Phili 3:13-14 | KingComments | STEP | . Paul was not yet so far as he wished. His desire to be like the Lord Jesus was not yet fulfilled. He still lived on the earth, and that meant that he had not yet reached perfection. As long as a man lives on the earth the process of becoming perfect and of being like the Lord Jesus is not finished. Precisely for this reason, someone who has known the Lord Jesus continues to pursue after and strive for that perfection. He will never be content to sit back with folded hands behind his head and think: Well I am now where I wanted to be and I am perfectly identical with Christ. That would be great pride and a terrible mistake. This thinking would reveal a tremendous lack of self-knowledge. On the other hand Paul teaches here to seek for perfection diligently as if perfection can be achieved on earth. There is a wrong teaching which says that you can be perfect on earth, and also you can reach a state of sinlessness. Do not be deceived by that. That is impossible. Every sincere child of God should strive for the utmost in his life to be like Christ. If Christ Jesus has really laid hold of you, as He did of Paul, then you will not desire anything else. Think of your life before you knew Christ. Perhaps you were a bit like Paul. You were full of zeal doing (religious) work or study. You thought that you pleased God with all your strivings until you realized that you only did it for yourself. Christ came into your life; Someone fully different from what you were. His zeal was entirely focused on God. He never did anything for Himself. His life consisted solely of service to others. He finally gave up His life for that. The death He died was not only the crowing act of a fully consecrated life, but it was also the reconciliation for everyone who recognizes himself as a sinner – even for you. So you have learned to love Him, and He has become the content of your life. He has laid hold of you. You have come under the spell of His love. His embracing love has overwhelmed you. You feel safe and secure through and through. He is there for you. You also want to be wholly for Him. You want to be like Him, not only a little bit, for you cannot be content with that. In this respect it is as someone once wrote ‘contentment is the grave of progress’. No, you want to be quite like Him; and perfectly like Him. Just a side note. It is good to remember that the word perfection has three meanings: 1. You are perfect before God in Christ through His work ( ). Every believer has this perfection the moment he confesses his sins and accepts in faith the Lord Jesus as his Lord and Savior. 2. Then there is the perfection which we receive when we are with the Lord Jesus, when our body partakes of the redemption, and the flesh is no more there. This verse is about that. 3. Then there is the perfection we can achieve on the earth and that has to do with our spiritual growth. That is the perfection in the sense of maturity, fully grown. That is perfection which is at issue in . It can be said, for example, that the fathers in Christ ( ) are perfect in that sense. They have nothing else but Christ in their life. . To exclude every misunderstanding Paul emphasizes once again that he knows very well that he is not there yet. He is not leaning back idly content even now while imprisoned. He does not think that his work is done and also does not think that the process of his spiritual education is finished. Despite all the years of his work for the Lord and his incessant action in that work he considered the process of becoming like the Lord Jesus as not complete yet. With unflagging energy he reaches out for what lies ahead. The secret of his power is his focus on “but one thing”. That is a secret which only a few know, unfortunately. Many people are not satisfied with but one thing. They think that to be narrow-minded. They argue that we must have a wider field vision; they ask: ‘Is there not much more to enjoy?’ Yes, but the moment you want to add something to Christ, in order to pay attention to it, you are no more content with the one thing. The one thing excludes everything else. What is your choice? The decision is not difficult if you understand that this one thing alone gives perfect satisfaction to life. All that you add lessens the satisfaction. What is your preference? For Paul it was not a question. He makes clear how we can pursue after that one thing. First he forgot “what [lies] behind” him. He did not think of all his privileges. He did not even think of all the work he had done, of all the journeys he had made, and of the places where he had preached the gospel or of the many believers whom he had served. When you work for the Lord – and who does not do that? – it is dangerous to look back in order to assess the results of the work. That is the moment you stop looking at the goal. Paul had not kept a list of his spiritual progress. By the way, “forgetting what [lies] behind” doesn’t mean that we should forget who we were. Paul didn’t do that. He never forgot that he was the greatest of all sinners ( ; cf. ). Instead of being busy with the way that was already behind him he was “reaching forward to what [lies] ahead”. . He presents himself here as someone who takes part in a race. Without looking up or looking back he runs as fast as he can in the direction of the goal which he uninterruptedly keeps an eye on. He is concerned with the prize which is related to the calling of God. God had called him heavenward. Then you must not look at your interest on earth. We will pay attention to the Christians who do that in . When you are called by God it is His purpose to bring you to heaven where you can enjoy in Christ Jesus all the blessings His heart longs to shower upon you. You will not want to miss this prize for anything in this world, right? . Perhaps you acknowledge that it should be so in your life. But you feel yourself in a field of tension. It is difficult for you to really give up everything and focus only on the one goal. There are believers in whose life everything revolves around Christ. Those are the mature ones speaks about in its first part. Paul includes himself in this. The word “us” shows that. The mature ones are those who in their Christian experience have come to the point where nothing is interesting to the heart but the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus. How many beautiful things are here on the earth but they all fade away and nothing compares with His beauty. Some people may call it extremism or fanaticism. In any case it is radical. A Christian who grew up this way is characterized by the mind which is in conformity to the mind of Christ. Christ also had only one goal – the glorification of the Father. This prompted Him to do the will of the Father which brought forth all the imaginable blessings. In the second part of another group of believers is addressed. Paul speaks to them as “you” who ”have a different attitude” in anything. By this he does not mean unspiritual or carnal believers. He means believers who have not yet learned that mind of Christ; for God nothing really has any value except the Lord Jesus. An example of such believers is found in the weak about whom Paul speaks in contrast to the strong ( ). Both groups are spiritually minded believers. He makes clear there that the one weak in faith does not know the full Christian freedom that is given to him in Christ. Such believers think that they still have to do with certain ordinances. God observes the sincerity in such persons and He is patient toward their spiritual development. At the right time He will reveal what is the real issue for Him by removing the veil that still covers the eyes of their understanding. Then they will be able to see things as they really are. This difference in the spiritual development, this otherwise mindedness, does not have to disturb a happy fellowship. These are things we can leave to the Lord. In such cases we must not try to force our brethren to fall in line with our views. God Himself will teach them ( ). . When anyone does not focus all his interests on Christ, then we ourselves must not wait till it happens. We need to proceed together provided that everyone walks according to the light he received. Light that is received evokes the desire for more light. It does not make passive, but encourages to a closer fellowship with Christ with the desire for greater likeness to Him. From the moment you have accepted Christ, you have started to grow spiritually. The stage that you have now reached, on the one hand is the result of God’s work in you, and on the other hand, it is your commitment ( ). Well, you are inspired to continue along this path. You need not do it alone. You can do that with others who have also come to know Christ and want to live for Him alone. Now read Philippians 3:12-16 again. Reflection: Are there other interests that you pursue after apart from ‘one thing’?

‏ Philippians 3:13-14

One Thing

Phil 3:12. Paul was not yet so far as he wished. His desire to be like the Lord Jesus was not yet fulfilled. He still lived on the earth, and that meant that he had not yet reached perfection. As long as a man lives on the earth the process of becoming perfect and of being like the Lord Jesus is not finished. Precisely for this reason, someone who has known the Lord Jesus continues to pursue after and strive for that perfection. He will never be content to sit back with folded hands behind his head and think: Well I am now where I wanted to be and I am perfectly identical with Christ. That would be great pride and a terrible mistake. This thinking would reveal a tremendous lack of self-knowledge.

On the other hand Paul teaches here to seek for perfection diligently as if perfection can be achieved on earth. There is a wrong teaching which says that you can be perfect on earth, and also you can reach a state of sinlessness. Do not be deceived by that. That is impossible. Every sincere child of God should strive for the utmost in his life to be like Christ. If Christ Jesus has really laid hold of you, as He did of Paul, then you will not desire anything else.

Think of your life before you knew Christ. Perhaps you were a bit like Paul. You were full of zeal doing (religious) work or study. You thought that you pleased God with all your strivings until you realized that you only did it for yourself. Christ came into your life; Someone fully different from what you were. His zeal was entirely focused on God. He never did anything for Himself. His life consisted solely of service to others. He finally gave up His life for that.

The death He died was not only the crowing act of a fully consecrated life, but it was also the reconciliation for everyone who recognizes himself as a sinner – even for you. So you have learned to love Him, and He has become the content of your life. He has laid hold of you. You have come under the spell of His love. His embracing love has overwhelmed you. You feel safe and secure through and through. He is there for you. You also want to be wholly for Him. You want to be like Him, not only a little bit, for you cannot be content with that. In this respect it is as someone once wrote ‘contentment is the grave of progress’. No, you want to be quite like Him; and perfectly like Him.

Just a side note. It is good to remember that the word perfection has three meanings:

1. You are perfect before God in Christ through His work (Heb 10:14). Every believer has this perfection the moment he confesses his sins and accepts in faith the Lord Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

2. Then there is the perfection which we receive when we are with the Lord Jesus, when our body partakes of the redemption, and the flesh is no more there. This verse is about that.

3. Then there is the perfection we can achieve on the earth and that has to do with our spiritual growth. That is the perfection in the sense of maturity, fully grown. That is perfection which is at issue in Phil 3:15. It can be said, for example, that the fathers in Christ (1Jn 2:13-14) are perfect in that sense. They have nothing else but Christ in their life.

Phil 3:13. To exclude every misunderstanding Paul emphasizes once again that he knows very well that he is not there yet. He is not leaning back idly content even now while imprisoned. He does not think that his work is done and also does not think that the process of his spiritual education is finished. Despite all the years of his work for the Lord and his incessant action in that work he considered the process of becoming like the Lord Jesus as not complete yet. With unflagging energy he reaches out for what lies ahead.

The secret of his power is his focus on “but one thing”. That is a secret which only a few know, unfortunately. Many people are not satisfied with but one thing. They think that to be narrow-minded. They argue that we must have a wider field vision; they ask: ‘Is there not much more to enjoy?’ Yes, but the moment you want to add something to Christ, in order to pay attention to it, you are no more content with the one thing. The one thing excludes everything else. What is your choice? The decision is not difficult if you understand that this one thing alone gives perfect satisfaction to life. All that you add lessens the satisfaction. What is your preference?

For Paul it was not a question. He makes clear how we can pursue after that one thing. First he forgot “what [lies] behind” him. He did not think of all his privileges. He did not even think of all the work he had done, of all the journeys he had made, and of the places where he had preached the gospel or of the many believers whom he had served. When you work for the Lord – and who does not do that? – it is dangerous to look back in order to assess the results of the work. That is the moment you stop looking at the goal. Paul had not kept a list of his spiritual progress.

By the way, “forgetting what [lies] behind” doesn’t mean that we should forget who we were. Paul didn’t do that. He never forgot that he was the greatest of all sinners (1Tim 1:13; cf. 2Pet 1:9). Instead of being busy with the way that was already behind him he was “reaching forward to what [lies] ahead”.

Phil 3:14. He presents himself here as someone who takes part in a race. Without looking up or looking back he runs as fast as he can in the direction of the goal which he uninterruptedly keeps an eye on. He is concerned with the prize which is related to the calling of God. God had called him heavenward. Then you must not look at your interest on earth. We will pay attention to the Christians who do that in Phil 3:19. When you are called by God it is His purpose to bring you to heaven where you can enjoy in Christ Jesus all the blessings His heart longs to shower upon you. You will not want to miss this prize for anything in this world, right?

Phil 3:15. Perhaps you acknowledge that it should be so in your life. But you feel yourself in a field of tension. It is difficult for you to really give up everything and focus only on the one goal. There are believers in whose life everything revolves around Christ. Those are the mature ones Phil 3:15 speaks about in its first part. Paul includes himself in this. The word “us” shows that. The mature ones are those who in their Christian experience have come to the point where nothing is interesting to the heart but the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus.

How many beautiful things are here on the earth but they all fade away and nothing compares with His beauty. Some people may call it extremism or fanaticism. In any case it is radical. A Christian who grew up this way is characterized by the mind which is in conformity to the mind of Christ. Christ also had only one goal – the glorification of the Father. This prompted Him to do the will of the Father which brought forth all the imaginable blessings.

In the second part of Phil 3:15 another group of believers is addressed. Paul speaks to them as “you” who ”have a different attitude” in anything. By this he does not mean unspiritual or carnal believers. He means believers who have not yet learned that mind of Christ; for God nothing really has any value except the Lord Jesus. An example of such believers is found in the weak about whom Paul speaks in contrast to the strong (Rom 14:1 ; Rom 15:1).

Both groups are spiritually minded believers. He makes clear there that the one weak in faith does not know the full Christian freedom that is given to him in Christ. Such believers think that they still have to do with certain ordinances. God observes the sincerity in such persons and He is patient toward their spiritual development. At the right time He will reveal what is the real issue for Him by removing the veil that still covers the eyes of their understanding. Then they will be able to see things as they really are.

This difference in the spiritual development, this otherwise mindedness, does not have to disturb a happy fellowship. These are things we can leave to the Lord. In such cases we must not try to force our brethren to fall in line with our views. God Himself will teach them (1Thes 4:9).

Phil 3:16. When anyone does not focus all his interests on Christ, then we ourselves must not wait till it happens. We need to proceed together provided that everyone walks according to the light he received. Light that is received evokes the desire for more light. It does not make passive, but encourages to a closer fellowship with Christ with the desire for greater likeness to Him.

From the moment you have accepted Christ, you have started to grow spiritually. The stage that you have now reached, on the one hand is the result of God’s work in you, and on the other hand, it is your commitment (Phil 2:13). Well, you are inspired to continue along this path. You need not do it alone. You can do that with others who have also come to know Christ and want to live for Him alone.

Now read Philippians 3:12-16 again.

Reflection: Are there other interests that you pursue after apart from ‘one thing’?