Not
that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I
may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren,
I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I
press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ
Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14 NKJV
We
talked last week about struggles, which as we all know, most of us have if we
choose to be truthful about it. My
personal struggle is impatience; that is, specifically I am impatient for the
rapture of the Church which by all accounts is not only imminent, but to many,
already overdue. This in effect makes it
even more difficult for me and my impatience as I, just like you, see all the
things happening in the world around us and wonder why we are still here. Dealing with this struggle more often than
not leads me to this passage from Paul’s letter to the Philippian church, and to
his perspective on having to “press on”.
Something
I noticed about this passage and something that I find reassuring is Paul's use
of the phrase “press on” twice when referring to this life. It is actually a
rather interesting word because if you look closely at its meaning, it's not as
simple as it might first appear. My first thought was we are being told to
“grind it out”, but if you examine it, it's something quite different. In the
Greek, the word for “press on” is diōkō,
which means;” to make to run or flee, put
to flight, drive away.” So actually Paul is instructing believers to do two
things at the same time. When we are told to press on towards “the goal
for the prize” which comes at the end of race, in essence, Paul is
saying we need to run FROM the things that might hold us back and TOWARDS the
finish line where we will receive our reward.
If
this passage from Paul is any indication, it would seem that our focus should
not be on the past, and the disappointments we might have experienced, as much
as it should be on the future. The Greek word for forgetting is epilanthanomai, which is a verb meaning;
“to forget, neglecting, no longer caring
for, forgotten, given over to oblivion, i.e. uncared for”. Paul, as he reflects
on his present life, understands that his focus and ours as well, needs to be
on the future and not the past. As I considered this it became apparent to me
that I need to focus on doing and serving and living, just as Jesus did with
the knowledge that our time is indeed very short.
It’s
important to remember that in this letter Paul was writing to the believers in
the Philippian church, people who had already made the decision to give their
lives to Christ. What Paul tells them in
this passage, and tells us too, is that our focus should be on becoming more
Christ-like in our daily lives as a witness to those around us. This is the “upward call of God in Christ
Jesus” that he speaks of and it should be the focus of every one of us
who have chosen to believe the Gospel.
When we made that decision we became “sons of God” and as His children
we not only accept but follow the direction He has for us in our lives.
Therefore
let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think
otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the
degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be
of the same mind. Philippians
3:15-16 NKJV
What
have we already attained? When we made
the decision to accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we became children
of God, and His heirs. As part of the
family of God, we are instructed to live in such a way as to bring glory to God
as His representatives on earth. Jesus
set the example we should all strive to follow by becoming a servant to all,
and humbling Himself to the point of death.
Pressing on in light of our struggles and disappointments is not only
our service to Him, but it serves as an example to those around us of our faith
that God is in control of our circumstances.
Therefore,
my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much
more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it
is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13 NKJV
The
words “work out” are actually one Greek word “katergazomai” which means "to work
in order to fashion a result making one fit for something". That is fit as in
fitness. In other words, as we would say today, you need to “workout”. Paul is
simply telling the believers that in order to grow the first thing they needed
to know was to “workout”. Of this passage Charles Ryrie comments that they
needed to “learn to stand on their own
feet”. So this passage is all about the individual learning how to grow
strong in their faith in order to stand tall in light of the discouragement we
often suffer from.
The
word for salvation in this passage is most often used to refer to an individual’s
personal safety. With that in mind, and seeing that in the context of this
passage where Paul is discussing the believers responsibility to exhibit
humility just as Jesus did, it seems they are being told that they would need
to grow strong in order to withstand the trials that would come their way.
Doing this with an attitude of “fear and trembling” refers to someone’s anxiety
because of their knowledge that they might lack the strength necessary to do
this. Paul addresses that anxiety by telling them that God is in charge of not
only providing the strength they will need, but also engineer the circumstances
that they will find themselves in.
My
personal feeling is that the closer we get to the rapture of the Church, the
harder it will get to deal with what life will throw at us. Satan knows the time is short and he will do everything
in his power to make us stumble and grow weary.
Discouragement and disappointment are powerful stumbling blocks but Paul’s
advice to us is sound. Forget the past, “press
on” and focus on what is ahead.
Above all, remember the prize that awaits us when we finish the race.
Keep
watching.
