Well, come back with me to Philippians. Philippians chapter 3. We were
in the first verse of chapter 3 last week on rejoice in the
Lord. But come back there with me.
I want to focus on verse 3 this morning. But look what he says.
My brethren, this is the great Apostle Paul speaking to fellow
believers. Not from some high and mighty,
oh we must bow down and kiss his feet, kind of obeisance that
people show to religious leaders. No, finally, my brethren, my
brethren. He's writing to his brethren,
to his spiritual siblings in the family of God. to people
who share the same spiritual heritage as him, walking in the
same narrow way to the celestial city, the heavenly city. What
does Hebrews say? Hebrews 13 verse 14, here in
this world we have no continuing city. but we seek one to come. It's not here that is the future
destiny of the people that the Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed
from the curse of the law. It's the celestial city. It's
the new Jerusalem, the heavenly Jerusalem. Does that include
you? Are you amongst the we who have
no continuing city here, but are seeking one to come? Or do
you have too much that you value invested in this world? Do you
remember Lot's wife, as they were leaving Sodom, get out of
Sodom, and Lot and his wife and two of his daughters were leaving
Sodom, and the angel had said, don't look back, don't look back.
You know, that lovely comfortable life you'd had, albeit amongst
sinners in Sodom, but that comfortable existence you'd had in the fertile
plains, and the things that you came to treasure there, don't
look back to it. And as they were fleeing, Lot's wife looked
back and she was turned to a pillar of salt as a record to us that
we ought not to have our affections in this life, in this world.
This world is described in Revelation 18 when it comes to an end. This
world of buzzing trade and activity is described in Revelation 18.
Read it at your leisure, but read it and take note of what
it says. It is full of a world that was
having such a good time living in the world, lamenting its loss. the merchants and the traders
lamenting their loss of trade everything about this world they're
lamenting its loss because that my friends, is going to happen.
This is not idle speculation. This is the Word of God. Are
you ready for this to end? For Christ to come again? For
his kingdom to be revealed? These are the most important
issues of life. From the oldest of us down to
the youngest of us, these are the most important issues of
life. This is the question, am I among
what Jesus called the little flock? the little flock. Am I
among that little flock on that narrow way that leads to the
celestial city? Or am I with the masses, the
multitudes, on the broad way to eternal loss, the broad way
that leads to destruction? Am I in the despised little lifeboat
that cannot be sunk, which is the salvation of God, how despised
by this world. Or am I in this world's Titanic,
the ship that they said even God cannot sink, this ship, oh
how wrong they were on its first voyage. The Christian life is
a journey to heaven. And Paul, the apostle, by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, gives directions. He gives warnings of hazards
on the way. You know, you might be describing
how to get from one place to another, and you know the journey
well. And you might be describing to somebody that doesn't know
it well, the things to watch out for. Until very recently,
people coming to our house had to drive up Barton Lane outside
the house, and about a quarter of a mile down the lane was a
horrendous pothole in the road. And I used to say, oh watch out
for the pothole, you'll break your suspension if you're not
looking out for it. Well, they've tried very, very
poorly to fill it in just recently. But you know, you give directions
and instructions, you warn people of hazards. Paul is warning of
hazards. He's warning, he's giving marks
of the right way to the celestial city versus the false way. Because
what is his objective? What is his overwhelming objective? He tells us in 1 Thessalonians
2 and verse 19, he says, for what is our hope? or joy, or crown of rejoicing. What is the thing that will give
Paul, the Apostle, such great hope, joy, and crown of rejoicing?
Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his
coming. That's it. He wants them there
in that celestial city, in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This day you shall be with me in paradise, said Jesus to that
thief on the cross. Are not even ye, you, those of
us here, those of us joined with us, those of us watching the
recording in weeks to come, listening to the sermon online. So let's
hear His guidance and examine if we're on the right road. I
know that I've preached on these verses before and I know I often
refer to them. But it doesn't hurt to underline
them. I feel that this is the right
message for the days in which we live. Are we gathered here,
are you gathered with us on the internet, whether it's live now
or watching the recording, are we with those that Paul calls
we? Look in verse 3, for we are the
circumcision, for we, are we amongst those people? Who is
he meaning? Him, himself and others. How are we amongst that
we that he mentions there? He gives a warning for us to
take heed of, to take to listen to, to take notice of. In verse
2, he says, beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the
concision. He's already encouraged us, in
verse 1, in the face of trials and fleshly fears, to rejoice
in the Lord. And this is what we looked at
last week. And I'll remind you quickly of the seven things that
I said were causes for us to rejoice in the Lord. The very
being of God, that there is a God. You know, there are people, supposedly
intelligent people in this world, who think that there is no need
for any God, because materialistic science has explained everything.
It's explained nothing other than what, as the scripture calls
them, what fools they are. The fool has said in his heart,
no God, there is no God for me. But the very being of God is
such a rejoicing thing for the people of God. The sovereignty
of God. What's the point of a God that
can't do what He wills? Our God is sovereign in everything.
A God who is righteous so that in this evil world there is an
absolute standard of moral righteousness and uprightness. But this One
who is absolutely, strictly just, and perfectly holy, and into
whose hands it is a fearful thing to fall, is a God of mercy, and
grace, and love, for He delights in mercy. And not only that,
but how is He going to reconcile His perfect holiness, and His
mercy, grace, and love, with His need for people to be made
right with Him. He has accomplished in His Son
Perfect salvation. His justice is satisfied. He
is a just God, for every sin is punished, but for His people
those sins were punished and the justice was satisfied in
His Son. And what benign thoughts, this
infinite, holy God is not distant, but He has benign thoughts to
each and every one of His people. Thoughts of peace to give us
an end. safekeeping as well. He will
keep us in this evil world which is full of pitfalls and worries. The whole world is worried and
concerned but he keeps his people. Just as Peter warns regarding
Satan prowling around like a lion seeking whom he can devour, Paul
warns his fellow pilgrims here about pitfalls and dangers that
are on the way. He warns them about things that
will cause them to trip up. Rejoicing in the Lord, yes, but
beware. There are things to beware of.
And he says, beware of dogs. Now what does he mean by that?
Well, of course, he doesn't mean literal dogs. Isaiah 56 verses
10 and 11. Look there, his watchmen. He's
talking about false religion. The watchmen, the preachers,
the pastors, the ministers of false religion are blind to the
truth of God. They're all ignorant of the doctrine
of God, of the truth of God, of the salvation of God. They're
all dumb dogs. They cannot bark, sleeping, lying
down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which
can never have enough, and they are shepherds, you see, shepherds,
false shepherds, wolves in sheep's clothing, they are shepherds
that cannot understand. They all look to their own way,
every one for his gain from his quarter. We've all seen the American
televangelists, you know, the great huge thousands strong churches,
and the enormous amount of money that flows in to those crooks
and twisters. They're just deceivers of men.
False religion. This is what he's talking about.
He says, beware of false religion. Beware of dogs. Beware of evil
workers. False religion. Jesus himself
warned about it in Matthew chapter 7 in the Sermon on the Mount.
In Matthew chapter 7 verse 15 he said, Beware of false prophets. People who will teach you wrong
things concerning the truth of eternity. False prophets, which
come to you in sheep's clothing. They look like harmless little
sheep, lovely and woolly and soft and easy, but inwardly,
they're ravening wolves. They're ferocious wolves. You
shall know them by their fruits. Beware of them, he says. Then
down in verse 22, Many of them are deluding themselves. They
will say to me in that day of judgment, that final day, many
of these false shepherds will say, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied, preached in your name, and in thy name have cast
out devils, and in thy name have done wonderful works, many wonderful
works. Haven't we done that? And then
I will profess to them. This is the Lord of Glory says
this, I will profess to them, I never knew you. Depart from
me, ye that work iniquity, trying to get to heaven on their own
works and on their own doctrine and on their own efforts. And
he says, depart from me. You weren't mine and you didn't
do it for me. Depart from me. I never knew you. religious leaders
it's talking about aiming to deceive for personal gain and
comfort and we're told beware beware it's a loud warning is
that beware they're dressed in the robes of traditional respectable
religion but he calls them evil evil evil workers deceivers peddlers
of lies in the name of god but it's not in god's name It's in
the name of Satan in truth. He calls them the concision.
They called themselves the circumcision. The descendants of Abraham were
given that sign in the males. Circumcision was a sign of putting
off of the corruption and sin of the flesh. and they regarded
themselves as the only true followers of God. But Paul here calls those
who called themselves the circumcision, he says they're the concision,
which he means the mutilators of flesh, the teachers that physical
things you do improve your standing with God. He means the most orthodox
peddlers of religious things, parading as true ministers of
God's true church. But in truth, they're evil workers. They deny Christ. They deny His
atonement, His effectual atonement, His atonement that has accomplished
the reconciliation of a multitude that no man can number with their
God. They deny Christ and the redemption, the payment of the
price of the sins of His people, for He has redeemed us from the
curse of the law by being made that very curse for us. They
deny in truth the salvation of God. They make it mean nothing. Look at the religious leaders.
I mean, in the national church of this country, what on earth
that organization has got to do with the Christianity of the
Bible, I do not know. It's absolutely, completely nothing
to do with it. They add flesh works. They add
the law, some of them, the law as the believer's rule of life.
And they're very orthodox, and they think that they're the right
people of God, but they add the law as the believer's rule of
life. They say that the gospel in itself,
as Jude said, the gospel in itself is not enough, that's not enough. They say it's a license to evil,
therefore they have to add these law works, of the law being the
believer's rule of life. They add religious observation,
Stephen read about it earlier on in Colossians chapter 2. They
add rules of meat and drink, food you eat, and the the drink that you consume, the
attire that you wear, the place you go for improvement with God.
They add all of these things and the flesh loves to believe
this. But do you know what it is compared
to the true gospel? It's poison. Bill Clark always
used to use an illustration of a pure glass of water. And would
I drink it? Of course I would, it's a pure
glass of water. Right, I'm just going to put one drop of cyanide
into that pure glass of water. Will you now drink that pure
glass of water? It's only a tiny, it must be
less than a thousandth. Cyanide. It's all right, isn't
it? No. It's 100% poison because of that little bit. Which is
why Paul in Galatians talked about those who tried to mix
anything with the gospel of grace. He said, let them be accursed.
He said, this is not the gospel. It's another gospel, which is
not a gospel. It's something that will damn you to hell. In
Galatians 5 verse 2, if you add anything to what Christ has done,
the salvation that Christ has accomplished, he says Christ
will profit you nothing. Nothing. He said they're accursed. Beware. Don't go near whatever
you think they offer. They're not the we of verse 3,
for we are the circumcision. They're not heading for the celestial
city. They're on the broadway. It might
be a religious one for them, but it's a broadway that leads
to destruction. What do they look like? For one,
they look like today's so-called Christian churches, which this
world and people with some sort of religious inclination tend
to think of as proper churches. I've called this message God's
Proper Church and it's prompted by the fact that from various
quarters on very many occasions we've been told at our gathering
we are not a proper church. We're not a proper church. And
it's been going on ever since we started in 2007. We're not
a proper church. We don't have a building. We
don't have a minister. We have no reputation. We don't
have a social program. You know, like all the other
denominations, we don't have all of those structures. They
have everything, those denominations. They have everything that the
world looks for in its religion, except the one thing needful. And the one thing needful is
the Gospel of Christ. Oh, you say they've got the Gospel
of Christ? No. They've got the gospel of Christ plus something
else. They've got the gospel of Christ done down a bit. No,
this is the gospel of Christ alone. And their religion is
dead. And it gives those that go false
assurance and a false hope. They've made... Isaiah talked
about it, Isaiah chapter 28. Let me read this to you, Isaiah
28, verses 14, 15, and 18. This is what the Word of God
says about these in that kind of religion. Therefore, wherefore,
hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men. The Word of God
calls them scornful men that rule this people which is in
Jerusalem. They were the religious leaders of their day. Because
you religious leaders, ye have said, we have made a covenant
with death. And with hell we're at agreement.
When the overflowing scourge, the judgment of God, shall pass
through, it shall not come unto us. For we have made lies our
refuge, a false gospel our refuge. We've hidden in a false gospel,
and we think we're all in a good place. And under falsehood have
we hid ourselves. Therefore thus saith the Lord,
Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation stone, a tridestone, a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation, and he that believeth shall not
make haste, or shall not be moved. And verse 18, and your covenant
with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell
shall not stand. When the overflowing scourge,
the judgment of God, shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden
down by it. You see, it's false, and it achieves
no salvation at all. They say, people looking, if
they bother looking, that the biblical gospel church here and
other gatherings of God's people like this, we're not a proper
church because we have no building. Oh, you're not a proper church,
you don't have a vicar. Oh, you've got no authority to preach. Which
bishop gave you authority to preach? Do they have a valid
point? Do they? You might wonder, sometimes you
might wonder, do they have a valid point? Let's put it to the test
of scripture, which we always must do, for you know what Isaiah
8 verse 20 says, to the law and to the testimony, if they speak
not according to this word, there is no light in them. But if we
do speak according to this word, we're in the way that God has
prescribed. What does the scripture say?
We're answering the question, are we on the right road to God's
eternal kingdom? Are we numbered with those that
Paul calls we, his brethren, in verse three? For we, for we
are the circumcision. We are the true people of God.
Are we amongst those people? You see, true worship, is a spiritual
thing. In verse three, we're given three
tests by which we can tell, are we the true people of God? Are
we God's proper church? A branch of God's proper church
in this particular location? Are we that? Well, do we worship
God in the spirit? Look at them there. We are the
circumcision. We are the true people of God. We, number one,
worship God in the spirit. Number two, we rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and number three, we have no confidence in the flesh. So,
do we worship God in the spirit? Well, true worship is a spiritual
thing, exercised only by the new man of God's spirit, flesh.
flesh, the natural man. The natural man cannot receive
the things of the Spirit of God, never mind worship God aright.
The natural man can't. It's only the man of God's Spirit,
the new man, born again of the Spirit of God. Worship has got
nothing to do with external fleshly things. Oh, that was a lovely
service, you'll hear them say. What a lovely location. Oh, wasn't
it beautiful? The music was outstanding, it
was so moving, and so on and so forth. But that's nothing
to do with the true worship of the living God. That's what this
world considers proper religion. That's what it looks to, all
those icons, the buildings, the fine robes, the rites that they
go through, the structures, the denominations, the laws that
they have, the regulations that they have. No. Do you want to
know about true worship? Look what Jesus said to the woman
at the well in John chapter 4, verse 21. He said, ye worship
ye know not what. She said, where should we worship? She said, you say that in Jerusalem
is the place where men ought to worship, but our fathers got
on fine in this mountain. That was in Samaria, that was
in the days of Jeroboam. And Jesus said, woman, believe
me, the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain nor
yet at Jerusalem worship the Father. It's not about place.
Worship is not about place. Are you a proper church? Did
you get that first point? Worship is not about a place. The hour cometh and now is when
the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Not in this mountain or that
mountain or Jerusalem, in spirit and in truth. For the Father
seeketh such to worship him. That's the thing, in spirit and
in truth. Only the new man, born of God's
spirit, can truly do this. Without the new birth, there
is no spiritual discernment, never mind true worship. Jesus
said to Nicodemus in John 3 verse 6, that which is born of the
flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.
Who are the true Jews? We are the circumcision, said
Paul. Who are the true Jews? He is
a Jew, says Romans 2.29. Paul again writing, he is a Jew,
which is one inwardly. And circumcision is that of the
heart. in the Spirit, and not in the
letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. He is a new
creation, by the new birth, by the Spirit of God. 2 Corinthians
5.17, Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.
Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. Only those who are truly born
of God's Spirit are able and actually do worship God in the
Spirit. We are the circumcision, the
true people of God. Those who are born again of God's
Spirit. It's only those who worship God in Spirit and in truth. Only
those who worship God, listen to this, in the secret of their
heart, actually worship Him in services like this. You think
worship is a public thing. No. Worship first is a private
thing. You worship God in your heart.
You worship God. You bow before God in your daily
life. As you go about your daily business,
you bow before God in your heart. That's true worship in spirit
and in truth. And if that isn't happening,
it doesn't matter what fancy circumstances you come together
you're not truly worshipping God. You're certainly not worshipping
God in the Spirit, and you're showing all the signs of not
being amongst those who are the true circumcision, the true people
of God. Religious order and structure
is no guarantee of spiritual life. So the second test. We
rejoice in Christ Jesus. As he already said, rejoice,
rejoice in the Lord. Verse 1, my brethren, rejoice
in the Lord. Well, it's not the same word.
In verse 1, it's more like it sounds. Rejoice, derive your
happiness of life in the being of God and the characteristics
of God. Derive whatever's happening to you, rejoice, derive your
happiness of life, your contentedness of life in the being and person
and characteristics of God. That's what that means in verse
1. But the same word that's translated rejoice in verse 3 actually means
glory in Christ. Glory in Christ. That all the
glory of God is accomplished in Christ Jesus. What is the
glory of God? Moses asked to see the glory
of God. Exodus 33, show me your glory. Moses asked to see the
glory of God, and God said, I will show my glory to you, I'll cause
it to pass before you. My sovereign grace. My particular
redemption of a people I love from before the beginning of
time. My effectual atonement of those people, that they might
be made the righteousness of God in my Son. That's the glory
of God. Glory in Christ Jesus. Glory
that the glory of God is accomplished in Christ Jesus. who is God made
man. Colossians 2, the fullness of
the Godhead dwells bodily in Him. God manifested, God united
with the objects of His eternal love in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Glory in His person, His glorious Godhead. You see, we are the
circumcision in Him, in that we are in Christ, we're in Him. We are complete in Him, says
that passage in Colossians chapter 2. It was His perfect manhood,
perfect manhood. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, properly
human, made under the law to redeem, to pay the sin price
of his people, that they might be redeemed from the curse of
the law, that they might be made the righteousness of God in him,
that they might receive the adoption as sons into his family, to be
the circumcision, the true circumcision, to achieve what was necessary,
to redeem fleshly sinful children. For He loved His fleshly sinful
children. God who cannot look on iniquity,
He redeemed them from the curse of the law in His Son, by His
Son taking their place. He is fully man. Yet He alone
manifests infinite Godhead. John chapter 1 verse 18, no man
has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who is
in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. He has declared
Him. John 14 verse 9, how often do
I say this? Philip said to Him, to Jesus,
Lord, show us the Father and that will suffice us. That's
it. This is what we really want to get to. You're saying lots
of wise things, but show us the Father and that will suffice
us. Fill it. I been so long with you, and you have not known Me?
He who has seen Me has seen the Father.' We are the circumcision
who rejoice in Christ Jesus. We rejoice that He has honoured
the righteousness and holiness of God, that as a man He has
fulfilled it, that as a man He has magnified it and made it
honourable. And all God's elect have done
that in Him. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless
I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life which
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God
who loved me and gave Himself for me. What I can't do in the
flesh, He has done in my stead, in my place, for me. Rejoice
that He has left nothing undone. Rejoice in Christ Jesus. Rejoice
that He's left nothing undone. He cried on the cross, it is
finished. The work is finished. There is nothing left for you
to do. It is done. Redemption's price is fully paid. Rejoice that He has delivered
me from the body of this death. For in Romans 7, 24, Paul cries
out of his existence in the flesh where he wants to do that which
is right, but yet sin dominates. And he wants to avoid sin and
he can't help but sin. And he says, Oh wretched man
that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
And then the very next verse is it, or maybe the next, anyway,
Romans 8 verse 1. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the
flesh, but according to the Spirit. No condemnation. That same chapter
of Romans 8 tells us that there is no charge that can be laid
To say, you know, Satan, the accuser of the brethren, cannot
say, you're not fit to be in heaven because you're a sinner.
There is no accusation. Why? Christ has died. Christ
has died. He's paid the penalty. There
is no charge that can stick. There is nothing on the law book
against the people of God. And so we can sing, my sin, oh
the bliss of this glorious thought, my sin not in part but the whole
is nailed to his cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, O my soul. What a place of refuge, a city
of refuge. You know, in the Old Testament,
there were the cities of refuge to which somebody who'd accidentally
killed somebody could flee and not be killed in vengeance. A
city of refuge. Oh, what a place of refuge is
the Lord Jesus Christ. What a shelter from divine judgment. Isaiah 32 verse 2, the man who
is a hiding place, the shadow of a mighty rock in a weary land.
I haven't mentioned Happy Jack for quite some time, but you
know Happy Jack who was converted, hearing women singing of their
saviour and inquired and found the truth and heard the gospel
of grace and believed the gospel of grace and wanted to join the
church and they wanted to try and find reasons that they shouldn't
allow such a one with such a reputation of his old life to come into
their church, and his testimony again and again was, they say,
what about this, that and the other? I'm a poor sinner and
nothing at all, but Jesus Christ is my all in all. He rejoiced
in Christ Jesus, didn't he? He did. You? Do you? Do I? Do we? To you who believe,
says Peter, to you who truly believe in Him, not just believe
that He exists, but you who truly live with Him and by Him, He
is precious. 1 Peter chapter 2, 7 and 8. But to the concision, to what
Paul calls the concision, the false religionists, the false
leaders, their outward form is everything to them. But to you
who believe, He is precious. And then finally, no confidence
in the flesh. No confidence for favor with
God. Oh, how much this world's religion
puts confidence in the things it does, the forms it has, the
buildings it, the places it goes, all to make us better with God,
for favor with God. Their decision that they made,
their belief that they exercised. Oh, aren't I good? Aren't I good?
I've done this. Their progressive sanctification,
because you know they're gradually, gradually getting better and
better and more fitted for heaven. Their morality. They're becoming
such moral people, and they're so rejoicing in their traditions,
and their respectability, and their ancestry, and their heritage,
and their wealth, and their status, and their connections, and their
good works, etc. My flesh is nothing but sin. That's it. If you know the truth,
Whatever this world thinks and values, my flesh is nothing but
sin. Nothing about it gives any confidence
that I am among the true circumcision, the true people of God. So where? is the confidence of God's true
people, of his proper church. If it's not in the flesh, not
one shred in the flesh, it's in Jesus Christ and him alone. Jesus Christ is my all in all.
He is my access to that city. Just look at Hebrews chapter
10 and verse 19. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse
19. having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Do you know,
in the Old Testament order, even the high priest on the day of
atonement went into the holiest of all with fear and trepidation
that if everything had not been done correctly, he would be struck
down dead. Think of Uzzah, who was, when
they were getting the Ark of the covenant and they were bringing
it on a new cart from when they'd recovered it from the Philistines
and the cart wobbled, it hit a pothole and it wobbled and
the Ark of the Covenant was about to fall on the floor and Uzzah
in sincere good intention stretched out his hand to steady the Ark
that it didn't fall off the cart and God struck him dead in front
of David, he struck him dead because the Ark should have been
carried by the Levitical priesthood. And nobody that wasn't one of
them, the Levitical priesthood, was allowed to touch it, and
he struck him dead. They were terrified of going
into the holiest of all in the temple with the blood of an animal,
in case it hadn't been done right. But now, look, having therefore,
brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way which he has consecrated for us through
the veil, that is to say his flesh, and having an high priest
over the house of God, somebody who intercedes for us with God,
let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with water. Draw near in full assurance of
faith because of Christ, where our trust is, in whom our trust
is, because we are the true circumcision. Who will you trust? The concision
of our day, the religious concision of our day, the mutilators of
the flesh of our day, are God's word. Next time someone tells
you that we here and others like us are not proper churches, what
does the word of God say? Next time, we'll look at Paul's
testimony of his abandonment of confidence in the flesh.