Thursday – Philippians 3:12–16
Today is Fun!
After everything Paul has just said yesterday about being found in Christ and knowing Him — even through suffering — we might expect a kind of quiet victory lap. If anyone could suggest he had reached spiritual maturity, it would be Paul.
But he doesn’t. Instead, he says something that it took me a few reads to understand. He says, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal…”
That surprised me.
This is the same man who walked away from status, survived beatings, planted churches across the Roman world, and is now writing from prison without sounding bitter. And yet he is very clear — he has not arrived. Ok, so where was he headed?
Philippi was a Roman colony where accomplishment meant something. It was filled with retired soldiers who had earned their standing. Rank, achievement, and public honor shaped the culture. Arrival language would have resonated there.
Paul uses that language — but then he gently dismantles it.
“I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
There is history in that sentence. Paul never forgot Damascus. He was not climbing toward Christ; he was interrupted by Him. Christ took hold of Paul first. So now Paul presses forward not to secure identity, but because his identity has already been secured.
Then he narrows it down even further: “But one thing I do…”
That line feels disciplined, or perhaps focused.
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…”
But this is important, forgetting does not mean erasing memory. Paul cannot erase his past. He persecuted the church. He also built an impressive religious résumé. But neither his failures nor his former successes are allowed to steer him anymore.
That might be the part that hits closest to home. Some of us rehearse old mistakes until they define us (my hand is up). Others rehearse old accomplishments and quietly lean on them. Paul refuses both options. He keeps moving.
He "presses" on “toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Let me pause here for a moment because this can get misunderstood quickly.
Paul is not saying the goal is heaven, as if he is unsure where he will end up. He has already been crystal clear about belonging to Christ. Eternal life is not dangling in front of him like a performance bonus. That has already been secured by grace.
To many of us think the goal is to be good and get to heaven. If you have been saved - then you are going. But it is how you continue to build the kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven that matters. I am not saying "works based righteousness" No - I am saying bearing fruit through the gifts you have been given.
In Chapter one we memorized " filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."
That is the Goal - to be like that! The saints he saw in Philippi!
What he is describing is growth.
He is talking about pressing further into the salvation he already possesses. Deepening obedience. Expanding holiness. Maturing love.
If I borrow Wesley’s language for a moment, this sounds a lot like moving toward Christian perfection — not flawlessness, but a heart increasingly aligned with Christ. Not arrival, but pursuit. Not earning, but becoming.
Paul sees the Christian life as dynamic. I agree! There is always more of Christ to know. More self to surrender. More humility to learn. More love to practice.
That reframes the word “goal.” It is not a location on a map. It is a direction of the heart.
And then Paul brings it back down to earth with something beautifully steady:
“Only let us live up to what we have already attained.” And that is a really loaded statement!
In other words, walk in the light you already have. Be faithful with what Christ has already formed in you. Don’t pretend to be further along than you are — but don’t drift backward either.
There is something comforting about that. He is not frantic. He is not insecure. He is simply unwilling to coast.
And that might be the quiet invitation for us as well — not to relive yesterday, not to rest on yesterday, but to keep walking forward with Christ today.
Prayer
Lord,
Thank You that heaven is not something we have to chase, but a promise secured in Christ.
Keep growing us. Stretch our obedience. Deepen our love.
Free us from rehearsing old failures or leaning too heavily on old victories.
Teach us to press on — not to earn Your grace, but to live more fully into it.
Amen.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, 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, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
After everything Paul has just said yesterday about being found in Christ and knowing Him — even through suffering — we might expect a kind of quiet victory lap. If anyone could suggest he had reached spiritual maturity, it would be Paul.
But he doesn’t. Instead, he says something that it took me a few reads to understand. He says, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal…”
That surprised me.
This is the same man who walked away from status, survived beatings, planted churches across the Roman world, and is now writing from prison without sounding bitter. And yet he is very clear — he has not arrived. Ok, so where was he headed?
Philippi was a Roman colony where accomplishment meant something. It was filled with retired soldiers who had earned their standing. Rank, achievement, and public honor shaped the culture. Arrival language would have resonated there.
Paul uses that language — but then he gently dismantles it.
“I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
There is history in that sentence. Paul never forgot Damascus. He was not climbing toward Christ; he was interrupted by Him. Christ took hold of Paul first. So now Paul presses forward not to secure identity, but because his identity has already been secured.
Then he narrows it down even further: “But one thing I do…”
That line feels disciplined, or perhaps focused.
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…”
But this is important, forgetting does not mean erasing memory. Paul cannot erase his past. He persecuted the church. He also built an impressive religious résumé. But neither his failures nor his former successes are allowed to steer him anymore.
That might be the part that hits closest to home. Some of us rehearse old mistakes until they define us (my hand is up). Others rehearse old accomplishments and quietly lean on them. Paul refuses both options. He keeps moving.
He "presses" on “toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Let me pause here for a moment because this can get misunderstood quickly.
Paul is not saying the goal is heaven, as if he is unsure where he will end up. He has already been crystal clear about belonging to Christ. Eternal life is not dangling in front of him like a performance bonus. That has already been secured by grace.
To many of us think the goal is to be good and get to heaven. If you have been saved - then you are going. But it is how you continue to build the kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven that matters. I am not saying "works based righteousness" No - I am saying bearing fruit through the gifts you have been given.
In Chapter one we memorized " filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."
That is the Goal - to be like that! The saints he saw in Philippi!
What he is describing is growth.
He is talking about pressing further into the salvation he already possesses. Deepening obedience. Expanding holiness. Maturing love.
If I borrow Wesley’s language for a moment, this sounds a lot like moving toward Christian perfection — not flawlessness, but a heart increasingly aligned with Christ. Not arrival, but pursuit. Not earning, but becoming.
Paul sees the Christian life as dynamic. I agree! There is always more of Christ to know. More self to surrender. More humility to learn. More love to practice.
That reframes the word “goal.” It is not a location on a map. It is a direction of the heart.
And then Paul brings it back down to earth with something beautifully steady:
“Only let us live up to what we have already attained.” And that is a really loaded statement!
In other words, walk in the light you already have. Be faithful with what Christ has already formed in you. Don’t pretend to be further along than you are — but don’t drift backward either.
There is something comforting about that. He is not frantic. He is not insecure. He is simply unwilling to coast.
And that might be the quiet invitation for us as well — not to relive yesterday, not to rest on yesterday, but to keep walking forward with Christ today.
Prayer
Lord,
Thank You that heaven is not something we have to chase, but a promise secured in Christ.
Keep growing us. Stretch our obedience. Deepen our love.
Free us from rehearsing old failures or leaning too heavily on old victories.
Teach us to press on — not to earn Your grace, but to live more fully into it.
Amen.
Posted in Philippians
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