𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟱: 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹
Welcome back to our mini-series on the book of Philippians! In our last post, we discussed how we can shine as lights in the world by living out our faith joyfully and without complaint. Today, we’ll dive into Philippians 3:12-16, where Paul talks about pressing toward the goal of knowing Christ and becoming more like Him.
Paul uses the imagery of a race to describe the Christian life, emphasizing the need for focus, perseverance, and dedication.
𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 3:12-16: “𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘰𝘣𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘥𝘰: 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴. 𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥.”
𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘀:
• 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗻: Paul encourages believers to keep striving to know Christ more deeply.
• 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁: He advises forgetting past failures and successes, focusing on what lies ahead.
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹: The goal is to become more like Christ and fulfill God’s calling.
• 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁: Paul calls for mature thinking and living, holding true to the progress already made.
𝗔 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸:
• 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗬𝗲𝘁: Paul admits he hasn’t reached perfection. He’s still growing and learning, just like us. This humility is encouraging for all believers.
• 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗢𝗻: Paul’s determination to keep moving forward is a model for us. He’s focused on becoming more like Christ and fulfilling his God-given purpose.
• 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘁: Dwelling on the past can hinder our progress. Paul encourages us to leave behind past mistakes and achievements, focusing instead on the present and future.
• 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲: The ultimate goal is the "upward call of God in Christ Jesus." This means living in a way that honors God and fulfills His purpose for our lives.
• 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: Mature believers are called to think this way—focused, determined, and growing. Paul also trusts that God will guide those who might think differently, emphasizing the need for continuous growth.
𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹:
Pressing toward the goal means continually striving to know Christ better and live according to His example. It’s a lifelong journey that requires dedication and perseverance. We’re called to run this race with endurance, not getting distracted by past failures or successes but keeping our eyes on Jesus.
Take time to reflect on your personal race of faith. Are there past mistakes or successes you need to let go of? How can you focus more on becoming like Christ and fulfilling His purpose for your life? Remember, it’s not about being perfect but about continually pressing forward.
𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿:
Heavenly Father, thank You for calling us to know You and become more like Christ. Help us to let go of the past and press on toward the goal. Give us the strength and perseverance to run this race with endurance, keeping our eyes on Jesus. Amen.