Having written Philippians chapters 1 and 2, the apostle Paul, in Philippians 3:1, said, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord…” True believers of the Lord Jesus Christ can rejoice in the Lord because we are no longer burdened by the lust for power, money or vainglory, but are constrained by the love of Christ. We will seek to glorify God in our daily lives and have peace in our hearts as we desire to serve God and live for Him with our mind, body and soul.

However, we must be careful not to be complacent because the world is a spiritual battlefield. In Philippians 3:2, Paul warned the Philippian Christians using the word “beware” which has the meaning of a voluntary observation that is dependent on the individual to decide who to listen to or obey. And who are the believers to beware of? Paul used the following three nouns in Philippians 3:2:

1.  Dogs: The word “dogs” when used figuratively in the Bible has a negative connotation, and is used to describe the Gentiles. Paul warned of the dangers of spiritual “dogs” who can rob us of the joy and peace (that we have in the Lord) as well as our Christian witness and testimony. They, however, cannot take away our salvation.

Spiritual dogs may represent unbelievers who live their lives in sin without God. They may also represent professing Christians who know God’s Word but do not have a heart for God.

2.  Evil workers: The word “workers” implies that they are hardworking people. Being “evil” implies that they either sow seeds of contentions or spread false doctrines among God’s people in the church. They will lie to achieve their evil motives, and stumble and ruin the lives of believers.

3.  The concision: The problem with “the concision” was that they had a legalistic mindset, requiring additional rituals to be observed in order for one to be saved. They might also take God’s Word and give it a twist in order to fool people into believing them.

Believers need to be on guard at all times. These spiritual dogs, evil workers and the concision can be found everywhere, even in our hearts, homes and churches. Hence, we must learn to love God and put Him first in our lives. We must study and know God’s Word well and check every doctrine that is preached to us against the Bible, so that we will not be deceived. We must put our confidence in God alone and not in the flesh (Phil 3:3).