Sunday School Lesson
Lesson: Philippians 3:12-16;
Golden Text: “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
INTRODUCTION.Before his conversion, Paul had given his entire life to trying to earn the favor of God.He had built an impressive resume that would have appealed to any Jewish employer or leader. Now,however,he had found something so tremendous that it made his goodness and accomplishments seem worthless.This week’s lesson is a continuation of last week’s with more of Paul’s reasons for the way he managed his life.
II. LOOKING AHEAD TO THE GOAL (Philippians 3:12-14). Last week’s lesson ended with Paul stating that he was striving toward special goals that included knowing Christ intimately.He wanted to know the power that raised Jesus from the dead having it work in his life.He also said the he wanted to fellowship with Christ in His sufferings.His intention was to continuously strive for those things until the return of Christ.
A. What I have not attained (Philippians 3:12). Yes, the Apostle Paul expressed his desire to reach godliness in everyday experience through knowing Christ. But he had to confess to the Philippians saying “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” The phrase “Not as though I had already attained” indicates that Paul realized that he had not yet become fully conformed to Christ.The term “attained” means to “lay hold of.” In other words, Paul had not reached or laid hold of all for which God had saved him.The phrase, “either were already perfect” is parallel to “Not as though I had already attained.”The word “perfect” means complete or mature.Paul was saying that he had not reached full spiritual maturity, so he had to “follow after” it.There are varying degrees of maturity, of course; but Paul declared that he was not satisfied with the level of maturity he had attained.The truth is, we should not be either. Probably likening himself to a runner, Paul said “I follow after” meaning to eagerly pursue something.In his pursuit, the apostle was trying to “apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.”The word “apprehend” means to grasp or lay hold of something.Paul recognized that Christ had “apprehended” or laid hold of him for a purpose so he wanted to lay hold of that purpose fully.Note: But what was the purpose for which Christ had laid hold of Paul? It is true that Christ had laid hold of Paul so that he would preach the gospel to the Gentiles (see Acts 26:16-18). However, here, Paul was probably thinking about God’s deeper spiritual purpose of molding him into the image of Jesus Christ (see Ephesians 4:13). Paul was not trying to measure up to the standard of other believers. His standard was the perfect Son of God.
B. What I have not apprehended (Philippians 3:13). Paul continued to say “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” The apostle here admitted that he had not attained or reached his goal of being like Christ, when he said “I count not myself to have apprehended” or laid hold of the image and perfection of Christ. But he was not discouraged for he focused on only “one thing.” In his single-minded pursuit of being more like Jesus, Paul was not sidetracked by lesser concerns or things that really didn’t matter (see Philippians 3:4-7). The prize was worth it! Paul had accomplished many good things. There were churches all over the Roman Empire that existed because of his diligent ministry in many cities. There were also maturing Christians in every place he went. Paul had many reasons to relish the past. However, the “one thing” he focused on was first “forgetting those things which are behind.” In other words, he didn’t spend time admiring his past accomplishments or being discouraged by past failures. Instead, he was constantly “reaching forth unto those things which are before.” Like a runner in a race Paul was constantly “reaching” or stretching himself forward to be the first to cross the finish line. For every believer there is something much better ahead and we shouldn’t let anything in this life deter or derail us from reaching for that future. The words “those things” refer to all that God has in store for every believer (see I Corinthians 2:9).
C. What I have not possessed (Philippians 3:14). Continuing his thought regarding not focusing on the past, Paul said “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” In saying “I press (or pursue) toward the mark,” much like a runner, the apostle had fixed his eyes on a mark at the end of the race, refusing to let anything around him break his concentration. In the Greek, the word order is “Toward the mark I press.” The only thing in Paul’s sight was the finish line. The word “press” is in the present tense emphasizing continuous or habitual action as in “I am pressing” or “I keep on pressing.” Paul said that he kept pressing “toward the mark,” or the finish line. However, his goal was “the prize,” the reward after crossing the finish line. In I Cor. 9:24, Paul reminded the Corinthians that “they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize;” then he urged them, “So run that ye may obtain.” Beyond that “mark” or the finish line, there was a “prize” for him. In the Greek games the winner was called up to the place where the judge sat and there he received a garland of leaves from the judge. In like manner, Paul anticipated receiving from God “the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” To what prize was Paul referring? Perhaps he was thinking only of the completed salvation he would enjoy in Christ’s presence; but more likely he had in mind the rewards given at the judgment seat of Christ where every believer will stand to “receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (see II Corinthians 5:10). At the end of his life Paul anticipated receiving a “crown of righteousness” (see II Timothy 4:8) from the Lord, the righteous Judge. Note: This judgment will not determine whether a person goes to heaven, because that will have already been decided.Instead, it will determine whether a person receives rewards for faithfulness to the Lord through service and obedience.Believers will either receive rewards from the Lord or suffer the loss of rewards (see I Corinthians 3:12-15).
III. LIVING TO REACH THE GOAL (Philippians 3:15-16)
A. Have the right mind (Philippians 3:15). Paul now turned from his personal spiritual desires to draw attention to an application for his readers. He said “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” The phrase “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded” appears to be a contradiction of Paul’s previous statement in verse 12 that he had not yet reached perfection. Again, the word “perfect” means mature; and maturity is relative. Paul had not yet reached full spiritual maturity, but he was not a spiritual babe either; so relatively speaking he referred to himself and other Philippians as mature. Paul knew that maturity comes from a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ. Attending church as a ritual proves nothing! He also encouraged his readers to be “thus minded.” Paul was referring to the outlook he described earlier---counting earthly gain as loss, seeking to know Christ’s resurrection power, and pressing forward toward the goal of God’s high calling in Christ (see Philippians 3:7-14). Our spiritual maturity comes from our intimate relationship with Jesus Christ and our obedience to God’s Word. On the other hand, Paul realized that there were some who were still “otherwise minded” meaning that there may be other believers who had a different understanding of spiritual maturity. However, he also declared that God would reveal the correct truth about spiritual maturity to them, but only if they were open to God’s teaching. The mature Christian mind is not just for church leaders; it’s for every believer who is willing to receive it.
B. Walk by the right rule (Philippians 3:16). Paul’s final admonition to the Philippians in our lesson is “Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.” This simply means that we are to continue on the same spiritual path by which God has already led us, following the same standards that have brought us to our present level of maturity. Our path may have been difficult and we may have stumbled often. It may also seem monotonous and we may crave something spectacular. However, the right path is the one outlined in the Bible, the one by which we have already experienced growth. Note: We should never be satisfied with where we are spiritually. Even the most intelligent and most godly among us still have a long way to go. It would certainly be appropriate to apply the phrase “whereto we have already attained” to the fact that too often people get concerned about portions of Scripture they can’t understand, when in reality they need to be more concerned and obedient to the parts they do understand. All of us have the same spiritual goal: growth in our relationship with Jesus. Salvation is not the end of the matter; it is only the beginning, and we need to be constantly encouraging each other to be more like Jesus Christ in our Christian walks.
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