Philippians 3:12-21 - Pressing toward Christ

[Intro]

Last time we went over Chapter 3 verses 1-11. In those verses we read about Paul emphasizing on the value of knowing Christ. And while he was sharing about the value, he gave those in Philippi a warning to watch out for those who try to devalue the knowing Christ. The people that Paul mainly focused on was legalists. They were Christians who had a Jewish background, called Judaizers. They still wanted to cling to the law and believed that they could participate in receiving their salvation through works in following the law. They believed it was a requirement to be saved. The law is good, it has a purpose, but Christ fulfilled the law so our salvation would not be dependent on our performance of following the law. Our salvation is bound to whether or not we place our faith in Christ. And that’s what Paul wanted to get across to them. There is no mix. You either are judged by the law (which we’re already completely guilty of breaking) or judged by your faith in Christ. And when it comes to the law, breaking one part of the it makes you guilty of it all, so it’s impossible for man to be right before God by following the law. Paul reminded them, if it was possible, if anyone really could boast about following the Mosaic law to be righteous, it would be him. He was a prime example of a Jew who followed the Mosaic law. But he compares it to knowing Christ, and he said I consider it all worthless. He put it behind him, so he could follow Christ. There is only one option to be righteous in God’s eyes, faith in Jesus Christ. Paul knew they’d be facing this kind of pressure from these Judaizers, so he wanted to warn them, and he never got tired of reminding them because it was so important.

[Prayer]

Before we dive in to the next section of scripture, one other thing to keep in mind is as Paul wrapped up his warnings from the last section he emphasized how much he desired to know Christ more. He wanted to be like Christ and thought of the future resurrection. The start of these next verses will make more sense if we keep that in mind.

Let’s read 3:12-21

[Body]

Philippians 3:12–21 NLT

12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. 13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. 15 Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. 16 But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. 17 Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. 18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. 20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

-Press on

Paul acknowledges his imperfection. He could try and talk up himself about how he was chosen specially by God and made an Apostle. But he levels himself with everyone. Acknowledging that even though he desires so much to be like Christ, he knows he’s not there. And he knows he’ll never reach that point of perfection on this side of eternity. However, it’s also important to note his message of pressing on to possess that perfection. I think the easiest temptation to fall into as a Christian is if I’ve put my faith in Christ, thereby receiving salvation, what do I have to gain from working for the name of Christ? Why should I endure struggles instead of embracing whatever pleasure I desire in earth. Just slack off, what’s the point. Now firstly, I believe there is a divine change in us that does cause us to desire to be more like Christ. But there’s for sure a process of maturity. And slacking off is still a temptation as a believer. What does Paul give as his motivation? He says I want to possess Christ-likeness because Jesus first possessed me! It can be so easy to grow numb to the cost of our salvation because we hear it a lot. A price was paid on the cross. And not only that, but he chose us to be in a relationship. So taking into mind what was spoke about last time, the value of knowing Christ, and now thinking about the cost so that we could know Christ, and that Christ chose us. That is definitely reason to want to serve Him.

If you’ve ever had a good boss at work, you’ve probably been motivated to work harder for them. Even if they’re not in the office to see, you still want to perform your best, doing what they ask and possibly even going above and beyond and doing more than required. Because you appreciate your boss. God has done infinitely more for us than any good boss ever could. He doesn’t even call us his employees. He who paid it all for us calls us His children. Shouldn’t we desire to do His will, even when it’s tough?

Now how can we do more for the kingdom? Paul gives us an example of that he lives by which is a don’t a do and a what.

He says forget about the past. Thinking about the past can be one of the most hindering things you can do. It can hinder you from doing anything in this life. And what’s interesting is it’s not just the bad memories that can cause us to dwell on the past, but good memories can too. For the regrets in our life they can cause to think up the worst thoughts and relive those moments over and over again. Falling into self-pity and depression. And then for the good memories, you know the classic phrase, “In my glory days I could do this or that. I was so awesome.” Now mind you, recalling the past is not a bad thing, it can be good to do at times. What we’re focused on here is dwelling in the past. Always focusing on it, and causing inaction in the present. There’s a big difference. Paul wanted to stay focused. So he said look forward to what lies ahead. No matter how good or bad the past has been, there’s always so much to look forward to if you’re walking with Christ. And what is Paul so eagerly looking forward to? The heavenly Prize. The end of the race, the day of glorification. Which is possible because of Christ.

In all this, the imagery Paul gives is a runner. Pressing on in the race as a runner is straining ahead, focused on the finish line and not looking back. People actually have lost races because they turned to look back. So the runner metaphor is perfect for the message Paul is trying to get across.

-Spiritual Maturity

Now verses 15 and 16 are pretty interesting. Paul speaks about spiritual maturity and acknowledges the fact that there will be some disagreements. Scholars debate exactly what this difference in thinking is. It could be various teachings that people in Philippi understand differently or the false teachers that Paul spoke about in the previous verses. No matter who and exactly what difference in thought he was referring to, I think there’s a key thing to note here. Paul writes “I believe God will make it plain to you.” The fact that God is the one who will clear people’s mind to understand his Word should be a big relief. Yes we need to present the Word of God to others as accurately as possible, but God is in control of revealing himself and His word to others. Paul knows he has laid everything out to those Philippi, and if they still don’t agree / understand some of his teachings, he trusts in God’s timing and power to clear it up.

He reminds them to make sure they don’t lose some of their spiritual maturity. That may seem obvious, but I think it’s easy to backtrack. The seasons of life hit us and we may struggle to be in the word as much as we had been at one point, or maybe our prayer life becomes inactive. Perhaps we’re surrounded by some bad influences and we start doing things we shouldn’t. Being stagnant or always being surrounded by bad influences can make it easy to go in the wrong direction in our walk with God.

-Role Models

In verses 17-19 - Paul tells them to have a role model. We all like examples right? We can be told to do something, but not quite understand or grasp how to go about it. What does it look like? In life we face so many different situations and we may not know the “Christian” way to handle a situation. Yes we rely on God to help us further understand his Word and work in and through us to follow his commands. But seeing how someone who is more spiritually mature than us lives, can help us understand how to handle certain situations in a biblical manner. Paul is by no means trying to glorify man.

1 Corinthians 11:1 NLT

1 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

Paul gave everything he had to try and imitate Christ, so he’s saying yes use me as an example, but only because I am working to imitate Christ. He doesn’t want people to be like him in terms of his personality, he wants people to be like Christ in their character.

And another interesting thing here is even though he’s an apostle, he didn’t say don’t trust anyone else I’m the only one who can be a good example. Paul discipled many people, and they could be used as examples as well.

--point about people who profess their belief in Christ but show no sign of being born again

Verses 20-21 is really what we talked about a couple months ago now. We are citizens of heaven. So we should have a mind that focuses on heavenly things.

Let’s re-read these verses:

“20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.”

Just because we are not living in heaven now, doesn’t mean we aren’t citizens. When God chose us and our faith was placed in Christ, we became citizens of heaven. And as such, we should live like citizens of heaven. We press on, straining forward as we keep our eyes on our heavenly prize, when we’ll get to go home and be with Christ.