Rejoicing, eschewing, and imitating.
"Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord," etc. These verses present three subjects for reflection—the Being to rejoice in, the men to avoid, the worship to imitate.
I. THE BEING TO REJOICE IN. "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord." "The Lord" means undoubtedly Jesus Christ, the Savior of all men. But why rejoice in him?
1. Because of his-peerless excellence. He is the morally beautiful. Every moral virtue is united, harmonized, and coruscates in his character. Nothing inspires the heart with higher and purer joy than beauty. Admiration is happiness of a high type. The admiration of art is a joy, the admiration of nature a greater joy, the admiration of moral excellence is the highest joy of all. "Rejoice in the Lord."
2. Because of his riled relationship. He is our dearest Friend, cur elder Brother, our all-merciful, and almighty Redeemer. Well might we rejoice in such a relationship. "My Beloved is mine, and I am his."
3. Because of his benevolent enterprise. What philanthropic heart does not rejoice in the enterprise of any man to mitigate the woes and increase the happiness of his species? But what an enterprise is the enterprise of Christ! It is to break every fetter, unlock every prison door, dispel every cloud of ignorance and sorrow; it is to tread all human evils in the dust, hush all sorrows, wipe away all tears from off all faces. Well might the apostle enjoin the Philippians to "rejoice in the Lord." Sad that such an injunction should be required, for it might well have been supposed that all who knew the Lord would "rejoice" in him. This is a command, as truly a command as the command to believe, repent, not to steal, not to murder; and to break this command is as great a sin as to break any command in the Decalogue. To be happy in the Lord—and there is happiness nowhere else—is a moral obligation.
II. THE MEN TO AVOID. "To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous [irksome], but for you it is safe." What things does the apostle mean? Manifestly the warning which follows, "Beware of dogs, beware of evil-workers." The apostle here characterizes a class of men as "dogs." In Revelation 22:15 this class—there also called dogs—are described as excluded from the kingdom of heaven. Christ to the Syro-phoenician woman spoke of the Gentiles as dogs (Matthew 15:26). He did this, however, in accordance with the usage of his countrymen. Elsewhere the heavenly Teacher speaks of some men as "swine." The temperaments, disposition, and characters of men are widely different. "All flesh is not the same flesh." The men against whom the apostle warns the Philippians here were:
1. Men of a canine spirit. Ill-tempered men, snarling at all who differed from them. Who does not know men of the dog spirit? The querulous tone, the curl of scorn on the lip, the sardonic grin, reveal their canine nature.
2. Men of a canine spirit, who were in connection with the Church. "Beware of evil-workers, beware of the concision." They were Judaizing teachers, who endeavored to turn away men from the simplicity of the gospel by promoting Jewish rites and ceremonies, and thus they were evil-doers. Show me the man whose religion is sensuous, ritualistic, and technical, and you will show me the man who in all probability displays this canine spirit. A more ill-natured class of men I have never known than members of Calvinistic, Antinomian, and Ritualistic Churches; and they reveal more of the dog than of the angel. Now, Paul says avoid such, do not argue with them, do not "cast pearls before swine," do not put yourself in their power, stand aloof from them, heed neither their bark nor their grin.
III. THE WORSHIP TO IMITATE. "For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." The worship here is marked by three things.
1. By spirituality. "Worship God in the Spirit."
2. By joyousness. "Rejoice in Christ Jesus." There is no worship without happiness; true worship is happiness.
3. By Divine confidence. "Have no confidence in the flesh."—D.T.