Enemies of the Cross: a commentary on Philippians 3... part 3 of 3
- Andrew Fouts
- 22 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Over the past few weeks, we have looked at why we desire enemies. We looked at why Christians don’t have enemies. We looked at the objections to that statement. We looked at why the distinction Jesus made matters so much. But there is one more objection to these statements that we need to address. What about the enemies Paul mentions in Philippians 3:18?
“For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ…”
ENEMIES OF THE CROSS
The idea here is simple, just like how we see Jesus identify enemies in Matthew 5, as those who persecute us, Paul makes it clear here as well, that he is addressing those who identify themselves as hating the Cross of Christ. Simply put, these are not our enemies as Christians. They still are our neighbors. They just hate the Cross of Christ.
But what does this actually mean? What do enemies of the cross actually look like, and why do these people bring Paul to tears here in Philippians 3?
WHO ARE THE ENEMIES OF THE CROSS IN PHILIPPIANS 3
“For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things…”
Paul identifies 4 characteristics of these enemies of the Cross.
Their end is destruction
Their Glory is in their shame
These four characteristics should sound familiar, because they are the same ones we examined over the past two weeks. Destruction is their goal and they need enemies in order to justify it. “Their god is their stomach” because they make decisions based on self-comfort, the opposite of how we are called to treat our neighbors. “Their glory is in their shame” because they project their shame onto others instead of allowing God to bear it. And their minds are set on earthly things like titles, skin color, wealth, social status, rather than on a kingdom that is not of this world. In short, the enemies of the cross are people who look for enemies rather than neighbors.
But why does Paul choose the cross here? Why not “enemies of Christ,” “enemies of the Church,” or “enemies of God”? Why is it specifically the cross?
WHY THE CROSS?
We talk a lot about Philippians 2 and how the attitude of Christ Jesus is one of humility, submission, and sacrifice. Here in Philippians 3, we are dealing with the same attitude. The cross represents this. Because the cross was the ultimate submission to death. It was the ultimate act of humility. It was the ultimate act of sacrifice, a sacrifice that shows without a doubt that no one is unworthy of reconciliation. The Cross of Christ is the ultimate argument against having Enemies as believers.
And so as a result, the enemies of the Cross are ones not only ultimately opposed to the attitude of Jesus, but also those who do not see the attitude of Jesus as one that can be achieved. This is why Paul says these things with tears. Because many claim to follow Jesus, who have decided that they do not find this attitude of Jesus to work for today. They call it illogical, or ideological, but the unfortunate reality is that they find the way of the cross, the way of Jesus, to be something that they cannot reconcile in their own lives.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Just like we saw with Matthew 5, Philippians 3 is not a passage to argue the need or existence of enemies for believers, but it, in fact, shows the reality about enemies. Having enemies is counter to the way of Jesus. The need for enemies is found in the shame of sin. To view image bearers as enemies is to not see people as Jesus does. And that these attitudes are not only counter to the ways of Jesus, but they cause you to see the ways of Jesus as an enemy as well. This idea, that Christian’s don’t have enemies, should not only not be controversial, but it should be the standard understanding of how to view the world around us as believers. This is the way of Jesus, to view everyone as image bearers worthy of service and reconciliation, rather than enemies to destroy. One way leads to destruction, the other leads to life.
This blog is part 3 of a 3-part series on Christianity, Enemies, and Neighbors.
We have had a few recorded discussions related to our previous social media posts on this topic. with Temeko Holness and with Stefon Napier.
This post was written by Andrew Fouts. The founder and main content creator for Ministry Misfits. He is also one of the writers and directors for KFM Broadcasting Network.
This post was edited by Joseph Dea. Joe is a writer for his own blog at https://kfmbroadcasting.wixstudio.com/buddywalkwithjesus and is one of the directors and writers for KFM Broadcasting.
This blog is being crossposted to our network blog at www.kfmbroadcasting.com/blog. If you have found this or other Misfits Resources helpful, check out the network of resources available through KFM!