Though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so.
In this section of Philippians Paul gives a stirring personal testimony. He uses the perpendicular personal pronoun “I” 15 times. His testimony is also given in Acts 9, 22, 26; I Corinthians 9, II Corinthians 11; and Romans 7. He is trying to make it clear that this is truth he not only learned but he lived. He has gone down the road of legalism like no one else.
Paul turns to an autobiography to prove that he does not operate in the flesh. He lists a litany of accomplishments where he could have placed his confidence. For years that is exactly where he did put his confidence. Now that he has come to Christ, he views his religious career in legalism as a pile of dung! He threw his scrap book on the manure pile! The accomplishments of legalism smells like garbage, or even worse–like dung.
Though I also might have confidence in the flesh
To counteract the thought that maybe, just maybe, there is something in the flesh we can trust, Paul gives himself as an example. Before he became a Christian he made great strides in legalism. If there ever was a legalist, he was one.
In the Christian life we are often tempted to live within our own thin spiritual resources. We lean on our prayer life as such, not on God. We take courage by our activities, not in God. We rely on the mechanics of our spiritual life, rather than upon God. We renounce sin and make strong commitments of discipline and live in our own strength. Anything and everything but God! We try ecstatic, asceticism, taboos, self discipline, all to no avail. Paul tried all these. He might have placed confidence in them, but he gave the flesh a vote of no confidence.
If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so
Paul, above all, had pursued that approach to life. If anyone thinks that they impress God on the basis of their religious record, they will not outpace Paul. He had an outstanding religious career.
PRINCIPLE: Religion, legalism and self effort will all fail us. We can only trust mutually exclusively in the provisions of Christ to live the Christian life.
APPLICATION: It is very difficult for us to accept that God will not accept the works of the flesh. We revert into self competence at the slightest bump in the road. The most subtle form of legalism appears in our spiritual life. We think that if we pray more, witness to a great number of people or mechanically live the Spirit filled life, we will succeed spiritually. Obviously, we cannot have a dynamic spiritual life without these means. But if we confuse means with end calamity can come to our Christian life. Morality is not the same as spirituality. Morality is man oriented. Spirituality is God oriented. How would you describe your Christian life? Is it religion, legalism oriented? Or, is it dependent upon the provisions of God?
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