-And so, contrary to what would have been popular Jewish opinion in that day, Paul states that in fact those who are boasting in Christ Jesus and who are serving and worshipping in the Spirit (John 4.23-24) are the real circumcision, the ones who are truly God’s people who are right with Him. Paul is stressing a divine circumcision of the heart, not one of the flesh performed by human hands (cf Jeremiah 4.4, Jeremiah 9.25, Romans 2.28-29, Romans 3.30, Romans 4.9-12, Galatians 5.6, Galatians 6.15, Colossians 2.11). Thus connecting with God is not about what you have done, nor is it about where you do it. Those who worship and serve God 'in the Spirit' are not confined to worship in one particular place or facing a specific direction (John 4.21). Your heart becomes the temple and the altar of worship. Having the indwelling Spirit also means that we actually know this One Whom we worship, we have a personal relationship with Him (John 4.22). Only the heart regenerated by the Spirit of Christ is able to cry out, ‘Abba, Father’ (i.e. ‘Daddy’ cf Romans 8.15), as opposed to trying to relate to some distant, impersonal or unknown deity. That lot tragically falls to the mass of fallen humanity, separated from Christ by their sins and estranged from this One Who so loves them and made them to have a personal relationship with Him (cf John 17.3). Who will go and tell them, Paul pleads (Roman 10.14-15)? Those who put their trust in Christ later in life no doubt can remember this transformation in your prayers, where you became aware that you suddenly did find yourself able to converse with God on a personal level. Now you had this clear heart-sense that you really knew Him, whereas before you did not...
-Not only do we worship in the Spirit - we glory, or boast, in Christ Jesus. There is no other Name under heaven by which we can be saved. He is the Way and the Truth and the Life - no one comes to the Father apart from Him. Jesus is the One Who gives us whatever notion we have about how good we are in God’s eyes and whatever confidence we have before Him - not Abraham, not Moses, not Mohammed nor any other supposed prophet - there is no name we can name or claim or follow that will help us stand in the presence of Almighty God except Jesus.
-And so we also do not put any faith in ourselves or in anything we might be able to do to make us good in God’s eyes or to enable us to stand in before Him. For his part, Paul is not letting himself be persuaded of anything by his flesh, by things he has done or by his ancestry or other things which are true of him in a worldly sense. He is not putting any stock or trust or confidence in these as meriting him any greater access to or acceptance by God. When all is said and done, his and our only ground for boasting in life or in things pertaining to God is Jesus. It is not who am or where I am or what I have done or haven’t done. When I kneel before the throne of heaven the only way I am (or one day will be) able to do so is because the floor on which I kneel is covered with the blood of Jesus. It’s His blood, His finished work on the Cross, His resurrection and righteousness. He alone accomplished my freedom, my forgiveness, my salvation. I did nothing. I am nothing apart from Christ. But in Him, I am a child of God forever.
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