#7. Pressing Toward the Goal (Philippians 3:12-4:1)

Disciple Lessons from Philippians, Paul's Letter to the Church at Philippi

#7. Pressing Toward the Goal (Philippians 3:12-4:1)

by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
Audio Version (32:48)
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St. Paul with his book (rotulus), Arian Baptistry, Ravenna, Italy. Mosaic, early sixth century. Image of central cupola mosaics.

Philippians 3:12-4:1

^{12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have
already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that
for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³Brothers, I
do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one
thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what
is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the
prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
^{15All of us who are mature should take such a view of
things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God
will make clear to you. ¹⁶Only let us live up to what
we have already attained.
^{17Join with others in following my example, brothers,
and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave
you. ¹⁸For, as I have often told you before and now
say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of
Christ. ¹⁹Their destiny is destruction, their god is
their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is
on earthly things. ²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven.
And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
²¹who, by the power that enables him to bring
everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so
that they will be like his glorious body.
^{4:1Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for,
my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord,
dear friends!

Paul has been talking about trading every religious advantage
he has for the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus in his fullness.
Now comes the reality check.
Still in a Work in Progress (3:12a)
The most common Christian cop-out is: "Well, nobody's
perfect." Paul doesn't settle for such a flip answer regarding a
serious quest for Christ's fullness.

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already
been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for
which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider
myself yet to have taken hold of it." (3:12-13a)
He acknowledges that he isn't there yet, using two Greek verbs
to describe where he hasn't yet arrived:

"Obtained" (NIV, NRSV) or "attained" (KJV) is
lambanō, "take hold of, grasp." Here it has the sense, "to
enter into a close relationship, receive, make one's own,
apprehend or comprehend."¹ Paul hasn't yet taken
hold of the fullness of Christ.
"Made perfect" (NIV) or "reached the goal" (NRSV) is
teleioō. It can mean either "complete, bring to an end"
or "bring to its goal/accomplishment, make perfect."²
Paul realizes that he is still a work in process. God is still
perfecting him, still pruning and shaping, still opening up for
him untapped areas of the spiritual life, new vistas of God's
glory. There have been some Christians, especially in the
Wesleyan tradition, who claim they have reached sinless
perfection. But Paul doesn't claim this. He specifically denies
it and acknowledges that God is still working in him.

I wonder, was Paul's experience in prison part of God's
perfecting process for him? Sometimes God puts us in places where
we are hindered, hampered, limited -- our own "involuntary
servitude." Why? Because at these places in our lives we are
desperate enough to seek God and willing to change whatever is
necessary in order to lessen our pain. The circumstance that you
yourself are in right now may be a blessing in disguise, an
opportunity God has selected to further his work in you.
Pressing in to Take Hold (3:12b-13a)
Paul realizes that he hasn't attained his potential in Christ,
but he doesn't excuse himself by the difficulty of the calling:

"… But I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus
took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have
taken hold of it." (3:12b-13a)
Now we see another pair of Greek verbs that describe Paul's
unremitting quest for God:

The
first verb is "press on" (NIV, NRSV) or "follow after"
(KJV). Diōkō, is often translated "persecute." Here it
means, "to move rapidly and decisively toward an objective,
hasten, run, press on."³ The root idea of diōkō
is "to chase."
When I think of this word, I remember a story from David's
life (2 Samuel 2:12-23). Abner, general for King Saul's son
Ish-Bosheth, loses many troops in a skirmish with David's men.
Then Asahel, brother of David's general, "chased Abner, turning
neither to the right nor to the left as he pursued him." The
Bible records, "Asahel refused to give up the pursuit."
It is this kind of dogged determination that is the fire in
Paul's belly. With the same zeal that he once persecuted (diōkō)
the church (1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13; Philippians 3:6),
he now pursues (diōkō) Christ. He will not give up the
pursuit of God or take his ease. He must know Christ in all his
fullness! It is from this concept that A.W. Tozer penned his
classic book, The Pursuit of God (1948).
The second verb that describes Paul's quest for Christ is
"take hold of" (NIV), "apprehend" (KJV), and "make it my own"
(NRSV), a sort of purpose clause in Greek.⁵ Paul
presses in so that he might take hold. Katalambanō
is an important word, since it occurs twice in verse 12b and
again in verse 13b. The root idea is "to lay hold of." Here it
means, "to lay hold of so as to make one’s own, win, attain."⁵
There is a deliberate word play between the verb lambanō
in verse 12 and katalambanō in verses 12 and 13.
^{12Not that I have already obtained (lambanō) all
this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take
hold of (katalambanō) that for which Christ Jesus took
hold of (katalambanō) me. ¹³Brothers, I do
not consider myself yet to have taken hold of (katalambanō)
it. (3:12-13)
Years before, Jesus had laid hold of Paul on the Damascus road
at his conversion. Now Paul longs to lay hold of the fullness of
this life in Christ and is unsatisfied until he does.
Running Flat Out in the Great Race (3:13b-14)
No, Paul has not obtained his spiritual goal yet, but he is
not resting or turning back:

"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining
toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the
prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
(3:13b-14)
This passage has inspired me for decades, every time I read
it, it speaks to me again. The imagery is from a race, drawn from
the key verb "I press on" (diōkō), "to chase, run after,
pursue," that we just examined in verse 12. Paul is
single-minded: "But one thing I do!" (3:13b)
Forgetting What Lies Behind (3:13c)
A runner in a race doesn't keep looking back at who is behind
him, lest he trip and fall on his face. Instead, he is intent
upon the goal (skopos) up ahead. How many people do you
know seem to live their life looking backward? They count their
losses, their regrets, their failures. No wonder they are
defeated.
Thank God for forgiveness! In Christ, we can find forgiveness
for our own failings. In Christ we can find the grace to forgive
even the deepest hurts. So Paul doesn't look back. "Forgetting"
is the Greek verb epilanthanomai, "not to have remembrance
of something, forget."⁶ I don't think that this means
our mind is wiped clean of any remembrance of past hurts and
failures, but that we choose not to go there any longer. We
choose not to remember. We choose instead to look forward.
We can't run the race looking backward. We must turn our minds
and hearts to the present race and to our goal. Paul looks toward
the goal line, Greek skopos, from a root meaning "to look
into the distance." Here it is the distant mark looked at, the
"goal or end one has in view."⁷}
When I was in high school I played on the varsity tennis team.
How many times my coach would shout at us, "Keep your eye on the
ball!" In baseball, a batter must keep his eye on the ball. A
Christian must keep his eye on the goal -- fully surrender to
and fellowship with Jesus Christ. If our eyes slip to the
temporal world, we lose focus on the spiritual world and lose our
bearings. Forget what lies behind. Keep your eye on the goal!

Q1. (3:13) How can the past get in the way of our
quest to know Christ? What do you need to "forget" so that
you may focus on Christ today and tomorrow? Is there
forgiving you need to do so you can grow in Christ?

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Straining Towards the Finish Line (3:13d)
Another word in this imagery of a race is "straining toward"
(NIV) or "forward" (NRSV) and "reaching forth" (KJV). It is the
Greek verb epekteinomai, "to exert oneself to the
uttermost, stretch out, strain toward something."⁸ If
you watched the sprints and hurdles in the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens, you could see that as the leading runners reached the
tape at the goal line, they would lean their body forward. In
some of the heats, it was that extension of the body to its
uttermost that won the race. Paul is talking about his own flat
out commitment to see this through to the end. No slacking off.
No excuses. No laziness. Paul is serious about this, he is
stretching all out to win the race.
In 1 Corinthians he switches from a racing imagery to a boxing
analogy, but the idea is the same.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only
one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.
They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to
get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like
a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the
air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I
have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for
the prize." (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

I don't think Paul is fighting for his salvation. That was
already settled. But he is seeking Christ and his fullness. He is
urgent and disciplines himself so that he will not miss out on
the greatest prize of all -- knowing Christ.
One of the saddest days of my life was serving as an usher in
church and helping to seat one of the great healing evangelists of
the mid-twentieth century. He had healed thousands, won tens of
thousands to Christ, and changed the spiritual history of one of
the largest countries in South America. But when I saw him he was
an alcoholic, helped to church by a friend, a shell of his former
self. Will he be saved? Oh, I believe so. But what happened that
he stopped in the midst of the race?
Have you stopped? Has some terrible event wounded you and
opened you to attack by Satan? This happens. But Christ is able
to forgive you and heal you. He can help you forgive yourself. He
can turn your eyes from the past to the present and future with
Christ.
Paul himself was a man who bore on his soul the memory of
persecuting Christ himself and his church. He had to move past
it. Paul had experienced inexpressible spiritual visions and
ecstasies. But he had to move past it. Paul was very well aware
that we cannot keep chastising ourselves for past failings or
keep patting ourselves on the back for past spiritual victories.
They take our eyes off the goal, which is Christ himself.
Pressing on Toward the Goal (3:14a)
Now let's consider the final words of this powerful Christian
confession, phrase by phrase:

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has
called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (3:14)
Here's that keyword again: diōkō, "pressing on,
pursuing, chasing, running flat out." But Paul doesn't run for
the sake of running. He is intent on the goal line, the skopos,
translated "goal" (NIV, NRSV) or "mark"
(KJV). It comes from the verb
skopeō, to pay careful attention to, look," so skopos
is that on which the athlete fixes his gaze, "goal, target."⁹
We're not told by analogy what the goal line represents for the
Christian life. I don't think the goal is heaven or perfection
for its own sake, so much as Christ-likeness and Christ-oneness.
That certainly is Paul's goal.
To Win the Prize (3:14b)
"Prize" is the Greek noun brabeion, "an award for
exceptional performance, prize, award." The word occurs here and
in 1 Corinthians 9:24 (quoted above) with respect to competition
in an athletic contest. In our passage and 2 Timothy 4:8, the
prize or wreath is awarded not just to the winner, but to all who
finish the race, an endurance race more than a sprint.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have
kept the faith. Now there is in store 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 longed for his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:7-8)
Exactly what is this prize in our Philippians passage? Paul
doesn't say specifically. The prize, however, is closely
associated grammatically with the "call" of God.
The Heavenward Call (3:14c)
"... For which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
(3:14c)
The phrase "high calling" (KJV), "called me heavenward" (NIV),
and "heavenly call" (NRSV) translate two Greek words. The noun
klēsis is an "invitation to experience special privilege
and responsibility, call, calling, invitation."¹⁰
It is preceded by an adverb of place, anō, "extension
toward a goal which is up, upward(s)."¹¹}
The heavenly calling of God and the prize have been
interpreted in three main ways: (1) The prize and the calling are
essentially one and the same,¹² thus the prize itself is
God's calling to life in his eternal presence. (2) The call is
the summons by the president of the contest (or perhaps even the
emperor) to the successful athlete to come forward to receive his
prize. In this interpretation, the calling or summons is the one
that occurs at the end of the race. But this doesn't jive with
Paul's usual use of the idea of "calling." (3) Paul is referring
to God's act of calling to salvation, thus the sentence refers to
"the prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus."¹³
Thus in this context the prize is "the full and complete gaining
of Christ, for whose sake everything else has been counted loss."
O'Brien concludes, "The greatest reward is to know fully, and so
to be in perfect fellowship with, the one who had apprehended him on
the Damascus road. And this prize Paul wants his readers also to
grasp."¹⁴

Q2. (3:14) What is it like to be called upwards by
God? Have you ever experienced this? What causes God's call
to become dim in our hearing? How can we renew our hearing of
his call? What is the content or specifics of this message or
summons or call?

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In Christ Jesus (3:14d)

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has
called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (3:14)
Now let's examine the final phrase in this remarkable verse:
"in Christ Jesus," a familiar phrase that characterizes Paul's
epistles. The goal, the prize, and the call are all wrapped up in
Messiah Jesus!
This quest for God is not an "all roads lead to Rome" journey
that adherents of any religion can pursue equally. It is found in
the Messiah himself.
As a result of a comparative religions approach to
Christianity, many seminaries and pastors no longer believe and
declare the exclusivity of Jesus' claims. It doesn't fit with the
recent trend towards tolerance and unity among all religions.
Many would rather see Jesus as one way, perhaps a preferable way
to express one's human spirituality, but not, heaven forbid, the
only way.
But in John's Gospel we read Jesus' audacious claim, "I am the
way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me" (John 14:6). Before the Sanhedrin that had condemned
Jesus to death, Peter unashamedly declares, "Salvation is found
in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to
men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
In a Mediterranean culture abuzz with many religions and
spiritual paths, Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles declared
unequivocally that Jesus was the way to God. If we are Jesus'
true disciples, can we do less?
An Example for the Mature (3:15-16)
It seems that the occasion of Paul's explanation of his
ongoing quest for God is that some in the Philippian church
believed they had already arrived, that they were already perfect
-- that they had "arrived" or "apprehended" the ultimate in
spiritual possibilities. Paul is clear that he makes no
such claim. In verse 15, Paul uses the somewhat ambiguous noun
telios, which can mean both (1) "perfect, fully developed" in
a moral sense, or (2) "full-grown, mature, adult."¹⁵
He says:

"All of us who are mature (telios) should take such a
view of things. And if on some point you think differently,
that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to
what we have already attained." (3:15-16)
He challenges his so-called mature or perfect opponents to
agree with his call for a continued, unremitting quest to knowing
God more fully. Those who disagree will be corrected by God. Then
Paul warns these "perfect" Christians, "Only let us live up to
what we have already attained" (3:16) In other words, if you
claim perfection, let it show in your life.
The Apostle's Example and Pattern (3:17)
Now, Paul calls his readers to follow his example:

"Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take
note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you."
(3:17)
They are to "take note" (skopeō) of those who aren't
really living out the Christian life they possess. I recall a
Sunday School song I sang as a boy:

"If you're saved and you know it, clap your hands,

If you're saved and you know it, clap your hands,

If you're saved and you know it, then your life will surely
show it,

If you're saved and you know it, clap your hands."
Paul uses the noun summimētēs, translated variously
"following my example" (NIV), "followers together" (KJV), and
"join in imitating" (NRSV). It means one who joins others as an
imitator, "fellow imitator," from the noun mimētēs
(related to our English word "mimic").
It's a pretty bold thing to call people to mimic you, but Paul
does so. To the Corinthian church he says, "Be imitators of me,
as I am of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1, NRSV), as he does
elsewhere (1 Corinthians 4:16; Philippians 4:9; 1 Thessalonians
1:6; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; 3:7, 9; 1 Timothy 4:12; Hebrews 13:7;
1 Peter 5:3). Sometimes we're afraid to tell others to imitate
us, but frankly, that is Jesus' own method of discipleship and
that of the early apostles of the faith. No, you're not perfect
and you make mistakes, but as you follow Christ invite others to
learn from your example. When you make a mistake, admit it, ask
for forgiveness and go on. Don't let false humility stand in the
way of you being a discipler of others.
Paul's goal in our verse is to alert the Philippian believers
that those who don't live out the Christian life in practice
can't be trusted as guides to the spiritual life, no matter how
"perfect" they claim to be. Beware!

Q3. (3:17) How can Paul be so bold as to ask others to
imitate him? Why are we so hesitant to do this? How does God
use imitation in building disciples? Who is likely to imitate
you?

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Enemies of the Cross of Christ (3:18-19)
Now Paul reminds them of the sad fact that the lifestyle of
some professing Christians is not at all a "perfect" or even
"mature" life.

"For, as I have often told you before and now say again even
with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their
destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their
glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things."
(3:18-19)

Paul says these opponents "live as enemies of the cross of
Christ." The cross of Christ is the way of suffering and
self-denial, in sharp contrast with a self-indulgent lifestyle
that glories in the activities of which one should instead be
ashamed. It is an earthly mindset that will result in destruction
(Greek apōleia, "loss, destruction, annihilation, ruin"¹⁶).
Paul affirms elsewhere that this direction doesn't mean entering
the Kingdom of God, but its opposite (Romans 8:5-8; 1 Corinthians
6:9-11; Galatians 5:17-21; Ephesians 5:5).
Citizens of Heaven (3:20-21)
In contrast, Paul describes a heavenly mindset:

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a
Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power
that enables him to bring everything under his control, will
transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his
glorious body." (3:20-21)
"Citizenship" (NIV, NRSV) or "conversation" (KJV) is the Greek
noun politeuma (from polis, "city") and means
"commonwealth, state."¹⁷ The New Testament reminds us
that our citizenship is in the Kingdom of God; here on earth we
are to consider ourselves exiles and aliens in a foreign land
(Hebrews 11:8-10, 13; 1 Peter 1:17; 2:11). The old Gospel song
may be corny, but it expresses an important truth: "This world is
not my home, I'm just a-passin' through...."
Heaven should be our focus, not the illusory and transitory
world in which we live. And from heaven, Christ shall return
(fulfilling Daniel 7:13-14; Acts 1:11), resurrect those who have
died (1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), and
transform the bodies of those Christians still living into
Christ-like resurrection bodies.

Q4. (3:18-21) Why is recognizing and affirming your
citizenship and allegiance vital to discipleship? How does it
keep us from the temptations outlined in verses 18 and 19?
What are the dangers of a church combining and confusing the
concepts of temporal patriotism with a Christian's true
citizenship?

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Stand Firm in the Lord (4:1)
Finally, Paul calls on his readers to "stand firm in the
Lord."

"Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy
and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear
friends!" (4:1)
"Stand firm" (NIV, NRSV) or "stand fast" (KJV) is the Greek
verb stēkō, which we saw in 1:27. It means in a
metaphorical sense here, to be firmly committed in conviction or
belief, "stand firm, be steadfast." Temptations abound, within
the church and without. But with great affection, Paul calls his
readers to a higher calling: "stand firm in the Lord."
Higher Ground
This entire passage examines Paul's holy intolerance with a
status-quo faith. He wants more. He wants to know Christ in his
fullness. With every fiber in his being, he is straining all out
for the prize of knowing Christ, of being "in Christ" in all his
living, of "the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (RSV).
Where are you, my friend? Have you settled for a Christianity
of the mind rather than the heart and spirit? Have you excused
yourself so often that you are complacent with your spiritual
experience?
I can say with Paul that I certainly haven't attained where I
want to be in Christ. I still fight the temptations of Satan that
try to derail me and cause a train wreck. But my heart leads me
on, as I sense yours does, too, to an all-out pursuit of God.
Johnson Oatman, Jr. captured this spirit of pursuing God in
his 1898 hymn, "Higher Ground."

I’m pressing on the upward way,

New heights I’m gaining every day;

Still praying as I'm onward bound,

"Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."


Lord, lift me up and let me stand,


By faith, on heaven’s table land,


A higher plane than I have found;


Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

I want to scale the utmost height,

And catch a gleam of glory bright;

But still I’ll pray till heaven I’ve found,

"Lord, plant my feet on higher ground."

Prayer
Father, forgive my complacency. Purify my heart that its
single focus might be on you. Help me to pursue you only, not
turning to the right hand or the left. Help me. Guide me. Lead me
on! In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Key Verses
"But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining
toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize
for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
(Philippians 3:13-14)

References

Standard Abbreviations
http://www.jesuswalk.com/philippians/refs.htm

BDAG 584.
BDAG 996. Teleioō was also used as a technical term
of some of the Hellenistic mystery religions, "consecrate,
initiate," though I don't believe that is Paul's reference
here.
BDAG 254.
A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament,
in loc.
Thayer. BDAG 519-520.
BDAG 374.
Thayer.
BDAG 361.
BDAG 931. O'Brien 430.
BDAG 549.
BDAG 92.
O'Brien, 431, taking the construction as the Greek genitive
of apposition or definition.
O'Brien, 432, taking the construction as the Greek
subjective genitive or indicative of belonging.
O'Brien 433.
BDAG 995-996.
BDAG 127.
BDAG 845. We saw the related verb politeuomai in
1:27, "to conduct one's life as a citizen."

Disciple Lessons from Philippians

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