Philippians 3:3

Philippians 3:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
• New International Version (NIV)For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—
• English Standard Version (ESV)For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—
• New King James Version (NKJV)For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,

Context of Philippians 3:3

1My Christian friends, there are a few more things that I want to say. You belong to the Lord, so be happy! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again. And it will help to keep you safe. 2Be very careful! Some people are teaching bad things. They say that you must cut your bodies. They are like dangerous dogs. Do not believe them! But we are truly God's people. And it is not because someone has circumcised us. It is God's own Spirit that leads us to worship God. We thank God because of what Christ Jesus has done for us. We know that it is not human ideas that can save us. 4For myself, I could have trusted those human ideas. Perhaps somebody may think that they could trust in those things to save them. Then I would have an even better reason to trust in them. 5I belong to Israel's people, to Benjamin's tribe. I am a true Jew. They circumcised me when I was eight days old. I was a Pharisee, and I obeyed the Jewish rules very carefully.

Philippians 3:3 word by word

ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν ἡ περιτομή, οἱ πνεύματι θεοῦ λατρεύοντες καὶ καυχώμενοι ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἐν σαρκὶ πεποιθότες,Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forγάρgar · forG1063
• weἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• areεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• the circumcisionὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• the circumcisionπεριτομήperitomē · circumcisionG4061
• which worshipλατρεύωlatreuō · to ministerG3000
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• in the spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• rejoiceκαυχάομαιkauchaomai · to boastG2744
• inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
• haveπείθωpeithō · to persuadeG3982
• noοὐou · noG3756
• the fleshσάρξsarx · fleshG4561

Cross-references for Philippians 3:3

• Genesis 17:5Your name will not be Abram any more. Instead your name will be Abraham, because I will cause you to become the ancestor of many nations.
• Deuteronomy 10:16So remember that you belong to the Lord. Live to please him! Do not refuse to obey him.
• Deuteronomy 30:6The Lord your God will change you so that you want to serve him. He will do that for your descendants too. Then you will love him completely in everything that you think and in everything that you do. You will continue to live in your land.
• Jeremiah 4:4Give yourselves to me, the Lord, and agree to serve me faithfully. Remove from your lives everything that is not right, so that you obey my covenant. If you do not do that, I will be very angry with you. I will punish you like a hot fire that destroys things. Nobody will be able to stop my anger. People of Judah and Jerusalem, if you continue to do wicked things, I will certainly punish you.’
• Jeremiah 9:26Those people include the Egyptians, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites and the people of Judah. I will also punish the people who live in the desert and who cut their hair short. Those people are not circumcised to give honour to me. The Israelites are the same. Their bodies are circumcised, but they do not want to obey my covenant with them.’
• Romans 2:25As a Jewish man, you are proud that someone has circumcised you. That is a help to you, if you obey God's Law in your life. But if you do not obey God's Law, then it is worth nothing. You have become like a Gentile that nobody has ever circumcised.
• Romans 4:11Some time after that, God told Abraham that someone should circumcise him. That would be a mark on his body to show that God had accepted him. God had already accepted Abraham because Abraham believed in him. God did not accept Abraham because they had circumcised him as a Jewish man. This shows that Abraham is like a father to everyone that God has accepted. Like Abraham, God has accepted them because they have believed in him. It is not important that nobody has circumcised them.
• Colossians 2:11Also, because you are united with Christ, you truly belong to God's people. No person has circumcised you to show this. It is like Christ himself has circumcised you, to show that you belong to God. It is like he has cut off your old nature which made you do bad things.
• Malachi 1:11‘People in every nation of the whole world will respect my name. People everywhere will offer incense and pure sacrifices to worship me. They will all know that I am great.’ That is what the Lord Almighty says.
• John 4:23But people will soon have a new way to worship the Father. Yes, that time has already come. Those people who really want to worship the Father will worship him in their spirits, in a true way. The Father looks for people who will worship him like that.
• Romans 1:9God is the one that I serve with all my spirit. I tell people the message about his Son, which is good news. God himself knows that I pray for you all the time.
• Romans 7:6But now we have become free from the authority of the law. It is as if we have died. So those rules no longer control us. We do not still try to obey rules that someone has written down. That is the old way. Instead, we serve God in a new way. God's Spirit helps us to please him.
• Romans 8:15The Spirit that you have received from God does not make you serve him like slaves. That would make you afraid again. No. The Spirit that God has given to you causes you to become God's children. Now he takes care of you. God's Spirit makes us call God: ‘Abba, our Father.’
• Ephesians 6:18As you stand strongly like that, always pray for God's help. Pray about everything as God's Spirit helps you to pray. For this purpose, watch carefully all the time. Also, continue to pray for all God's people everywhere.
• Jude 1:20But you, my friends, have believed the message that comes from God himself. So you must help one another to trust God more and more. Pray to God with the help of the Holy Spirit.
• Philippians 3:7All those ideas seemed very important to me then. But now they are worth nothing to me, because I trust in Christ.

Commentaries on Philippians 3:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3We are the circumcision - We, who have embraced the faith of Christ crucified, are now entered into the new covenant, and according to that new covenant, worship God in the Spirit, exulting, , making our boast of Christ Jesus, as our only Savior, having no confidence in the flesh - in any outward rite or ceremony prescribed by the Jewish institutions.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3For we are the circumcision - We who are Christians. We have and hold the true doctrine of circumcision. We have that which was intended to be secured by this rite - for we are led to renounce the flesh, and to worship God in the spirit. The apostle in this verse teaches that the ordinance of circumcision was not designed to be a mere outward ceremony, but was intended to be emblematic of the renunciation of the flesh with its corrupt propensities, and to…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Circumcision was a sign that someone belonged to God’s people (see Gen 17:10–14). But the Bible teaches that those who trust in Christ are the ones who are truly circumcised in their hearts (see Romans 2:28–29; compare Jeremiah 4:4; Ephesians 2:11; Colossians 2:11–13). Being circumcised in heart means we are changed on the inside. Our hearts are made new by God so they can love and obey him.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. "We are the (real) circumcision" (Ro 2:25-29; Col 2:11). worship God in the Spirit--The oldest manuscripts read, "worship by the Spirit of God"; our religious service is rendered by the Spirit (Joh 4:23, 24). Legal worship was outward, and consisted in outward acts, restricted to certain times and places. Christian worship is spiritual, flowing from the inworkings of the Holy Spirit, not relating to certain isolated acts, but embracing the whole life…Read the comment

Topics related to Philippians 3:3

• Circumcision
• Joy
• Righteous
• Works
• Worship

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• God
• Jesus
• Christ, Messiah
• Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Christ, Jesus
• Belly
• Concision
• Count

Commentaries on Philippians 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings