God’s Word for You
Philippians 3:18-19 the belly and other gods
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, April 15, 2026
18 For as I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, there are many who walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Who were these enemies of the cross of Christ? Is Paul thinking of a new group that might soon threaten the Philippians? There were certainly Greek philosophies that could account for some of the things that are mentioned here, except that none of those groups (libertines, Epicureans, and others) match everything Paul says here. So far, there were no attacks like this from the outside in Philippi; only from the inside. And “inside” means from the Judaizers. Why do I say this? Because Paul says first of all that he has “often” told the Philippians about them, and second of all, because Paul says that they were “enemies of the cross of Christ.”
A Greek would be confused about the crucifixion, calling belief in a crucified man “foolishness” (1 Corinthians 1:23). But to a Jew? The cross was a stumbling block. The Jews of Philippi who had become Christians but who were now insisting on reverting to the Law of Moses were frustrated by the cross of Christ. Of course they hated it. It fulfilled every prophecy about the Messiah, especially the more confusing ones such as Psalm 22:14, “All my bones are out of joint,” and Psalm 22:17-18, “I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” And also Isaiah 53:5, “The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” The Judaizers wanted to return to the Law of Moses to grasp at salvation; they could not bring themselves to trust in the punishment of Christ on the cross for their salvation. “Their legalism nullified the atoning and the justifying effects of the cross (Galatians 5:2,4).” They could ask questions that were only meant to reduce Jesus into nothing but an ordinary Jew:
1, Was Jesus not born of a Jewish mother?
Yes, but his Father is God the Father, the creator of heaven and earth. He fulfills Genesis 3:15 (the seed of the woman) and Psalm 2:7, “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son, today I have become your Father.’”
2, Had Jesus not been circumcised like all Jewish boys?
Yes, under the law, for he was born under the law and kept it perfectly, for “there is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20). For without a perfect fulfillment of the Law, a reconciliation with God is impossible. But Jesus himself said, “I have come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 5:17).
3, Had Jesus not kept the Mosaic law?
Yes, even proving his obedience when he was accused of not obeying it, such as when his disciples gleaned on the Sabbath (“The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath,” Mark 2:28), or when his disciples did not fast (Mark 2:19-20). But Jesus showed that the Jews were making laws that were not set through Moses; they were nothing but rules taught by men (Mark 7:7).
4, Has Jesus not died on the cross on account of his teachings? Must we (that is, the Judaizers) die that way, too?
Jesus died to atone for the sins of the world, just as John prophesied before Jesus was baptized (John 1:29). Whatever argument they used, it was only to nullify the cross of Jesus, to despise it, to try to get rid of it and erase it from Christian teaching and from the hearts of God’s people. This is why Paul was in tears.
19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
The final end of anyone who rejects the cross of Jesus Christ is “destruction.” Now, this word (apoleia, ἀπώλεια) can mean “waste” (Matthew 26:8), with people it is death or destruction (Numbers 20:3; 2 Peter 2:3).
Paul lists the sins of those who reject the cross in reverse order, in order to show how these things grow like a disease in the heart of the unbeliever. “Their god is their belly.” Whenever the glory that is due to God is given over to anyone or anything else, then that thing becomes “another god” and an idol. This is one of the proof texts for the way we number the Ten Commandments, since the second clause (“Do not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above nor on the earth beneath or in the waters below,” Deuteronomy 5:8) only modifies the verse before and does not introduce any new subject or object. This verse teaches us that since a belly can be called a “god,” then money can be a god to a greedy man, sex to a lustful man, power to a tyrant, an opinion to those who refuse to submit to God, and so on. Luther teaches this very simply in the Large Catechism: “A god is that to which we look for all good and in which we find refuge in every time of need. To have a god is nothing else than to trust and believe him with our whole heart. If your trust and faith are right, then your God is the true God. On the other hand, if your trust is false and wrong, then you have not the true God. For these two things belong together, faith and God. That to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is, I say, really your God.”
When Paul adds, “Their glory is in their shame,” he is still talking about all those with their many variations on the “belly god.” Professor Gerhard wrote: “He does not fear God, or else he would not violate God’s commandments by heaping up money. He does not trust in God, or else he would commit the care of his belly (etc.) to God” (On the Law of God). Christ should be our glory, but those who reject him have a twisted glory in what is truly their shame.
Finally: “Their minds are set on earthly things.” This is the simple summary Paul gives. In another place, he summarizes all of this: “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so” (Romans 8:5-7).
We are sons and daughters of God because we put our faith in Jesus for our righteousness, our forgiveness, the resurrection, peace, life, and all things. Trust in him and ask for his help in battling against every idol, and “fear, love, and trust in God above all things.”
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.