Paul now explains why the Judaizers have no right to claim the title of “the true circumcision.” The pronoun we is emphatic, stressing the contrast between the true Christians and the Judaizers. Good News Translation, accordingly, makes it explicit, it is we, not they (so also Bible en français courant). In this contest we must be inclusive in those languages which make a distinction between inclusive and exclusive first person plural, for Paul includes, not only himself and Timothy, but also the believers in Philippi. The phrase not they should be understood as a reference to those who do evil things; it could be rendered as “not those other men,” or “not those other people.”
Who have received the true circumcision represents a restructuring of a single noun in Greek, meaning “the circumcision.” True is supplied to emphasize the contrast (Jerusalem Bible “the real people of the circumcision”; Barclay “it is we who are really circumcised”). The reference is obviously to the Church’s consciousness of being the new people of God. The true significance of circumcision does not lie in an outward mark on the body, but in the inward consecration of the heart (Rom 2.28-29).
The verb received, in the clause who have received the true circumcision, may be regarded as a kind of pseudopassive for the subject who (that is, we) are the ones who undergo the process of being circumcised. Therefore one may translate who have received the true circumcision as “who have been truly circumcised,” or “who have been circumcised in the way one really should be circumcised.”
The claim to the title of true circumcision is based on three reasons, which in the Greek text are given in three participial phrases. Good News Translation connects these explanations to the main clause with for.
First, we worship God by means of his Spirit. This is a difficult statement: and the several Greek textual variants are reflected in different translations. The earliest extant reading is “who worship in spirit,” without reference to God, but the omission of “God” is probably due to a scribal oversight. New English Bible understands this statement in the sense of “whose worship is spiritual.” Some translations (for example, Moffatt Revised Standard Version Bruce) support the reading “who worship God in spirit,” which makes “God” the object of worship. The translators who adopt either of the above readings understand Paul to mean that the worship of the true Christian is offered in the domain of the spirit, not in the realm of external ceremonies. While it is true that Paul is here emphasizing the “spiritual” aspect of circumcision, there is a serious problem in taking “spirit” as a reference to the human spirit. In the Greek New Testament the term “spirit” without a qualifier usually means the Holy Spirit, so it is more likely that “spirit” here is not the human spirit but the Holy Spirit. This interpretation is supported by the fact that “spirit” appears side by side with “God.” For this reason, a number of translations prefer a third reading which is supported by some important early manuscripts. It reads “who worship by the Spirit of God.” The Holy Spirit is the dynamic source of Christian life, and he alone can inspire us to worship God. In many languages it is obligatory to identify the object of worship; thus we can restructure this statement into we worship God by means of his Spirit (so also Goodspeed cf. Phillips Barclay). By means of his Spirit represents an instrumental dative, indicating that the worship is under the impulse and direction of the Holy Spirit.
The verb rendered worship originally meant “to serve for hire.” It is usually used of a service rendered willingly; thus it came to be used in the technical sense of religious service. In biblical Greek it always refers to service rendered either to God or to pagan deities. Whenever God is the object of service, the verb is usually rendered worship.
In many languages a term for worship develops from a more specific meaning such as “to pray to,” since prayer seems to be such an essential element of worship. An expression of means indicated by the phrase by means of his Spirit is rendered in some languages as “by the help of his Spirit,” “with his Spirit helping us,” or even “his Spirit helps us to do this.”
The second reason given in support of the claim that Christians are “the true circumcision” is that we rejoice in our life in union with Christ Jesus, literally, “boasting in Christ Jesus.” The verb in this clause, “boast,” is one of Paul’s favorite words, used some thirty-five times in his letters. It is sometimes used in the sense of proud self-confidence (Rom 2.23; 1 Cor 4.7; Gal 6.13) and sometimes of humble submission to God’s grace shown in the death of Jesus and in what he has done (Rom 5.2, 11; 1 Cor 1.31; Gal 6.14). The latter sense is used in this context, with the focus on the triumphant joy of the Christians. The clause may mean either that Christ Jesus is the object of the pride (New English Bible Barclay), or that our life in union with Christ Jesus is the source of our joy (Good News Translation).
In order to indicate clearly that to rejoice in our life in union with Christ Jesus is also a reason for knowing that the believers had received the true circumcision, it may be important to repeat a conjunction indicating cause, for example, “and it is also because we rejoice in our life in union with Christ Jesus.”
Rejoice in our life in union with Christ Jesus may be expressed by saying, “are very happy because of our life which is in union with Christ Jesus,” since the goal of rejoicing is also the cause for rejoicing. In those languages in which a noun such as life must be expressed as a verb, one may say “we are happy because we live in union with Christ Jesus,” “… live joined to Christ Jesus,” or “… live as though we are one with Christ Jesus.”
The third reason that Christians are “the true circumcision” is that we do not put any trust in external ceremonies (literally, “having no confidence in the flesh”). This clause represents a rather negative restatement of the preceding clause. For this reason some translations link the two statements together, using, for example, “without” (Jerusalem Bible), “rather than” (New American Bible), “instead of” (Knox), etc. (cf. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “not … but…”). To indicate clearly that this is an added reason for knowing that Christian believers have received the true circumcision, one may say “and it is because we do not put any trust in ceremonies involving our bodies,” “… in religious ritual involving our bodies,” “… in what happens to our bodies,” or “… in what we do to our bodies.”
The word “flesh” can mean various things in biblical Greek, depending on the context. It can mean physical “flesh” (Luke 24.39), “race” (Rom 11.14), “human beings” (Acts 2.17), “human nature” (Rom 8.3), “human standard” (1 Cor 1.26), etc. In the present context, the rendering “anything external” (New English Bible) appears to be rather vague. What Paul means by the term is explained in the following verses, namely, the ceremonial observances of the Law, with circumcision as the most typical example. It is therefore best to render “flesh” more specifically as external ceremonies.
Quoted with permission from Luo, I-Jin. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .