Philippians 3:1–3 · King James Version

Beware of the concision

Paul bids the Philippians rejoice in the Lord, and without apology repeats his warning: beware of dogs, of evil workers, of the concision. The true circumcision are those who worship God in the Spirit, glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.

3 verses · 12 glosses · All commentators

3:1

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe.

Commentary · 4 glosses

Rejoice in the Lord – Not in worldly comforts and contentments; or not in carnal rites and observations; but in the Lord with a spiritual and heavenly joy.

Writing of the same things cannot be referred to any other Epistles which he wrote to the Philippians, but to those things, which whiles present with them, he had delivered to them by word of mouth, as 4:9, compare Isaiah 28:10; Rom 15:15; 2 Pet 1:12; 1 John 2:21. … but for you it is safe – Because this repetition of the same Doctrine, though in another way is pertinent to your Edification, (yea as some read, it is necessary) ‘tis greatly advantageous for your stability in the Faith, and to caution and keep you in safety, from the insinuations of false Teachers, that I now give you a brief memorial in Writing of those things, that you may be cautioned, and they may not, especially in this day of adversity, slip out of your memories, or be lost.

on 3:1–3

I. He exhorts them to rejoice in the Lord (Phil 3:1), to rest satisfied in the interest they had in him and the benefit they hoped for by him. It is the character and temper of sincere Christians to rejoice in Christ Jesus. The more we take of the comfort of our religion the more closely we shall cleave to it: … II. He cautions them to take heed of those false teachers: To write the same thing to you to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe; that is, the same things which I have already preached to you; … 2. It is good for us often to hear the same truths, to revive the remembrance and strengthen the impression of things of importance. It is a wanton curiosity to desire always to hear some new thing.

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord – The apostle seems as if he was about to conclude his epistle; and therefore, as if he was taking his farewell of this church, and giving his last advice to them, he exhorts them in a most affectionate manner, as his dear brethren in a spiritual relation, that they would make Christ their chief joy.

3:2

Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.

Commentary · 4 glosses

the concision – He calleth them so, not for that they made cuttings in their flesh, after the manner of the superstitious Gentiles; but because by urging circumcision they made a rent and concision in the Church.

beware of the concision … Paul here in an holy Sarcasm charges the Philippians to take heed of, under the contemptible name of, the Concision, or cutting off, intimating that the exterior part of that typical work, which was done in the cutting off the fore skin, was now from the coming of Christ, altogether made a mere cutting off the skin condemned by God in the Heathens, as a profane incision, Lev 19:28; 21:5, where the LXX use the same preposition in the compound word, the Apostle here doth in contempt of the thing; which could now bring nothing of profit, nothing of holiness, nothing of honour to any Christian, could no more avail, or advantage a Man now, than if it were conferred on a Beast, being no seal of the Covenant now, but a stickling for that Rite (when abolished by Christ) which was a mere rending of the Church, and in that effect a cutting off from it, Gal 5:10, 12.

on 3:1–3

It is a needful caution he here gives: Beware of dogs, Phil 3:2. The prophet calls the false prophets dumb dogs (Isa 56:10), to which the apostle here seems to refer. Dogs, for their malice against the faithful professors of the gospel of Christ, barking at them and biting them. They cried up good works in opposition to the faith of Christ; but Paul calls them evil workers: they boasted themselves to be of the circumcision; but he calls them the concision: they rent and tore the church of Christ, and cut it to pieces; or contended for an abolished rite, a mere insignificant cutting of the flesh.

Beware of dogs – By whom are meant the “judaizing” teachers, who were for imposing the works and ceremonies of the law upon the Gentiles, as necessary to salvation; and they have the name retorted on them they used to give to the Gentiles; see Matthew 15:26.

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.

Commentary · 4 glosses

we are the circumcision – We now are to be accounted of the true circumcision, who have our hearts circumcised, and our wicked lusts and affections cut off, by the grace of Christ serving God in purity of life. confidence in the flesh – Trust not, nor value ourselves by external privileges which concern the outward man, or rely not upon carnal rites.

are the circumcision – Using a Metonymy, are the Circumcision now acceptable, and not displeasing to God, i. e. we are what is really signified by it, and therefore as to the main intent of it are the Circumcised (it being usual to put Circumcision for Circumcised, Acts 11:2; Rom 3:30; 4:12; 15:8; Gal 2:7–⁠9, 12; Col 4:11; Titus 1:10) he doth not mean with respect to carnal Circumcision, i. e. which is outward in the Flesh, but which is inward in the Spirit, Rom 2:28–⁠29, made without hands by the Circumcision of Christ, with whom we are buried in Baptism, Col 2:11–⁠12, and being Christ’s are Abraham ‘s spiritual Seed, and Heirs of the Promise, Gal 3:29.

on 3:1–3

III. He describes true Christians, who are indeed the circumcision, the spiritual circumcision, the peculiar of people of God, who are in covenant with him, as the Old-Testament Israelites were: We are the circumcision, who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Here are three characters:—1. They worshipped in the spirit, in opposition to the carnal ordinances of the Old-Testament, which consist in meats, and drinks, and divers washings, etc. Christianity takes us off from these things, and teaches us to be inward with God in all the duties of religious worship. … 2. They rejoice in Christ Jesus, and not in the peculiar privileges of the Jewish church, or what answers to them in the Christian church—mere outward enjoyments and performances. … 3. They have no confidence in the flesh, in those carnal ordinances and outward performances. We must be taken off from trusting in our own bottom,¹ that we may build only on Jesus Christ, the everlasting foundation.

For we are the circumcision – And not they; they have the name, and we the thing, or that which legal circumcision was a shadow of, namely, circumcision of the heart; … and rejoice in Christ Jesus; or “glory in” him, and make their boast of him; for a different word is here used from that in Philippians 3:1.

Notes

Our own bottom: our own resources. A bottom was a ship’s hull, hence the vessel one ventures in (Henry on 3:7: “nor venture on any bottom but what he himself had ventured”).
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Sources & sigla

Excerpts keep their writers’ wording. ☞ marks the editor’s voice. A siglum opens its source at any point in the passage.

EA: English Annotations · 1645
The Westminster Assembly's committee of annotators, Annotations upon all the books of the Old and New Testament. First edition (London, 1645), EEBO-TCP A36467. Source text
P: Poole · 1685
Richard Adams, Matthew Poole's Annotations (Philippians and Colossians; Calamy, Account, 1713). Annotations upon the Holy Bible, vol. II (London, 1685), EEBO-TCP A55368. Source text
H: Henry (W. Harris) · 1710s
William Harris, Matthew Henry's Exposition of the Old and New Testament (vol. 6, completed after Henry's death). lyteword mhenry-complete Markdown (CC0). Source text
G: Gill · 1746–48
John Gill, An Exposition of the New Testament. Good Books Free digital edition, checked against scans. Source text

Scripture: King James Version (1769). About this text and its editorial conventions

The commentators, introduced

Texts public domain · notes © 2026. The King James Version and the four commentaries are in the public domain in the United States. The selection and arrangement of the excerpts, their light modernization, the passage summaries, the introductions, the editor’s notes and the footnotes are © 2026 Baptist Seminarian; all rights in the new material reserved.