Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilators.
All Commentaries on Philippians 3:2 Go To Philippians 3
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Beware, he says, of the concision. The rite of circumcision was venerable in the Jews' account, forasmuch as the Law itself gave way thereto, and the Sabbath was less esteemed than circumcision. For that circumcision might be performed the Sabbath was broken; but that the Sabbath might be kept, circumcision was never broken; and mark, I pray, the dispensation of God. This is found to be even more solemn than the Sabbath, as not being omitted at certain times. When then it is done away, much more is the Sabbath. Wherefore Paul makes a concision of the name, and says, Beware of the concision; and he did not say that circumcision is evil, that it is superfluous, lest he should strike the men with dismay, but he manages it more wisely, withdrawing them from the thing, but gratifying them with the word, nay, rather with the thing too, in a more serious way. But not so in the case of the Galatians, for since in that case the disease was great, he immediately adopts the remedy of amputation with open front and with all boldness; but in this case, as they had done nothing of the sort, he vouchsafes them the gratification of the title, he casts out the others, and says, Beware of the concision; for we are the circumcision— how?— who worship God in spirit, and have no confidence in the flesh. He said not that we test the one circumcision and the other, which is the better of the two; but he would not even allow it a share in the name; but what does he say? That that circumcision is concision. Why? Because they do nothing but cut the flesh up. For when what is done is not of the law, it is nothing else than a concision and cutting up of the flesh; it was then either for this reason that he called it so, or because they were trying to cut the Church in two; and we call the thing cutting up in those who do this at random, without aim and without skill. Now if you must seek circumcision, he says, you will find it among us, who worship God in spirit, i.e. who worship spiritually.
