Now we return to this marvelous book of Philippians in chapter 3 verses 12 through 16 -- join with me as we read together starting in verse 10 for the sake of context

10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

“I’m not there yet…   (3.12a)

Paul continues this very personal tone in this letter to the Philippians believers as he continues to share his own attitude about his walk with Jesus…remembering that will help us understand what he’s saying in this important passage

Some background context may help us here…there was at that time -- and still is today -- a school of thought called “perfectionism” -- a belief that as Christians, we can achieve perfection -- complete or entire sinlessness -- in this life...that we can attain now to the “resurrection of the dead,” as if we had already ascended to heaven in a spiritual sense, and no longer sin or have to contend with the temptation to sin 

This is obviously heresy, and has traditionally been understood as such…we can refute this false teaching on the basis of I John 1 and Romans 7 alone…

I John 1.10: If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar

The second half of Romans 7 speaks of Paul’s struggles with sin in the present tense, not the past tense; clearly not an account of his unconverted experience

The Scripture is clear that in this life, we will not be entirely free from the presence of sin…those who would think so don’t understand the Christian walk nor the Word of God

In fact, one of the marks of a serious-minded and growing Christian is a sense of their own sinfulness…as we draw closer to the Lord, the Holy Spirit has a way of making us aware of the imperfect attitudes, actions, and habits in our own lives…those who love Jesus realize that in truth, we are far from sinless in this life, and we await that perfection that will come in the next life

The temptation to think that we have already arrived, as it were, requires one of two, or maybe both, errors -- first, we radically overestimate ourselves and our holiness before God, or second, we radically underestimate the perfect standard of God, and draw it down to just below what we perceive as our personal Christian performance…both errors are lethal to a right attitude of humility and repentance before God

As R.C Sproul puts it, “If we think we are becoming perfect, then we are far from becoming perfect”

We know the truth -- that we are sinners who are saved by the grace of God, and that in all of this lifetime, we will struggle with sin, the flesh, and the devil, and even though we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and walking in as much obedience as we can muster in Him, we still fall far short of perfection, or “attaining to the resurrection of the dead,” as the passage puts it

The word “obtained” in this passage is the Gr ‘lambano’ -- it means to receive something or take something…

The word for “perfect” is the Gr teleioo (long o sound) -- it means something specific is finished or completed; the word is taken from the field of athletics; it’s the word Greeks would use to say that an athlete running a race crossed the finish line -- the race was complete, entire, perfect in that sense…

Anyone who has run track in high school, or a foot race of any kind, knows what it means to cross the finish line…there is a distinct difference between still running the race and completing the race

Paul certainly understood this and confessed it, not once but twice, in verses 12 and 13, clearly saying to the Philippians, I have not achieved this, I do not consider that I have arrived…I’m still running the race

Paul changes his perspective a bit as he senses he is very near his own death…as he writes his last letter, II Timothy…in the final chapter of that book, Paul says this in II Timothy 4.6-8:

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Even then, Paul would not have said he was sinless…only that he realized that his race was almost done, while Timothy, Lord willing, had far to go in his life and ministry

If we find ourselves between the “already” of justification before God -- we’ve started the race -- and the “not yet” of glorification, of finishing the race -- we agree with Paul as he says, “I do not consider that I have obtained my goal” yet…if in the present with Paul we would say, “I haven’t arrived yet” -- “I’m not perfect yet” -- “I’m still a work in progress” -- then what do we do? 

“I press on…”      (3.12b-14)

Here Paul makes his most important point…after convincing the Philippians that they have not achieved sinless perfection, Paul gives them -- and us -- clear instruction about how we are to live now

We are to press on

There is some truth to dig out on two particular words here

The first is the Gr word that’s rendered “press on” -- it’s the word ‘dioko’ -- used 45 times in the NT, about 80 percent of those times it’s translated “persecute” or “pursue”

It’s an intense word…to run toward, to hasten, to pursue something with force and passion, to set something in quick motion

It’s also used in the NT to describe Christians’ call to pursue righteousness, good, peace, love, and hospitality

Here in Philippians, it broadly captures the whole of the Christian experience…we are to pursue Christ…as Paul says in verse 10 of this chapter, 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 

The overwhelming passion of Paul’s life was both simple and glorious -- to know Jesus Christ…and to do that, he was going to “press on” -- run toward Jesus at full speed

The question for us, of course, is obvious -- how seriously are we taking our pursuit of our Savior? Are we pressing on to know Him in His power and in His sufferings?

Let me be clear…I’m not saying we have to work harder and do more in order to be loved by the Lord, or to somehow “earn” His approval or salvation…but I am saying that what we see in Paul’s example of pursuing Christ with all that is within him, of living all of his life for one singular purpose -- to know Jesus in all His fullness -- is an example for us to emulate and follow…and in fact, Paul Himself was following the example of Jesus Himself in the complete intensity with which He followed hard after God… 

Our journey with Christ is not a pursuit in which we should settle for half-measures…we have to realize that our calling is to live life full-throttle for Jesus…I don’t want to arrive in Heaven coasting in, I want to get there skidding in on two wheels…why would I live for God with an effort that is less than the very best I can give? We’re not trying to earn His love, far from it…we want to serve Him fully because we’re already loved, not in order to be loved…we are just trying to know Him more as we serve Him with all our hearts…do we manage to do this all the time? Sadly, no…our flesh still gets in the way…but Lord help us to desire to know Him with everything within us

That intensity of “pressing on” is matched by the next word

The phrase “made it my own” or “make it my own” renders a single Gr word -- ‘katalambano’

Closely related to the word we saw in verse 12, ‘lambano,’ translated there as “obtained”

The only difference is the prefix ‘kata’ which adds a high degree of intensity to the meaning of the word, changing the translation from “obtained” to “lay hold of” or “make it my own”

Let me illustrate…if you go to an electronics or TV store this afternoon and browsed around for a while, comparing features and prices, and eventually decided on which manufacturer and model fit your needs best, you would then pay the purchase price and load it in your car (or arrange for delivery, perhaps) and go home…that would be ‘lambano’…you obtained the TV…no struggle, no drama…

But if you were out at 5:00 am on Black Friday, waiting in line for the same TV at a lower price, and the doors open, and you and four other people all sprinted to the TV section and fought like spider monkeys for the last remaining TV, and after an epic battle, you emerged from the cloud of dust and shredded cardboard with the TV in hand, managed to check out and pay for the TV, got it home, then went to the emergency room for treatment, I would look at you and say, “that was katalambano” -- you seized it, you laid hold of it, you made it your own; this word is sometimes translated “attack” in the right contexts…this is intense

Let’s look for a moment at the three uses of the word in this passage so we can begin to better understand what Paul is saying…

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.

Here’s what Paul is saying

Christ Jesus seized me, laid hold of me…He made me His own…without a doubt as Paul is writing this, he’s thinking of his experience with Jesus on the Damascus Road…Christ certainly did seize Paul, struck him down to his knees with a blinding light, spoke directly to him, and changed his life from that moment on…

And because Christ seized me, Paul says, then I am going to press on, pursue with intensity, in order to lay hold of, to seize, all that Christ has for me in this life and in the next, the resurrection from the dead

His final statement, use of the word ‘katalambano,’ is to his brothers as he clearly says, “but I have not made it my own yet -- I have not seized it yet -- I have not taken hold of it yet” -- I have served my God long and well, but there is yet more to do as long as I am living, as long as He gives me breath, by His grace I will stand and serve Him

Paul’s testimony is simple: all that I do, all that which I have suffered, all my letters, all my preaching, all my travel, all my days, weeks, months, even years, under arrest and in prison, is all for one purpose -- to know Jesus

There was nothing -- nothing -- to which Jesus could call and command Paul that Paul would refuse -- his answer was always “Yes, Lord” -- he walked not just in obedience to God, but he walked in passionate obedience, in power and strength and intensity, running to serve his Lord

That’s how I want to live for Jesus

And because Paul wants to help his beloved Philippians better understand how to walk in step with the Spirit as they follow Christ, he describes how he is going to “press on”

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

Now we learn how Paul presses on, how he pursues the gospel of Jesus Christ -- he does one thing in two parts

A wise person once said “the main thing is keeping the main thing the main thing” -- much of life is about priorities, keeping your focus on what is actually most important and not being distracted by things that don’t matter as much, or sometimes don’t matter at all…God help us to get our lives pared down to just one thing

The first thing Paul does is forget what lies behind him…forget means what you would think it means -- to neglect, to pay no attention to, to care nothing about something…it’s a choice we must make…I’m reminded of a pointed quote from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt…when asked by the press about an insulting statement that was made about her, the gracious First Lady said this: “I distinctly remember forgetting about that.”

We can easily understand why we would want to forget stinging insults…but Paul doesn’t make any distinctions about the past, what lies behind him in a temporal sense…he says to forget it all…why?

Let’s consider this for a moment…what would happen if we remembered all the good things from the past…times you served the Lord and He moved in a remarkable way…the successes in evangelism or discipleship or ministry…even particularly satisfying relationships with dear friends…if you’re blessed enough to have wonderful memories like that, what possible harm could there be in reflecting on them?

If that’s all we did, then there would be some value, I think…but we can also fall into the trap of living in the past, in a sense, resting on our achievements in the past instead of continuing to serve in the present, becoming complacent and perhaps even apathetic about the things of God

Of course, there’s another reason to forget what lies behind us…if instead of past successes we’ve endured past failures, by reflecting on those defeats we could easily become discouraged and fall into the opposite trap, the ditch on the other side of road, of believing that we’ll never be able to accomplish anything for the Lord, that we aren’t that gifted or capable, and wrongly decide to let others serve the Lord while we sit quietly in the background

So what’s the best choice? Learn the best lessons you can from the past, then press on and don’t dwell on past successes or past failures -- “forget what lies behind”

Instead, Paul’s counsel is clear -- to “strain forward” to what lies ahead 

Paul uses an uncommon word, ‘epekteinomai’ -- this is it’s only use in the NT -- it describes the actions of an athlete straining and stretching forward with maximum effort as he or she crosses the finish line; picture a 100-meter dash race as the runners come out of the blocks at the start and sprint as fast as they can, then lean into the finish line with that final burst of speed and effort at the end…that’s what this word looks like

Paul tells the Philippians -- and us -- that he’s going to run his race like that, straining forward with everything within him, exerting every bit of energy he has to achieve his goal of serving Christ…spending everything he is and has for the sake of the gospel

We see it in I Corinthians 15.9-10

9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

We see it in Paul’s story recorded in his own letters as well as the book of Acts

And we see it here in the prison epistles, as Paul continues to work, write, plan, organize, and encourage the churches even though he is under Roman house arrest

Paul was never one to let up, to take his foot off the gas pedal, to give less than his very best for the cause of Christ…he’s pressing on…let us follow his example in our service for our Master

And he has a singular objective: 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

The military and athletic imagery continues here…”goal” is Gr ‘skopos’, a target one would aim at with a bow then, or today, a firearm…we might use the word “bullseye” now

The “prize” is the award for winning an event in athletic games…something given for victory or superiority in a contest or competition

Paul is focused on one goal, consistent with his earlier statement as he said, “this one thing I do” -- he was active in a wide variety of ways and places, it’s all recorded in Scripture, but in his mind, it was all directed to this one objective

So what prize is this? The “upward call” of God…it’s an interesting phrase…the word “upward” might better be translated “above” so that it would read “the call from above” and “call” might sound like an invitation, but it is nothing like an invitation…it is an authoritative summons, to participate in or be present at or take part in something; an example in Scripture is Jesus’ command to Lazarus in the grave: “Lazarus, come forth!”

I think Paul, like us, is serving while waiting for the call from God above, “Come up!” or in a more tender way, to hear the words of the bridegroom in the Song of Solomon 2.10-13

10“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,

   and come away,

“Hold true…”       (3.15-16)

Paul now brings this deeply personal passage to a close as he says this (Philippians 3.15-16)

15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Paul, now thirty years after the Damascus Road, is exceptionally well qualified to help the Philippian believers understand what it means to be mature in Christ, as the definition of the word says, to be in a more advanced stage of spiritual development

And he does so gently -- there’s no belittling or shaming here -- in fact, it’s actually a kind assurance that the Spirit will continue to grow us all up in Christ as He continues to work in and through us, renewing our minds and building in us the mind-set of the Spirit…He will work in us to bring about godly thought patterns…the principle is found in Romans 8.5-6

5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 

But Paul does make clear that the Christian walk must include growing and maturing, through time and experience and teaching…we can never stay the way we are and think that we are maturing in the Lord…God will relentlessly work to conform us to the image of Christ through continued revelation -- the word “reveal” here comes from the same root as “apocalypse” -- that which was not known until God reveals it…He continues to grow us up, to move us forward from faith to faith

Consider your own life for a moment -- are you more mature in Christ now than you were ten years ago? Five years ago? Last year?

He finishes in verse 16 with a plea to the Philippians: 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

The meaning of the phrase “What we have attained” is clear -- the current spiritual condition of the Philippian believers…Paul was always watchful, mindful of the churches, their elders and members, their spiritual condition and maturity…for example, in the letter to the Galatians he sternly warns them to not fall back into legalism, accusing them of rejecting the true gospel and instead adopting one that is false…he didn’t want to see the Philippian church fall into a similar trap of slipping backwards instead of progressing…they are to be pressing on, straining forward, not falling back

He admonishes the church to “hold true” -- this word comes from a military setting instead of athletics…it means to agree with, to hold a position alongside, as in a battle formation; it would have been well understood by anyone familiar with the Roman legions…when soldiers would assemble in formation for battle, they had to be in a certain place at a certain time, prepared to fight as they were ordered…this was captured by this word “hold true” -- the same word and thought are also found in Romans 4.12

12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. 

The thought is that the Jews, in this Romans passage, are to walk in the footsteps of that faith, to live in that faith, to “hold true” to the faith of Abraham…

The same word, ‘stocheio,’ is also used in Galatians 5.25

25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 

The thought is similar -- we are to “hold true” -- stay consistent with, stay in step with -- the Spirit…the life of a Christian is to be in harmony with the Spirit Who is indwelling us

So when Paul urges the Philippians to “hold true” to what they have attained, to live in a mature and understanding way, to not fall back, he’s saying to them what we know to be true of our walk as well…spoken well by the author of Hebrews 10.39

39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Conclusion

So Paul’s instruction is clear -- none of us have attained to the complete fullness of Christ…none of us have “arrived” in sinless perfection…if the apostle Paul wasn’t there yet, I’m confident we aren’t there yet, either

So until that day, what is our task? What are we to do now? To quote Francis Schaeffer, “how then are we to live?”

Here’s the answer: we learn from the past but we don’t live in it…we consider it to be what it actually is, behind us, and we press on, we pursue with intensity, what lies ahead of us…seeking to lay hold of the prize, that call from above, the summons of God to rise up, to come away and join your bridegroom; and until that day, we hold true to Him -- we walk in step with the Spirit…not turning away, not shrinking back to a different gospel that in truth is no gospel at all, but instead we will be strong and courageous like Joshua, we will be sensible and wise like Abigail, we will fight valiantly as the mighty men of David, and by God’s grace and strength, clothed in the full armor of God, we will stand firm in the evil day…the church of God, against which the gates of Hell itself will not prevail, as we stand in the glory of our Lord…God help us, we will not shrink back, but we will be the people of God until we go to be with Him, or He comes to take us home