Philippians 3

Therefore, to know the fellowship of sharing in [Christ’s] sufferings means not only to outwardly suffer trouble and persecution for Christ’s sake, but also to inwardly crucify the old sinful nature and its desires—to put to death the misdeeds of the body (Romans 8:13).

11 Having died with Christ, Paul hopes to attain to the resurrection from the dead (see Romans 6:4-5,8 and comment).

12 Paul has not yet obtained the full knowledge and the full righteousness of Christ. He is not yet perfect. But Paul presses on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of [him]—that is, to take hold of holiness, perfection, and maturity (Ephesians 4:13). Because it is for this reason—that Paul might be holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4)—that Christ took hold of Paul.

Remember, Christ first “took hold” of us. Because of that, we can “take hold” of Him; we can obtain Him and hold on to Him in a spiritual sense. And even though, as we take hold of Him, our grip is weak, His grip on us is strong; He will not let us slip out of His hands.

13-14 But this one thing I do. Paul is completely single-minded. He does not allow himself to be distracted from his purpose. He does not waste his energy on secondary issues. Forgetting what is behind … Paul forgets what is behind. That is, he doesn’t look back; he doesn’t mope over his failures, his mistakes and sins. It is useless to keep thinking about these past things. Paul is like a runner in a race: he looks only ahead (see Luke 9:62; Hebrews 12:1-2). A runner is slowed down if he looks back.

Paul then says: … straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal. Paul is not a passive Christian; he is actively—strenuously—pursuing the goal of becoming like Christ.

Many Christians are confused about this point. They say: “Everything is by God’s grace. Not only our justification is by God’s grace, but also our sanctification. Just as fruit ripens on a tree, so will we become like Christ. We don’t need to strive and struggle.”

In saying this, these Christians are in part correct. It is indeed correct to say that all is by grace, and that we do not need to strive and struggle on our own strength. However, there is another side to the truth—a side which Paul presents in these verses. Men are not quite like fruit on a tree. Fruits submit naturally to the ripening process; men do not. Men must actively submit to God and obey Him; they must actively throw off everything that hinders … and run with perseverance the race marked out for them (Hebrews 12:1). The Christian life is a race, and we must run it. No one ever won a race by sitting on the sideline.

The prize (verse 14) that Paul wants to win at the end of the race is full fellowship with Christ. Paul also hopes to be a “coheir” with Christ and to share in His glory (Romans 8:17; 1 Corinthians 9:24-25; James 1:12).

15 Who are the mature whom Paul mentions here? In verse 12, Paul says that he has not yet been made perfect. Christians cannot be “perfect” in this life, but they can be “mature.” The mature are those who forget what is behind and strain toward what is ahead (verse 13); they believe that looking back is useless, even harmful. The mature are those who are single-minded, who, like Paul, have only one consuming passion in life: namely, to know Christ (verse 10) and to be like Him (Romans 8:29). All mature Christians should take such a view of things. If any among the Philippians take a different view of the matter, Paul is confident that God will make clear to them that Paul’s teaching is correct.

16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained. Paul means by this that each of us should live according to the grace he or she has received. We do not receive God’s full grace all at once; we do not become mature at once. Through the Holy Spirit, God shows us our hidden sins and weaknesses one by one. We cannot correct sins and faults we don’t know about.

Therefore, Paul says here that we must walk according to the grace, knowledge, and power we have each been given. If the Holy Spirit reveals to us a particular sin in our life, we must turn from that sin. Day by day God will give us enough grace to overcome sin. We must live according to that grace. We must live up to [the grace] we have already attained.

17 It is not enough to preach about Christ; we must also live like Christ. New Christians, especially, need examples of Christlike living to follow (see 1 Corinthians 11:1).

The Philippians should follow not only Paul’s example but also the example of those who live according to the pattern given by Paul. Paul’s own example has influenced many to live like Christ; now they in turn are influencing still others. The influence of our example will spread to those we have never even met! Therefore, we need to ask ourselves: What kind of example am I setting?

18 Let the Philippians not follow the example of the enemies of the cross. The enemies of the cross are those who say that Christ’s death on the cross is not sufficient to save men. Such enemies say they are Christians, but they are not; they are false teachers (Matthew 7:15; Mark 13:22; Acts 20:29-30; 2 Corinthians 11:13; 2 Timothy 4:1-2). They are those who look out only for their own interests (Philippians 2:21).

19 Here Paul writes four things about these enemies of the cross. First, they will be destroyed. Their destiny is destruction. They will receive eternal punishment on the day of judgment. Second, their god is their stomach—that is, they serve their own desires and appetites; they do not serve Christ (Romans 16:18). Third, their glory is in their shame; that is, they glory in their shameful lusts and shameful acts.¹⁰ Fourth, their minds are on earthly things, or worldly things, not on spiritual things (Romans 8:5-6). Such men are indeed enemies of Christ’s cross.

20 But Christians should not be like this. Let the Philippians set their minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2). Paul says that our citizenship is in heaven. God has seated us with [Christ] in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). In this world we are only aliens and strangers (1 Peter 2:11). Therefore, let believers not put any significance on what their nationality is, on whether they are “nationals” or “foreigners.” Because, in this world, all believers are foreigners. But in heaven we will all be “nationals,” for that is where our citizenship is.

And we eagerly await a Savior from [heaven]. Christians know that Jesus Christ will come again at the end of the world. Let us eagerly watch for His coming.

21  After Christ comes again, our lowly bodies will be transformed. In other words, it is then that the redemption, or resurrection, of our bodies will take place (see Romans 8:23; 1 Corinthians 15:4244,49; Colossians 3:4; 1 John 3:2 and comments). Our resurrection will take place through the power of the risen Christ (Ephesians 1:19-22).