Philippians 3:12-16·~1 min

Pressing on toward the Goal

Paul says he has not already obtained or been made complete, but presses on to make Christ's purpose his own because Christ Jesus has made him his own. He forgets what lies behind, strains forward to what lies ahead, and presses toward the goal for the prize of God's upward call in Christ Jesus.

N¹²ot 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 of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

Paul says that all who are mature should share this way of thinking, trusting that God will reveal what is needed wherever they differ. Yet they must live up to the measure of understanding they have already attained.

¹⁵All of us who are mature should embrace this point of view. And if you think differently about some issue, God will reveal this to you as well. ¹⁶Nevertheless, we must live up to what we have already attained.

Section summaryPaul says that he has not already obtained the full reality he seeks, nor has he already been perfected, but he presses on to grasp what Christ Jesus grasped him for. Forgetting what lies behind and straining toward what lies ahead, he pursues the heavenly prize and calls the mature to share this mindset and to live consistently with what they have already reached.

Role in the chapterThis middle section turns the chapter from renunciation to pursuit. It gives the church a pattern of holy dissatisfaction that neither despairs nor settles.