God’s Word for You

Philippians 3:4b-6 a Hebrew of Hebrews

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, April 8, 2026

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 in regard to zeal, persecuting the church; in regard to the righteousness that is in the law, faultless.

Paul says he has no confidence at all in the flesh. And by “flesh,” Paul isn’t even talking about the baser impulses of man, like fleshly lust, dishonorable passions, or sensual desires. “Flesh” is nothing else than the righteousness and wisdom that the fallen, sinful flesh thinks it might have; the judgment of reason, which at best is corrupted judgment and at worse is no judgment at all, because it seeks to be justified by the Law. “You who would be justified by the law, you have fallen away from grace” (Galatians 5:4).

Paul is willing to line up his life as a Jew with anyone else’s, if they would be willing to make a contest out of it to show that they could have ‘confidence in the flesh.” Paul met the very first requirement of Judaism, being circumcised on the eighth day, just as God has commanded Abraham (Genesis 17:12). And Paul doesn’t claim that he was active in this righteousness; like baptism, it was done to him by believing parents, for which it is right to praise God.

He was of the people of Israel, and he takes that further by saying that he was “ of the tribe of Benjamin.” Why would being from the tribe of Benjamin be a point of confidence in Paul’s flesh? He was not from the line of the priests—they were all from Levi. And he was not from the line of Judah, like most of the Jews that were in the world then, and perhaps even to this day. But Benjamin was at least not one of the northern tribes, the tribes that, under King Jeroboam, all fell into idolatry and remained in idolatry until they were forced into exile by the Assyrians. Therefore being from Benjamin might have been a way for Paul to say, “I can be proud of my family line, which goes all the way back to Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Shem, Noah, and right to Adam and Eve.”

In this way, Paul could say that he was “a Hebrew of Hebrews,” a pure descendant of the patriarchs, among the best of the best. At his point, ending on a superlative, Paul changes his description, moving from his ancestry to his own achievements as a Jew. “In regard to the law, a Pharisee.” Who did people think were more righteous than the Pharisees, who could trace their proud history back to the time of the Maccabees as men who had stood up for the Word of God when too many in their nation were falling into the idolatry of the Greeks. And he says, “In regard to zeal, persecuting the church.” As Pharisees went, Paul was more righteous in their eyes than anybody else could be. He had attacked and arrested Christians, even to the point of having them killed, and agreeing and perhaps presiding over the murder of Stephen. He knew how sinful that was now, but to a Pharisee it would have been the very pinnacle of zeal for the Lord. And finally, Paul says, “In regard to the righteousness that is in the law, faultless.” He was one who felt no pang of guilt or shame when the Law was preached in all its terrible fullness. He counted himself in those days to be perfectly faultless, spotless, in God’s eyes.

Of course, what happened? He was converted by Christ on the way to Damascus, and found out that sin goes a lot deeper in the flesh than in outward righteousness, or the tithing of one’s spice rack. There was no hope for him apart from Christ.

“If there is any hope for Israel, her hope must rest on the love of the Lord and his unconditional promises to the patriarchs and their seed. Her only hope is to receive from the LORD a promised righteousness that is apart from the Law. Righteousness comes through faith in the promised Seed (Genesis 12:3, 15:6; Galatians 3:16). Neither Jew nor Gentile can be found ‘righteous’ by means of Law-keeping. As Paul states: ‘But now, completely apart from the law, a righteousness from God has been made known. The Law and the Prophets testify to it. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all and over all who believe” (Romans 3:21-22 EHV).

So is the Law worthless or even evil? No, not at all. While keeping the Law in the perfect way that God demands is impossible for fallen mankind, the commands in the Law are good. They point out sin, they declare the holy will of God, and they lead repentant sinners to seek God’s mercy and throw themselves upon his mercy in order to be saved. “What the Law was powerless to do God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering” (Romans 8:3). We have learned this from the Scriptures. Paul will have more to say as he confesses the spiritual journey of his life in the verses that follow.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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