GOD. The LORD has purposed not to give us a sinless nature on this side of glory, much like the promised land was not perfect in which the children of Israel entered, (Exodus 23:26-33). It was the land which the LORD gave them, and yet in entering, they were called upon to do battle in the name of the LORD, ever leaning upon His Word and promises.
What God has given us, His redeemed and justified children, is His Spirit as an ‘earnest,’ 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14, whereby He has sealed every one of those for whom Christ shed His precious blood, Romans 8:1. They are sealed for two reasons:
1. As a sign of approval of them as chosen in Christ, and redeemed and justified by Him at the cross, (2 Timothy 2:19).
2. As a protection to keep them from ever falling away or being taken away by Satan, sin, self, or the world, (Jude 24).
The Spirit is the earnest in that He is the Guarantor or Witness of all that God has promised to accomplish as the fruit of the FINISHED work of Christ. The word ‘earnest’ is a reference to money deposited by the purchaser, which in men’s courts may be forfeited if the purchase was not complete. Here, however, it is not an earnest made by men, but God Himself, and that after our LORD Jesus ALREADY PAID the full payment of the sin debt of His people, and put it away forever. Therefore, it is more like an official seal put on a legal document of acquittal, and God’s assurance that what HE has purchased through the blood of His Son, He will indeed realize in their full, final, and everlasting glorification. In Modern Greek, it is an engagement ring, given after all of the requirements have been satisfied between the Father of the bride and the proposed spouse.
It is the Holy Spirit, then, and not some inward, infused, sinless nature that is God’s pledge of ALL our future eternal blessings, particularly as pertains to our eternal inheritance, (Galatians 4:6). It is the Spirit’s work to illumine, keep, and preserve in THE WAY, those that our Heavenly Father has chosen in electing grace, justified by the blood and righteousness imputed of His blessed Son, and called effectually to Him in repentance. It is the Spirit’s work to produce in the child of God the affections and desires to walk in a manner that brings glory to our LORD Jesus, by whom the Father declared them righteous and sanctified by the death of His blessed Son, their Substitute.
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