Press On
Here the Greek verb speaks of an active appropriation. That which Paul says he has not yet appropriated in an absolute sense, he mentions in verse ten. He has come to experience in some degree at least, the power of God surging through his being. He has entered into a joint-participation with Christ in suffering for righteousness’ sake. The stoning at Lystra is an example of that. He has been brought to the place in his experience where he radiates to some degree the self-lessness, the self-abnegation of the Lord Jesus. But he has not appropriated these, laid hold upon these, in the fullest measure. There is room for much improvement and advance in these respects
He is keeping up the chase, so to speak. He is pressing on toward a fixed goal. The word “apprehend” is from the same Greek word translated “attained,” but with a preposition prefixed which means in its local force “down.” He wants to catch hold of it and pull it down, like a football player who not only wants to catch his man, but wants to pull him down and make him his own
The hearty admission of our spiritual imperfections is the starting point for the pursuit of God.
A.W. Tozer wrote in 1948......How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of ‘accepting’ Christ … and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him, we need no more seek Him. This is set before us as the last word in orthodoxy, and it is taken for granted that no Bible-taught Christian ever believed otherwise. Thus the whole testimony of the worshiping, seeking, singing church on that subject is crisply set aside. The experiential heart-theology of a grand army of fragrant saints is rejected in favor of a smug interpretation of Scripture which would certainly have sounded strange to an Augustine, a Rutherford or a Brainerd. (pp. 16–17)
forgetting those things … behind—Looking back is sure to end in going back (
the faith which justifies is a faith which forsakes earthly values and pursues Christ. If justification depends on faith, and if forsaking the world as refuse is necessary for having the benefits of justification, then it is plain: saving faith is not merely a one-time decision for Christ. Saving faith is an ongoing preference for Christ over all other values. The pursuit of Christ is the evidence of genuine faith in Christ as our treasure. Therefore, we must go hard after Christ in order to confirm our justification
