Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Philippians 3:12
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
12 16. On the other hand, his spiritual condition is one of progress, not perfection
12. Not as though &c.] This reserve, so emphatic and solemn, appears to be suggested by the fact, brought out more fully below (Php 3:18-19), of the presence of a false teaching which represented the Christian as already in such a sense arrived at his goal as to be lifted beyond responsibility, duty, and progress. No, says St Paul; he has indeed “gained Christ,” and is “found in Him, having the righteousness of God”; he “knows” his Lord, and His power; but none the less he is still called to humble himself, to recollect that the process of grace is never complete below, and that from one point of view its coming completion is always linked with the saint’s faithful watching and prayer, the keeping open of the “eyes ever toward the Lord” (Psa 25:15).
attained ] Better, received, or, with R.V., obtained; for the verb is not the same as that in Php 3:11. (It is the same as that in Rev 3:11.) The thought of “ the crown ” is probably to be supplied. See below, on Php 3:14. R.V. renders, rather more lit., “ Not that I have already attained.” But the construction of A.V. well represents the Greek. Some documents here add “ or have been already justified ”; but the evidence is decisive against this insertion.
were already perfect ] Better, have been already perfected. The process was incomplete which was to develope his being for the life of glory, in which “we shall be like Him” (1Jn 3:3; cp. Rom 8:29); a promise implying that we are never so here, completely. Cp. the Greek of Rom 12:2; 2Co 3:18; in which the holy “transformation” is presented as a process, advancing to its ideal, not yet arrived there. And see further below, on Php 3:15.
The Greek verb, and its kindred noun, were used technically in later ecclesiastical Greek of the death of martyrs (and of monks, in a remarkable passage of Chrysostom, Hom. xiv. on 1 Tim), viewed as specially glorious and glorified saints. But no such limitation appears in Scripture. In Heb 12:23 the reference plainly is to the whole company of the holy departed: who have entered, as they left the body, on the heavenly rest, the eternal close of the state of discipline. Cp. Wis 4:13 ; “he [the just man], in short (season) perfected, fulfilled long times.”
I follow after] R.V., I press on. The thought of the race, with its goal and crown, is before him. Cp. 1Co 9:24-27; Gal 2:2; Gal 5:7 ; 2Ti 2:5; 2Ti 4:7; Heb 12:1.
if that I may ] Better, if indeed I may. On this language of contingency, see note above on Php 3:11.
apprehend ] i.e., grasp. Cp. 1Co 9:24. All the English versions before 1611 have “ comprehend ” here. Both verbs now bear meanings which tend to mislead the reader here. The Greek verb is that rendered “ receive,” or “ obtain,” just above, only in a stronger (compound) form. He thinks of the promised crown, till in thought he not merely “receives” but “grasps” it, with astonished joy.
that for which also &c.] The Greek may be rendered grammatically either ( a) thus, or ( b) “ inasmuch as I was even &c.” Usage in St Paul (Rom 5:12; 2Co 5:4) is in favour of ( b); context is rather for ( a), which is adopted by Ellicott, and Alford, and in R.V. (text; margin gives ( b)). Lightfoot does not speak decidedly. We recommend ( a) for reasons difficult to explain without fuller discussion of the Greek than can be offered here. The meaning will thus be that he presses on to grasp the crown, with the animating thought that Christ, in the hour of conversion, grasped him with the express purpose in view that he, through the path of faith and obedience, might be glorified at last. Cp. Rom 8:30; where we see the “call” as the sure antecedent not to justification only but to glory; but antecedent in such a way as powerfully to cheer and strengthen the suffering saint in the path of the cross, not to leave him for a moment to fatalistic inaction. The rendering ( b) gives a meaning not far distant from this, though less distinctly.
Christ Jesus ] Read, with the documentary evidence, Christ.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Not as though I had already attained – This verse and the two following are full of allusions to the Grecian races. The word rendered attained signifies, to have arrived at the goal and won the prize, but without having as yet received it – The Pictorial Bible. The meaning here is, I do not pretend to have attained to what I wish or hope to be. He had indeed been converted; he had been raised up from the death of sin; he had been imbued with spiritual life and peace; but there was a glorious object before him which he had not yet received. There was to be a kind of resurrection which he had not arrived at. It is possible that Paul here may have had his eye on an error which prevailed to some extent in the early church, that the resurrection was already past 2Ti 2:18, by which the faith of some had been perverted. How far this error had spread, or on what it was founded, is not now known; but it is possible that it might have found advocates extensively in the churches. Paul says, however, that he entertained no such opinion. He looked forward to a resurrection which had not yet occurred. He anticipated it as a glorious event yet to come, and he purposed to secure it by every effort which he could make.
Either were already perfect – This is a distinct assertion of the apostle Paul that he did not regard himself as a perfect man. He had not reached that state where he was free from sin. It is not indeed a declaration that no one was perfect, or that no one could be in this life but it is a declaration that he did not regard himself as having attained to it. Yet who can urge better claims to having attained perfection than Paul could have done? Who has surpassed him in love, and zeal, and self-denial, and true devotedness to the service of the Redeemer? Who has more elevated views of God, and of the plan of salvation? Who prays more, or lives nearer to God than he did? That must be extraordinary piety which surpasses that of the apostle Paul; and he who lays claim to a degree of holiness which even Paul did not pretend to, gives little evidence that he has any true knowledge of himself, or has ever been imbued with the true humility which the gospel produces.
It should be observed, however, that many critics, as Bloomfield, Koppe, Rosenmuller, Robinson (Lexicon), Clarke, the editor of The Pictorial Bible, and others, suppose the word used here – teleioo – not to refer to moral or Christian perfection, but to be an allusion to the games that were celebrated in Greece, and to mean that he had not completed his course and arrived at the goal, so as to receive the prize. According to this, the sense would be, that he had not yet received the crown which he aspired after as the result of his efforts in this life. It is of importance to understand precisely what he meant by the declaration here; and, in order to this, it will be proper to look at the meaning of the word elsewhere in the New Testament. The word properly means, to complete, to make perfect, so as to be full, or so that nothing shall be wanting. In the New Testament it is used in the following places, and is translated in the following manner: It is rendered fulfilled in Luk 2:23; Joh 19:28; perfect, and perfected, in Luk 13:32; Joh 17:23; 2Co 12:9; Phi 3:12; Heb 2:10; Heb 5:9; Heb 7:19; Heb 9:9; Heb 10:1, Heb 10:14; Heb 11:40; Heb 12:23; Jam 2:22; 1Jo 2:5; 1Jo 4:12, 1Jo 4:17-18; finish, and finished, Joh 5:36; Act 20:24; and consecrated, Heb 7:28.
In one case Act 20:24, it is applied to a race or course that is run – That I might finish my course with joy; but this is the only instance, unless it be in the case before us. The proper sense of the word is that of bringing to an end, or rendering complete, so that nothing shall be wanting. The idea of Paul evidently is, that he had not yet attained that which would be the completion of his hopes. There was something which he was striving after, which he had not obtained, and which was needful to render him perfect, or complete. He lacked now what he hoped yet to attain to; and that which he lacked may refer to all those things which were wanting in his character and condition then, which he expected to secure in the resurrection. What he would then obtain, would be – perfect freedom from sin, deliverance from trials and temptations, victory over the grave, and the possession of immortal life.
As those things were needful in order to the completion of his happiness, we may suppose that he referred to them now, when he says that he was not yet perfect. This word, therefore, while it will embrace an allusion to moral character, need not be understood of that only, but may include all those things which were necessary to be observed in order to his complete felicity. Though there may be, therefore, an allusion in the passage to the Grecian foot-races, yet still it would teach that he did not regard himself as in any sense perfect in all respects, there were things wanting to render his character and condition complete, or what he desired they might ultimately be. The same is true of all Christians now. We are imperfect in our moral and religious character, in our joys, in our condition. Our state here is far different from that which will exist in heaven; and no Christian can say, anymore than Paul could, that he has obtained that which is requisite to the completion or perfection of his character and condition. He looks for something brighter and purer in the world beyond the grave. Though, therefore, there may be – as I think the connection and phraseology seem to demand – a reference to the Grecian games, yet the sense of the passage is not materially varied. It was still a struggle for the crown of perfection – a crown which the apostle says he had not yet obtained.
But I follow after – I pursue the object, striving to obtain it. The prize was seen in the distance, and he diligently sought to obtain it. There is a reference here to the Grecian races, and the meaning is, I steadily pursue my course; compare the notes at 1Co 9:24.
If that I may apprehend – If I may obtain, or reach, the heavenly prize. There was a glorious object in view, and he made most strenuous exertions to obtain it. The idea in the word apprehend is that of taking hold of, or of seizing suddenly and with eagerness; and, since there is no doubt of its being used in an allusion to the Grecian foot-races, it is not improbable that there is a reference to the laying hold of the pole or post which marked the goal, by the racer who had outstripped the other competitors, and who, by that act, might claim the victory and the reward.
That for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus – By Christ Jesus. The idea is, that he had been called into the service of the Lord Jesus, with a view to the obtaining of an important object. He recognized:
(1) The fact that the Lord Jesus had, as it were, laid hold on him, or seized him with eagerness or suddenness, for so the word used here – katelemphthen – means (compare Mar 9:18; Joh 8:3-4; Joh 12:35; 1Th 5:4; and,
(2) The fact that the Lord Jesus had laid hold on him, with a view to his obtaining the prize. He had done it in order that he might obtain the crown of life, that he might serve him faithfully here, and then be rewarded in heaven.
We may learn, from this:
(1) That Christians are seized, or laid hold on, when they are converted, by the power of Christ, to be employed in his service.
(2) That there is an object or purpose which he has in view. He designs that they shall obtain a glorious prize, and he apprehends them with reference to its attainment.
(3) That the fact that Christ has called us into his service with reference to such an object, and designs to bestow the crown upon us, need not and should not dampen our exertions, or diminish our zeal. It should rather, as in the case of Paul, excite our ardor, and urge us forward. We should seek diligently to gain that, for the securing of which, Christ has called us into his service. The fact that he has thus arrested us in our mad career of sin; that he has by his grace constrained us to enter into his service, and that he contemplates the bestowment upon us of the immortal crown, should be the highest motive for effort. The true Christian, then, who feels that heaven is to be his home, and who believes that Christ means to bestow it upon him, will make the most strenuous efforts to obtain it. The prize is so beautiful and glorious, that he will exert every power of body and soul that it may be his. The belief, therefore, that God means to save us, is one of the highest incentives to effort in the cause of religion.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Php 3:12
Not as though I had attained, either were already perfect–In these words we have
I.
A disclaiming of present perfection in two expressions.
1. Not as though I had already attained. This is an agonistical word for receiving the reward due to the conqueror. In the races there was a crown of leaves generally set over the goal, that the foremost might catch it, and carry it away with him (1Co 9:24; 1Ti 6:12).
2. Or were already perfect–another agonistical word. Though the runner was to seize the crown as his right, yet the judges interposed before he could put it on his head, and when he received it from them he was adjudged a perfect racer or wrestler as the case might be. The word perfect was used–
(1) Of their strength and agility, having passed the agonistical exercises (2Co 13:9).
(2) Of their reward. When the crown was adjudged them, or when they had done worthily, the more excellent had the more excellent rewards, which were called perfect crowns.
II. An earnest endeavour for the future.
III. The reason of his diligence. Christs apprehending is–
1. In effectual calling, as He puts us upon this race, or inclineth us to it.
2. By constant support, for having apprehended us He still upholds us. (T. Manton, D. D.)
I. None of Gods children, however assured, can look upon themselves as out of danger till their race be ended.
1. Gods children may have assurance, as Paul had. This is the ease–
(1) When grace discovers itself in eminent self-denying acts, and is not a sleepy habit or a buried seed (1Th 1:3).
(2) When evidence is not blotted by frequent interruptions of the spiritual life by sin (2Co 1:12).
(3) Because they have the Spirit of adoption (Gal 4:6; Eph 1:13-14).
(4) They have a sense of the love of God and His rich mercies in Christ.
(a) By acquaintance with Him (Joh 22:21).
(b) By intercourse with Him (1Pe 2:3; Eph 3:12).
(c) By the experiences of their afflictions (Rom 5:3-5).
(d) By present rewards of obedience (Joh 14:21; Joh 14:23).
(5) The change wrought is a sensible one and may he plainly discovered (Eph 5:8).
2. Gods children cannot look upon themselves as past all care and holy solicitude. Reasons.
(1) Because there is no period put to our duty but life. It is not enough to begin with God; we must go on in His way till we come home to Him (Heb 3:6; Heb 3:14; Heb 6:11; Php 2:12).
(2) During our lives there is something more to suffer, some lust to conquer, some grace to strengthen.
(3) Some have left their first love (Rev 2:4); have fainted in the race (Gal 5:7).
(4) The nature of this assurance is to exclude fear, which hath torment; but not the fear of caution and diligence (Pro 28:14; 1Pe 1:17).
3. Uses.
(1) To show us the difference between carnal security and solid assurance.
(a) There is a difference in the grounds; the one is a slight presumption of the end without the means, and the other goeth on solid evidences (1Jn 3:19). The one is sand, the other is rock.
(b) They differ in effects; the one benumbeth the conscience into stupid peace; the other revives the conscience and fills it with joy and peace through believing (Rom 15:13; 2Co 1:12; 1Pe 1:8).
(c) They differ in the way they are procured or maintained. Foolish presumption costs a man nothing, but true assurance is gotten with diligence (2Pe 1:10; 2Pe 3:14), and is kept with watchfulness (Heb 4:1; Heb 12:28-29; 1Co 10:1-2).
(2) To teach us the necessity of
(a) diligence;
(b) watchfulness;
(c) self-denial.
II. Whatsoever degrees we have attained we must press forward to perfection.
1. Reasons.
(1) By this our title is assured.
(2) By this our hearts are more prepared in this life for our happiness (Col 1:12; 1Jn 3:3).
(3) By this our glory and blessedness are increased.
2. Use: to persuade us to get ground in our race, which we do as our title is mere assured by self-denying obedience.
(1) Our end will bear it, to see God and enjoy Him (1Th 2:12). How much better than all those worldly things upon which we lay out so much.
(2) The glory of God requires it. Less grace may serve for our safety and comfort (Joh 15:8; Mat 5:16).
(3) The notion of grace implies it, which is continuous (Pro 4:18; 2Co 4:16). There is requisite to this–
(a) A strong faith in the world to come (Heb 10:39).
(b) A fervent love, levelling and directing all our actions to Gods glory (2Co 5:14-15).
(c) A lively hope quickening and strengthening our resolutions for God and heaven 1Pe 1:13).
III. It is a great encouragement in the spiritual race that Christ apprehended us for this end that we may apprehend the crown of life. Christs apprehension implies–
1. That any motion towards that which is spiritually good proceeds first and wholly from Christ. He is author and finisher (Act 16:14; Act 26:18; 1Co 2:14).
2. A motion and subordinate operation on our part. He infuses a new life, which we receive from Christ to use it and live by it (Son 1:4; Rom 12:2).
3. The tendency of this life is to God and heaven (2Pe 1:4; Col 3:1-3).
4. Christ having apprehended us still keeps us in His own hands.
5. Use: to press us to answer Christs apprehension by our exact, resolved, diligent pursuit of eternal life, that will declare that we are apprehended and will be guided by Christ to the land of promise. Two motives.
(1) Our obligation to Christ.
(2) Christs interest in us. (T. Manton, D. D.)
Conversion illustrated in the case of Paul
I. How is the work of conversion effected. Paul says, I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. How this was done may be seen from Act 9:16.
1. Christ got possession of Pauls understanding by appearing to Him in glory. Having once seen the Saviours glory Paul could not resist His claims.
2. Christ got possession of Pauls heart by assuring him of His grace.
3. Christ got possession of Pauls life. Having surrendered mind and affections he would not be likely to make any reserve. Nor did he; and ever after he said, To me to live is Christ.
II. To what is the work of conversion expected to lead? To perfection. Paul expected to be perfect–
1. In character.
2. In his whole nature–physically (verse 21); morally, by being sanctified wholly; intellectually, by having all the powers of the mind so fitly harmonized that there should be no undue preponderance, but that each should lend its own proper aid in working out for the renewed man that eternal progression in knowledge to which he is destined.
3. In all his external circumstances. The society, employments, joys of heaven, will make us fully and forever blest.
III. Who are the subjects of this change? How are we to know them? What proof did Paul give of it? The text shows us–
1. That he highly appreciated his future destiny (verses 20-21; 2Co 4:18; 2Co 5:1-9).
2. That he cherished a lively sense of his present deficiencies–Not as though, etc.
3. That he made it the one great business of his life to realize the blessings of the gospel, both in this life and the next (verses 12-14 and 7-9). Compare yourselves with Paul. (J. Jordan.)
A call to perseverance
I. Our attainments vary, but none is actually secure or absolutely perfect.
II. Our duty, to continue in the exercise of faith, self-denial effort.
III. Our hope. To gain the full reward, to which Christ has designed us. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
Christian perfection
I. The sense in which Christians are not perfect. They are not so perfect as to be free–
1. From ignorance: they may know many things material and spiritual, but they do not know the Almighty unto perfection nor many of His ways.
2. From mistake. They do not mistake things essential to salvation; but in non-essentials they err and frequently: in regard, e.g., to facts and their circumstances, and the character of men, and the interpretation of Scripture.
3. From infirmities. They are free indeed from what the worldly calls his infirmity–drunkenness, etc.
but not from weakness or slowness of understanding, and the infirmities of speech and behaviour which spring there from.
4. From temptation, since Christ was tempted.
5. Now are they absolutely perfect. How much soever a man has attained he must yet grow in grace.
II. The sense in which Christians are perfect.
1. They are free from outward sin. (1Jn 3:8-9; 1Jn 3:18; Rom 6:1-2; Rom 6:5-7; Rom 6:11; Rom 6:14-18; 1Pe 4:1-2). It is not said, He sinneth not wilfully, habitually, as other men, or as he did before. Objection
(1) But did not Abraham, Moses, and David commit sin. Yes, but it does not follow that Christians must. Those who argue so seem never to have considered Mat 11:11. We cannot measure the privileges of Christians by those formerly given to the Jews. Objection
(2) But are there not assertions which prove the same thing? (1Ki 8:46; 2Ch 6:36; Ecc 7:20). Answer: From the day that sin entered the world there was not a just man that sinned not until the Son of God was manifested to take away our sins. The heir as long as he is a child differeth nothing from a servant. Holy men of old were, during the infant state of the Church, in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fulness of the times was come, etc. Now therefore we are no more servants but sons. So that whatsoever was the case of those under the law, since the gospel was given he that is born of God sinneth not. It is of great importance to observe the difference between the two dispensations (Joh 7:28). That this great salvation from sin was not given till Jesus was glorified, St. Peter plainly testifies (1Pe 1:9-10). Objection
(3) But did not the apostles sin–St. Paul by his contention, St. Peter by his dissimulation? Yes, but how does that prove that Christians must commit sin. No necessity of sinning was laid upon them. The grace of God was sufficient for them, and it is surely sufficient for us. No man is tempted above that he is able to bear, and with the temptation there is a way of escape. Objection
(4) But does not James contradict this (verse 2). No; he does not refer to himself or Christians (see verses 9 and 1), where we is general or exclusive of Christians. Objection
(5) How shall we reconcile St. John with himself? (1Jn 1:8; 1Jn 1:10). Observe
(a) verse 10 fixes the sense of verse 8.
(b) The point under consideration is not whether we have or have not sinned heretofore; and neither of these verses asserts that we do sin, or commit it now.
(c) Verse 9 explains both verses 10 and 8.
We are cleansed from all unrighteousness that we may go and sin no more. St. John is well consistent with himself as well as with the other holy writers. He declares–
(a) The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.
(b) No man can say I have not sinned, have no sin to be cleansed from.
(c) But God is ready to save us from past and future sins.
(d) These things write, etc. (1Jn 2:1-2).
(e) But lest there should be any doubt on a subject of such vast importance the apostle resumes the subject in Chap. 3, where he carefully explains his own meaning (verses 7-10).
2. They are free from evil thoughts. But thoughts concerning evil are not always evil thoughts. Our Lord doubtless thought of the things spoken by the devil yet He had no sinful thought. And even thence it follows, neither have Christians (Luk 6:40). And indeed whence should evil thoughts proceed in the servant who is as His Master (Mar 7:21, cf. Mat 12:33; Mat 7:17-18). The same happy privilege St. Paul asserts from his own experience (2Co 10:4, etc).
3. From evil tempers. This is evident again from the declaration, Everyone that is perfect shall be as His Master. Christ had just been delivering some of the sublimest doctrines of Christianity, and some most grievous to flesh and blood–Love your enemies, etc. What other than this can St. Paul mean by I am crucified with Christ, etc. If 1Jn 3:3 be true, then the Christian–
(1) Is purified from pride, for Christ was lowly of heart;
(2) from self-will or desire, for Christ desired to do only the will of the Father;
(3) from anger in the common sense of the word, for Christ was gentle and long-suffering. Conclusion: Thus doth Christ save His people from their sins. We shall be saved say some, but not till death. How is this to be reconciled with 1Jn 1:5; 1Jn 4:17. See 2Co 7:1. (John Wesley, M. A.)
Apprehended that I may apprehend
I. Paul was apprehended by Christ or laid hold of. The reference is to the circumstances of His conversion.
1. What was it that arrested Paul? The perception of a perfection of moral character actualized before him in Christ and made possible for him through faith. Up to this time he had been seeking external things, but now with the vision of Christ there came upon him the conviction that even if he gained all these things he would still be fatally defective in the highest elements of his being. Thus, therefore, he was confronted with the great question: Shall I go on and be content with the hollowness of Phariseeism and its inevitable issue? or shall I go back and build my life anew after the matchless pattern which has been set before me? He could not get away till he had given it an answer.
2. There is not one who has ever come in contact with the gospel of Christ, who has not been laid hold of thus.
(1) Young man, as you have been devoting yourself to the idolatry of wealth, or to the pursuit of pleasure or ambition, you have been laid hold of. Christ has come to you through the faithful preacher, and brought you to a standstill by the death of some companion, or laid His hand upon you in sickness, and held you to your couch face to face with the question: Have I been living a life such as an immortal man should live?
(2) My middle-aged friend, you know about this too. Christ apprehended you and asked you to revise all your theories of life when you buried your darling out of your sight; when your business went all wrong, etc.
II. Paul did not refuse to lay hold of that which Jesus set before him.
1. There is here, therefore, a human agency as well as a Divine. The stopping of St. Paul in his career, the setting of the truth before him–all that was done for him. He had to choose for himself whether or no he would transfer himself from the service of the world to the service of Christ.
2. But not every one who has been laid hold of has thus responded to the Lords appeal–the young ruler who went away sorrowful; Herod, Felix, Agrippa.
3. So with some here. They have seen the wrongness of their present career, but they have not chosen to give it up for the way of Christ; because to do so would have involved the sacrifice of all that hitherto they have cherished. But what can the world do for you, that for its sake you should put away from you the glorious heritage which Jesus promises?
III. Paul was not content with a mere partial attainment of that which Christ had set before him.
1. If any man might have been excused for cherishing feelings of complacency it was Paul. Yet he did not go to sleep over the singularity of his conversion; nor rock himself in the cradle of his apostolic success, nor soothe himself with the opiate of his official position. No, ever his eye was fixed on Christ. The more elevated he became in character, the more elevated Christ became to him.
2. Let the distance between you and Christ shake you out of your complacency. Tell us less of what is behind. Dont be always recounting the story of your conversion. Forget even your joining the Church. Look forward.
IV. Paul was not discouraged because he had not yet fully apprehended. There is no note of despondency. His words are full of joyful exhilaration. There are three elements in this aspiration which should encourage those who grieve because they cannot realize perfection.
1. The joy of the soul is inseparably connected with the effort to reach that which is above it.
2. In this aspiration there was the evidence that he had made some progress.
3. The consciousness that he was not striving in his own might. He who helped Paul will help us. Even if we fail occasionally let us not be discouraged, for he who slips on the steep mountain is still higher up than he who is sleeping in the valley. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Apprehended but not apprehending
Who that has read that melancholy autobiography left behind him by John Stuart Mill can help recalling here the description which he has given of that which might have been the religious crisis of his life? These are his words: I was in a dull state of nerves, such as everybody is occasionally liable to, unsusceptible to enjoyment or pleasurable excitement–one of those moods when what is pleasure at other times becomes insipid or indifferent–the state, I should think, in which converts to Methodism usually are when smitten by their first conviction of sin. In this frame of mind it occurred to me to put the question directly to myself: Suppose that all your objects in life were realized; that all the changes in institutions and opinions which you are looking forward to could be completely effected at this very instant; would this be a great joy and happiness to you? And an irrepressible self-consciousness distinctly answered, No. At this my heart sank within me; the whole foundation on which my life was constructed fell down. All my happiness was to have been found in the continual pursuit of this end. The end had ceased to charm, and how could there ever again be any interest in the means? I seemed to have nothing left to live for. Thus even to him, nurtured though he had been in atheism, and educated without a religion, the Saviour came, laying on him His arresting hand, and beseeching him to adopt a more stable foundation for his life. But alas! he, too, made the great refusal, and deliberately put away from him that which would have furnished him with a model that can never lose its relative superiority, no matter how we ourselves may grow, and with a motive that can never lose its power. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
The misfortune of a realized ideal
I recall the story of the artist, who, standing before the latest production of his hands, burst into tears, and on being asked for the reason of his emotion, replied, Because I am satisfied with my work. He felt he had done all that was in him; that, in a word, he had overtaken his ideal, and so henceforward the joy of his art for him was gone. Perhaps, too, it was something of the same sort that made Alexander weep when he had conquered India. He had filled in the outline of his life which he had made for himself, and thought not that there was yet another world left him where conquest would be far more honourable, even the world within himself. But the Christian is delivered from this danger. He has always the joy of advancement, while yet there is ever something more in Christ beckoning him forward. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Php 3:12-14
Not as though I had already attained
I.
The imperfection of our attainments.
II. The grandeur of our calling.
III. The necessity of effort.
IV. The prospect of reward. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
Failure and progress
1. It is a painful feeling to look back on life and feel that a great object is unaccomplished. The philosopher has this, who in spite of brilliant prospects finds after hard effort the problems of life to be insoluble. The would be liberator of an oppressed nation feels the same when, after vast expenditure of time and money and suffering, he dies with a tyrant on the throne and the people no better for freedom than when he began. The Christians feeling is even more painful, when he measures what he has done with what he might or ought to have done.
2. This, too, has to be observed of the Christian that, as he advances in the Christian course, his standard of perfection rises, and what once satisfied him now fails to do so.
3. The feeling of not having attained is also disheartening. Is the past to be the criterion of the future?
4. The feeling is deepened by the thought of all the struggle and strife to attain perfection, and all seemingly to little purpose. And soon he must meet the Great Judge who, however merciful, commands him to be perfect.
5. The apostle withdraws our attention from this feeling about the past to the future.
I. It is not a healthy thing to brood over past sin.
1. There is such a thing as disturbing the balance between the two parts of repentance, sorrow for sin and active obedience.
(1) Sorrow for sin is foundation work. Should a man be employed all his life in laying foundations?
(2) It is subordinate work, for it has no value apart from its action on character.
2. Brooding over the past has a dangerous influence on character, and has a tendency to remorse or despair.
3. The natural course is from sorrow to pass to obedience, remembering gospel provisions and motives.
II. I must not infer what my religious future will be from the past. The doctrine of probabilities is a very good one to go upon in worldly matters, wherever a permanent law prevails. Here the rule would he remembering the things behind, etc. But there are factors in the spiritual life which can change the face of things. To say that it is improbable that the Spirit will give you more strength hereafter than now would be an impious restraint on the action of the freest of Beings. Such a habit, moreover, is destructive of faith and hope. Forget the past and believe that it is possible for you to grow faster in goodness in one year than you have grown in ten; and that there are resources inconceivably great within your reach.
III. We must not remember the past as our standard of action or character. Here we must draw a distinction. The man who is conscious of high purposes running through the web of life may be glad, as he takes his reviews of bygone days, that the grace of God has enabled him to live on the whole near to the level of Christian principles–but there must ever be a discontent with themselves in the minds of Christians. And he may well suspect himself of declension or something more who is content to live as he has lived. Hence to forget the past and to remember it in order to avoid its evils are the same thing.
IV. The soul must be so occupied with the future that the past shall only be subordinate and subsidiary. If I have been in wretchedness the remembrance is of no account except to help me to escape from it. If I have been poor exertion to gain is the main thing. Whatever the past, the Christians future has in it possibilities almost infinite. (Pres. Woolsey.)
Aspiration
I. The goal at which the apostle aimed was moral perfection. No man can define this moral perfection; but let no man object on that account. All the grandest things defy definition. Music, the perfection of sound; beauty, the perfection of form and colour; poetry, the perfection of thought–no one can define these, nor can any one the music, beauty, and poetry of our highest nature and life.
II. The apostle acknowledges that he has not reached this perfection.
1. Are we to understand that Paul felt unsubdued pride, selfishness, etc. No. That which is not perfect is imperfect; but sin is not imperfection; it is contradiction. The contradictory element was destroyed, but imperfection remained, the normal elements of his nature had not attained their fulness and strength and beauty.
2. Who of us has attained? We are told of young people who have finished their education. Think of having finished ones education with a world like this about us! Much more in the things of Christ.
III. The apostle tells us what he does to attain that moral perfection which is the prize of victory. One thing I do, etc. Scientists tell us of arrested developements in nature, but instances of that in spiritual life are more numerous. This is to a large extent because men are trammelled by the things behind.
1. There are the restrictions of habit. Terrible is the peril of routine, the benumbing influence of familiarity and commonplace. We must break away from this.
2. The discouragements of failure. Here the waters of forgetfulness are the waters of life. We are saved by hope, not by memory.
3. The tyranny of success. The success of many musicians, artists, preachers, masters, etc,, contents them, and instead of being an inspiration is a stultification. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Pauls ideal of life
The whole doctrine of the Christian ideal is contained in this section of apostolic experience. An ideal is sometimes called a standard, and so, in some sense, it is; but a standard is something measured, whereas an ideal is changeable, ever mounting higher and higher. Men do not go on a journey or build a house aimlessly, much less should they live aimlessly. They should set before them a distinct idea of character. We call it an ideal because it proceeds from the faculty of ideality or imagination, and presents all subjects in their perfectness. It is a glorious element in the human mind, for there is so much to draw men down from what is noble. And an ideal should always run far beyond realization. The man whose standard is far beneath his power must inevitably go down.
I. There are three classes of men.
1. Those who have no ideal whatever. They are born Hottentots and they remain so. If they are born into mechanical life, mechanics they remain. These have food and raiment, and, being fired with no inspiration, they are contented.
2. There are those who have an ideal which is pure romancing. They are simple dreamers. They imagine themselves to be now a warrior, now an artist, now an orator, and fill up the hour of their dream with the fancied dignity. These things have no relation to practical life; on the contrary they come back with less nerve and a greater inclination to avoid the burdens of life.
3. There are those who have a clear conception of the possibilities of human development, and who bring enough of reason with their imagination to give definiteness and purpose to their ideals. In this class we should seek to be found.
II. There are many kinds of ideals.
1. Those which respect the external, secular condition of men. There are those who say, I will not be a second workman to any man. Their ideal lies in their trade. The ideal of others consists in being rich, or high up in society. These things are not wrong, if they are parts of a comprehensive scheme that includes everything–body and soul. It is better to have these as ideals than to be aimless. But it is imperfect and may be ruinous. A man may sacrifice his own life and moral well being for the purpose of pouring molten gold into his childrens throats that destroys him in making and them in taking.
2. There are those who rise higher and take in an ideal which includes secular character as well as secular condition; who propose to be honoured among men; some by art, some by literature, some by statesmanship, etc. They intend to be respected for integrity and known for power. But these aim at character only as a thing within the bounds of time, and necessarily dwarf themselves. For man is a creature of two worlds, and in this he is at his least estate.
3. Others include the whole manhood for both worlds–the apostles ideal. He substantially declared, Nothing is done while anything remains undone. Not as though I had attained.
III. This delineates the noblest form of ambition and the noblest ideal of life. Life is transformed by it.
1. Such an ideal unites and harmonizes life and redeems it from being a mere series of disconnected experiences and passages.
2. It stimulates and inspires the soul. A man may have no motive to life who merely has an ideal of wealth or ambition when these become impossible to him. You cannot make a man like Paul bankrupt. He has still, when all is gone, a house not made with hands.
3. It redeems men from indolence.
4. It is the cure for conceit.
5. It maintains spring and enterprise to the end of life, and fires men up at the very last with solemn purposes and noble resolves. Conclusion: Avoid one rock which is fatal to nobility. Because you have broken your purpose dont let it go unmended: when you have failed to reach your ideal dont despair but try again. (H. W. Beecher.)
The ideal and the actual
I. The ideal of Christian life and character. St. Paul was a most ambitious man, but his aim was to be something. So his ideal was personal, not something wrought out or imagined or embodied in a system or a creed. He wanted to be like Christ. That for him was perfection.
II. The apostle had not reached his mark.
1. He had a consciousness of incompletion which was forced upon him by a variety of experiences.
(1) His particular form of ambition–being as distinct from having–which, connected with Christ, was an egoism which promoted true humility. Hence he was keenly alive to his imperfections.
(2) His sense of limitations. The feeling would be forced upon him that he was capable of better things.
2. All this has its lessons.
(1) It gives us heart for ourselves and courage in our work for others.
(2) It rebukes self-satisfaction and complacency.
(3) It teaches us to recognize Christian character below perfection, and to cultivate charity for the imperfect.
III. But it was the fixed practical purpose of his life to reach it. Did he do nothing beside? Nothing. He did indeed many things, but the many made one. And had he been a Manchester man he would so have bought and sold, etc., that in doing it he would have been doing the one thing.
IV. His method of progress.
1. Forgetfulness of things which belong to immature and unripened states.
2. A gathering up of the totality of nature into purpose and effort. (W. Hubbard.)
Few believers perfect here
When Allston died he left many pictures which were mostly sketches, yet with here and there a part finished up with wonderful beauty. So I think Christians go to heaven with their virtues mostly in outline, only here and there a part completed. But that which is in part shall be done away, and God shall finish the pictures in His own forms and colours. (H. W. Beecher.)
Aim at perfection
I. Thy heed of it. Our actual attainments are small–we have much to learn and experience.
II. The means. A humble estimate of ourselves–leaving the things behind and reaching to those that are before–pressing to the goal.
III. The incentive. We would be perfect (see Barnes). In non-essentials we may differ, and God will in due time set us right–but in this we must have one rule and one mind. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
Christian progress
I. Wherein we may make progress.
1. In our views of the excellence of religion.
2. In our love to God and Christ.
3. In holiness.
4. In heavenly-mindedness.
II. The necessity of this progress. This is seen–
1. In the frequency with which the Christian life is compared to a warfare and a race.
2. In the urgent commands of God.
3. In the nature of religion to which progress is indispensable.
III. The means.
1. A firm belief that Divine influences may be obtained at all times, and to the full extent of our wants, by humble, earnest prayer.
2. Constant application to Divine ordinances.
3. A continual view of the Cross.
4. A constant vision of the prize.
5. A study of eminent examples. (T. Craig.)
The struggle for perfection
We go into a sculptors studio, and there stands a block of marble on which the sculptor is working; the marble is all white and pure, yet the image is imperfect; the hand is beginning to beckon, the foot to move, thought is gathering on the brow, the lips seem as if they would soon speak, yet the statue is still imperfect; nothing faulty in the material, but it is not yet wrought into the fulness of the sculptors ideal. So it was with the apostle; the vicious element was purged, but his deep soul had not yet been wrought into the fulness of the Divine ideal. He went out after larger measures, intenser experiences of love, power, light, fellowship, and blessedness, beyond all his past or present enjoyments. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Unrealized possibilities
You remember how the mightiest discoverer in natural science of modem times, Sir Isaac Newton, said, towards the close of his career, that he was but as a child who had gathered a few shells on the shores of an illimitable sea. He saw stretching before him a vast ocean of knowledge, which his life had been too short, which even his powers had been too weak, to explore. What he felt in things natural, St. Paul felt in things spiritual–that there were heights above him which he had never scaled, depths beneath him which he had never fathomed; that, rich as he was in Christ, there were yet hidden in that Lord treasures of wisdom and knowledge which would make him far richer still; that God was unsearchable, unfathomable, a shoreless sea, an ocean of perfections; of which he understood a little, of which he was understanding ever something more; but which man could no more take in than he could hold the sea and all its multitudinous waves in the hollow of his hand. Skirts of His glory St. Paul had seen, but not His train which filled the temple of the universe. Secrets of Christs power he had known, who in this very Epistle declared, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me; and yet he felt that there was a power of Christ, transcending all which even he had known; and like some great earthly conqueror, who should esteem nothing won while anything remained to win, nothing accomplished while anything was yet possible to accomplish; who slighted, despised, trampled under foot all his old successes in the eager pursuit of new; even so this mighty spiritual athlete, this captain, commander, conqueror, leader of the hosts of the Lord, could not stay his steps, could not arrest his course. (Abp. Trench.)
More and yet more
You know what the general said when one of his officers rode up and cried, Sir, we have taken a standard. Take another, cried he. Another officer salutes him, and exclaims, Sir, we have taken two guns. Take two more, was the sole reply. This way lies the reward of holy service: you have done much; you shall do more. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
No retreat
It is said that at the battle of Alma, when one of the regiments was being beaten back by the Russians, the ensign in front stood his ground as the troops retreated. The captain shouted to him to bring back the colours. But the reply of the ensign was, Bring up the men to the colours. The dignity of Immanuels ministry can never be lowered to meet our littleness. The men must come up to the colours. (New Testament Anecdotes.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 12. Not as though I had already attained] For I have not yet received the prize; I am not glorified, for I have not finished my course; and I have a conflict still to maintain, and the issue will prove whether I should be crowned. From the beginning of the 11th to the end of the 17th verse there is one continued allusion to the contests at the Olympic games; exercises with which, and their laws, the Philippians were well acquainted. Php 3:11-17
Either were already perfect] Nor am I yet perfect; I am not yet crowned, in consequence of having suffered martyrdom. I am quite satisfied that the apostle here alludes to the Olympic games, and the word is the proof; for is spoken of those who have completed their race, reached the goal, and are honoured with the prize. Thus it is used by Philo, Allegoriar. lib. iii. page 101, edit. Mangey: , , () “When is it, O soul, that thou shalt appear to have the victory? Is it not when thou shalt be perfected, (have completed thy course by death,) and be honoured with prizes and crowns?”
That signified martyrdom, we learn most expressly from Clemens Alexand., Stromata, lib. iii. page 480, where he has these remarkable words:-
, , , ‘
“We call martyrdom , or perfection, not because man receives it as the end, , or completion of life; but because it is the consummation , of the work of charity.”
So Basil the great, Hom. in Ps 116:13:
,
“I will receive the cup of salvation; that is, thirsting and earnestly desiring to come, by martyrdom, to the consummation.”
So OEcumenius, on Acts 28:
, , .
“All the years of Paul, from his calling to his martyrdom, were thirty and five.”
And in Balsamon, Can. i. Ancyran., page 764:
is,
“To be crowned with the crown of martyrdom.”
Eusebius, Hist. Eccles, lib. vii. cap. 13, uses the word to express to suffer martyrdom. I have been the more particular here, because some critics have denied that the word has any such signification. See Suicer, Rosenmuller, Macknight, c.
St. Paul, therefore, is not speaking here of any deficiency in his own grace, or spiritual state he does not mean by not being yet perfect, that he had a body of sin and death cleaving to him, and was still polluted with indwelling sin, as some have most falsely and dangerously imagined; he speaks of his not having terminated his course by martyrdom, which he knew would sooner or later be the case. This he considered as the , or perfection, of his whole career, and was led to view every thing as imperfect or unfinished till this had taken place.
But I follow after] . But I pursue; several are gone before me in this glorious way, and have obtained the crown of martyrdom; I am hurrying after them.
That I may apprehend] That I may receive those blessings to which I am called by Christ Jesus. There is still an allusion here to the stadium, and exercises there: the apostle considers Christ as the brabeus, or judge in the games, who proclaimed the victor, and distributed the prizes; and he represents himself as being introduced by this very brabeus, or judge, into the contest; and this brabeus brought him in with the design to crown him, if he contended faithfully. To complete this faithful contention is what he has in view; that he may apprehend, or lay hold on that for which he had been apprehended, or taken by the hand by Christ who had converted, strengthened, and endowed him with apostolical powers, that he might fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: by an elegant anticipation and correction, lest any should conclude from what he had written, as if he were now arrived at the height he aimed at in the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, and a full and perfect stature in that body, or almost at the very pitch, he doth here make a modest confession of his not attainment, (whatever false apostles might pretend to), 2Co 10:12; 12:6,7; but of his earnest desire and utmost endeavour to be raised to the complete holiness he was designed to,
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Eph 2:6.
But I follow after; he did pursue with all vigour, as those labouring in the agonistics, with all his might and main, not desponding of obtaining the goal, 1Co 9:26, with 2Co 4:8; with groanings and longings after utmost perfection, 2Co 5:4,6,7; 2Pe 3:12; as those perfected in glory, Heb 12:23.
If that I may apprehend that; if that, or whether that, (not as intimating any uncertainty, but his more earnest contending for holiness in the Christian race), I may lay hold on that attainment to be as holy as men shall be at the resurrection.
For which; even as, or for which, ( as we render it well so, Phi 4:10), i.e. for which end, or for this purpose, to be perfectly sanctified and glorified at the resurrection.
I am apprehended of Christ Jesus; he was at his effectual calling laid hold on by Christ, being found in whom, he was striving after perfection. This apprehended is a metaphor borrowed from those that run in a race, one taking hold of another to draw him after to win the prize as well as himself. He eyed Christ having taken him into his hand, as one that would not suffer him to be plucked out by any opposers, Joh 10:28. He knew that Christ, having brought him nigh unto God, and undertook to work such a measure of holiness in him, one day would completely glorify him, so that, whatever he passed through, nothing should be lost, Joh 6:39.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. Translate, “Not thatI,” c. (I do not wish to be understood as saying that,&c.).
attained“obtained,”namely, a perfect knowledge of Christ, and of the power of His death,and fellowship of His sufferings, and a conformity to His death.
either were alreadyperfect“or am already perfected,” thatis, crowned with the garland of victory, my course completed,and perfection absolutely reached. The image is that of a racecourse throughout. See 1Co 9:24Heb 12:23. See TRENCH[Greek Synonyms of the New Testament].
I follow after“Ipress on.”
apprehend . . .apprehended“If so be that I may lay hold onthat (namely, the prize, Php3:14) for which also I was laid hold on by Christ”(namely, at my conversion, Son 1:4;1Co 13:12).
Jesusomitted in theoldest manuscripts. Paul was close to “apprehending” theprize (2Ti 4:7; 2Ti 4:8).Christ the Author, is also the Finisher of His people’s “race.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Not as though I had already attained,…. Or “received”; he had received much grace out of the fulness of it in Christ; he had received the gift of righteousness, the forgiveness of his sins, and the adoption of children; he had attained to a lively hope of the incorruptible inheritance, and had received a right unto it, and had a meetness for it; but as yet he had not received the thing itself, nor was he come to the end of his race, and so had not received the crown of righteousness laid up for him; he had not yet attained to perfect knowledge, nor perfect holiness, nor perfect happiness: wherefore he adds,
either were already perfect; he was perfect in comparison of others, that were in a lower class of grace, experience, and knowledge, in which sense the word is used in Php 3:15, and in 1Co 2:6; he was so, as perfection intends sincerity, uprightness, and integrity; the root of the matter, the truth of grace was in him; his faith was unfeigned, his love was without dissimulation, his hope was without hypocrisy, his conversation in the world was in godly simplicity, and his preaching and his whole conduct in his ministry were of sincerity, and in the sight of God: he was perfect as a new creature with respect to parts, having Christ formed in him, and all the parts of the new man, though not as to degrees; this new man not being as yet grown up to a perfect man, or to its full growth, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; he was perfect with respect to justification, being perfectly justified from all things, by the righteousness of Christ, but not with respect to sanctification; and though his sanctification was perfect in Christ, yet not in himself; his knowledge was imperfect, something was wanting in his faith, and sin dwelt in him, of which he sometimes grievously complained: now this he says, lest he should be thought to arrogate that to himself, which he had not:
but I follow after; Christ the forerunner, after perfect knowledge of him, perfect holiness from him, and perfect happiness with him: the metaphor is taken from runners in a race, who pursue it with eagerness, press forward with all might and main, to get up to the mark, in order to receive the prize; accordingly the Syriac version renders it,
, “I run”, and so the Arabic: the apostle’s sense is, that though he had not yet reached the mark, he pressed forward towards it, he had it in view, he stretched and exerted himself, and followed up very closely to it, in hope of enjoying the prize:
if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus; he was apprehended of Christ, when he met him in his way to Damascus, stopped him in his journey, laid him prostrate on the ground, and laid hold on him as his own, challenged and claimed his interest in him, Ac 9:3, as one that the Father had given him, and he had purchased by his blood; he entered into him, and took possession of him, and took up his residence in him, having dispossessed the strong man armed, and ever since held him as his own; and he apprehended, or laid hold on him, to bring him as he had engaged to do, to a participation of grace here, and glory hereafter; that he might know him himself, and make him known to others; that he might be made like unto him, have communion with him, and everlastingly enjoy him: and these things the apostle pursued after with great vehemence, that he might apprehend them, and be in full possession of them; and which he did, in the way and manner hereafter described.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Not that ( ). To guard against a misunderstanding as in John 6:26; John 12:6; 2Cor 1:24; Phil 4:11; Phil 4:17.
I have already obtained ( ). Rather, “I did already obtain,” constative second aorist active indicative of , summing up all his previous experiences as a single event.
Or am already made perfect ( ). Perfect passive indicative (state of completion) of , old verb from and that from (end). Paul pointedly denies that he has reached a spiritual impasse of non- development. Certainly he knew nothing of so-called sudden absolute perfection by any single experience. Paul has made great progress in Christlikeness, but the goal is still before him, not behind him.
But I press on ( ). He is not discouraged, but encouraged. He keeps up the chase (real idea in , as in 1Cor 14:1; Rom 9:30; 1Tim 6:11).
If so be that ( ). “I follow after.” The condition (third class, —, second aorist active subjunctive of ) is really a sort of purpose clause or aim. There are plenty of examples in the Koine of the use of and the subjunctive as here (Robertson, Grammar, p. 1017), “if I also may lay hold of that for which (‘ , purpose expressed by ) I was laid hold of (, first aorist passive of the same verb ) by Christ Jesus.” His conversion was the beginning, not the end of the chase.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Not as though [ ] . Lit., not that, as Rev. By this I do not mean to say that. For similar usage, see Joh 7:22; 2Co 1:24; Phi 4:17.
Had attained – were perfect [ – ] . Rev., have attained, am made perfect. There is a change of tenses which may be intentional; the aorist attained pointing to the definite period of his conversion, the perfect, am made perfect, referring to his present state. Neither when I became Christ ‘s did I attain, nor, up to this time, have I been perfected. With attained supply the prize from ver. 14. Rev., am made perfect, is preferable, as preserving the passive form of the verb. I follow after [] . Rev., better, press on. The A. V. gives the sense of chasing; whereas the apostle ‘s meaning is the pressing toward a fixed point. The continuous present would be better, I am pressing.
May apprehend [] American Rev., lay hold on. Neither A. V.
nor Rev. give the force of kai also; if I may also apprehend as well as pursue. For the verb, see on Joh 1:5.
For which also I am apprehended. Rev., correctly, was apprehended.
American Rev., laid hold on. Paul ‘s meaning is, ” I would grasp that for which Christ grasped me. Paul ‘s conversion was literally of the nature of a seizure. That for which Christ laid hold of him was indeed his mission to the Gentiles, but it was also his personal salvation, and it is of this that the context treats. Some render, seeing that also I was apprehended. Rev., in margin.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Not as though I had already attained” (ouch hoti ede elabon) “not that already I received” or I do not mean that I have already received-a state of complete likeness to the Lord. Rom 7:18; 1Jn 1:8-9.
2) “Either were already perfect” (e ede teleleiomai) or have already been perfected” Rom 7:21. Our Lord admonished his disciples to “be perfect” in a state of maturity or holiness, Mat 5:48. Anything less would have given sanction to sin or imperfection.
3) “But I follow after, if that I may apprehend” (dioko de ei kai katalabo) “But I go on, pursue perfection, maturity, if even I may lay hold on,” seek and find, pursue and overtake it, 1Co 11:1-2; Paul was pressing forward in the way of Divine life, 2Co 7:1; Heb 12:1; Heb 12:14-15.
4) “That for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” (eph ho kai katelemphthen hupo Christou lesou) “Inasmuch as I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus”; Jesus saves one with view to a purpose, that of ones glorifying God in his life. 1Co 10:31; Gal 6:14; Eph 3:21.
THE SCULPTOR AND HIS WORK
The artist that is satisfied with his transcript of his ideal will not grow any more. There is a touching story told of a modern sculptor who was found standing in front of his masterpiece, sunk in sad reverie, and when they asked him why he was so sad, “Because,” he answered, “I am satisfied with it” “I have embodied,” he would say, “all that I can think or feel. There it is. And because there is no discord between what I dream and what I can do, I feel that the limit of my growth is reached.”
–MacLaren
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
12 Not as though I had already apprehended Paul insists upon this, that he may convince the Philippians that he thinks of nothing but Christ — knows nothing else — desires nothing else — is occupied with no other subject of meditation. In connection with this, there is much weight in what he now adds — that he himself, while he had given up all hinderances, had nevertheless not attained that object of aim, and that, on this account, he always aimed and eagerly aspired at something further. How much more was this incumbent on the Philippians, who were still far behind him?
It is asked, however, what it is that Paul says he has not yet attained? For unquestionably, so soon as we are by faith ingrafted into the body of Christ, we have already entered the kingdom of God, and, as it is stated in Eph 2:6, we already, in hope, sit in heavenly places. I answer, that our salvation, in the mean time, is in hope, so that the inheritance indeed is secure; but we nevertheless have it not as yet in possession. At the same time, Paul here looks at something else — the advancement of faith, and of that mortification of which he had made mention. He had said that he aimed and eagerly aspired at the resurrection of the dead through fellowship in the Cross of Christ. He adds, that he has not as yet arrived at this. At what? At the attainment of having entire fellowship in Christ’s sufferings, having a full taste of the power of his resurrection, and knowing him perfectly. He teaches, therefore, by his own example, that we ought to make progress, and that the knowledge of Christ is an attainment of such difficulty, that even those who apply themselves exclusively to it, do nevertheless not attain perfection in it so long as they live. This, however, does not detract in any degree from the authority of Paul’s doctrine, inasmuch as he had acquired as much as was sufficient for discharging the office committed to him. In the mean time, it was necessary for him to make progress, that this divinely-furnished instructor of all might be trained to humility.
As also I have been apprehended This clause he has inserted by way of correction, that he might ascribe all his endeavors to the grace of God. It is not of much importance whether you read as, or in so far as; for the meaning in either case remains the same — that Paul was apprehended by Christ, that he might apprehend Christ; that is, that he did nothing except under Christ’s influence and guidance. I have chosen, however, the more distinct rendering, as it seemed to be optional.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
Php. 3:12. Not as though I had already attained.The word for attained may possibly refer to the turning-point in St. Pauls history, and so the phrase would mean, not as though by my conversion I did at once attain. This interpretation, which is Bishop Lightfoots, is challenged by Dr. Beet. It seems preferable, on other than grammatical grounds, because the following phrase, if we refer the former to conversion, is an advance of thought. Either were already perfect.Describing a present state which is the consequence of past processes. He has not reached the condition where nothing else can be added. He is most blessed who, as he mounts ever higher, sees perfection, like Abrahams mount of sacrifice, afar off.
Php. 3:13. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended.Some think a reference to the opinion of others lies in the words; but St. Paul seems to be denying of himself what others asserted (in various ways) of themselves. But this one thing I do.Lit. but one thing the words I do in A.V. and R.V. are a supplement. Meyer thinks it better to supply think. It does not seem necessary to supply anything. One thing the apostle never loses sight of; all the threads of life are gathered up into it. Forgetting the things that are behind.The thought of how much of the course has been covered, and how it was done, sinks in the consideration of what has yet to be achieved. And reaching forth.Like one of those eager charioteers of the Circus Maximus leaning forward in his flying car, bending over the shaken rein and the goaded steed (Farrar). St. Paul usually employs the figure of the foot-race; and the not looking back, which showed a right temper in a runner, would be fatal to the charioteer (Lightfoot).
Php. 3:14. I press toward the mark.I hasten towards the gaol where the adjudicators stand. For the prize of the high calling.If the hollow wraith of dying fame could lead the athletes to put forth almost superhuman effort, how much more worthy was the amaranthine crown of glory (1Pe. 5:4).
Php. 3:15. As many as be perfect.No longer novices, but having been initiated fully into the most secret mysteries of the faiththat Christian maturity in which one is no longer a babe in Christ. The reproachful irony which some detect hardly comports with the general tone of the letter.
Php. 3:16. Let as walk by the same rule.That which had been to them the means of such distinct progress had thus approved itself as the safe and prudent course to follow.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Php. 3:12-16
The Highest Type of Christian Experience.
I. The highest type of Christian experience is divinely outlined in Christ.That for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus (Php. 3:12). The prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Php. 3:14). The prize is not definitely described, but God through the gospel calls upon the soul to take hold of some great, dimly portrayed good, some rich spiritual blessing, some fulness and splendour of character to be secured by a fuller knowledge of Christ. If we say the prize is heaven or the kingdom of God, what is the heavenly kingdom but the fulness of Christ? Though not explained in detail, the prize is sufficiently outlined in Christ, by the master-hand of the divine Artist, as to make it an object of intense longing and strenuous effort to possess. The soul yearns to attain a moral and spiritual perfection found only in Christ, and which the unending development of the beauties of His character are constantly disclosing in ever-growing splendour, and which closer union with Him alone can seize and appropriate.
II. The effort to attain the highest type of Christian experience is stimulated by conscious defect.Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend (Php. 3:12). The more clearly the apostle saw his privilege in Christ, the more conscious was he of his shortcomings. There is no progress possible to the man who does not see and mourn over his defects. The soul of all improvement is the improvement of the soul; and it is only a keen sense of need that stimulates the soul to continuous and repeated efforts. The ideal is ever ahead of the actual, revealing its defects and exciting to fresh and more earnest endeavours.
III. The highest type of Christian experience is attained only by strenuous and continuous effort.But this one thing I do, I press toward the mark (Php. 3:13-14). The racer, fixing his eye upon the goal, leans forward, and turning his back upon things behind, presses with all speed towards the prize he covets. If he turns aside, he misses the mark and loses the garland. The great prizes of life are gained only by persevering labour. However prodigious may be the gifts of genius they can only be developed and brought to perfection by toil and study. Think of Michael Angelo working for a week without taking off his clothes, of Handel hollowing every key of his harpsichord like a spoon by incessant practice, and of the sculptor polishing his statue with unwearied repetitions because he said the image in my head is not yet in my hands. The prize of the Christian racethe crown of eternal life and blessednessis worthy of the most laborious and self-denying efforts. When at times the heart grows weary in the struggle, a glimpse of the diadem of beauty obtained by faith revives the flagging energies.
IV. Those who do not see the obligation of striving after the highest type of Christian experience shall be aided with divine light.If in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you (Php. 3:15). The difference of view was not some wilful and wicked conception, or some wretched prejudice adhered to with inveterate or malignant obstinacy. It was rather some truth not fully seen in all its bearings, some principle not so perceived as to be carried out in all its details and consequences, some department of duty which they might apprehend rather than appreciate, or some state of mind which they might admire in the apostle, but did not really covet for themselves. The apostle throws his own teaching into the shade, and ascribes the coming enlightenment to God (Eadie). The man who is honestly in pursuit of the highest good, though led away for a time by erroneous views, shall not lack the light he sincerely seeks. The light which will help him most must be light from God.
V. All progress towards the highest Christian experience must be on the lines of real progress already made.Whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing (Php. 3:16). Every victory over self and sin is a stepping-stone to further triumphs. The struggle of to-day will be the victory of to-morrow. Our most helpful lessons are gathered from our failures. Our present blessings were obtained through faith and labour; our next must be gained in the same way. God will give more light to the man who rightfully uses what he has. When the morning bursts suddenly on one awakened out of sleep, it dazzles and pains him; but to him who, on his journey, has blessed the dawn and walked by its glimmer, the solar radiance brings with it a gradual and cheering influence.
Lessons.
1. Christ is the sum and pattern of the highest good.
2. Progress in religious experience is a growing likeness to Christ.
3. The soul retains its highest enjoyment and power only in Christ.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
Php. 3:12. The Happy Day and its Sequel.
I. St. Paul did not forget the circumstances of his arrest by Jesus.
II. St. Pauls remembrance of his arrest led to a practical inquiry as to its purpose.
III. The purpose of his arrest by Christ Jesus is before and not behind him, even in his old age.
IV. What is the mark to which he presses onward?
1. A perfect likeness to Christ.
2. A perfect service.
3. The reward in heaven.W. Hawkins.
Php. 3:13-14. Pressing toward the Mark.
I. The apostles sense of his own shortcomings.
1. It argued a high estimate of a Christians duty. Perfection is his aim, although not his attainment.
2. It argued a humble estimate of himself.Though the most eminent Christian on earth, he was fully conscious of his own imperfection.
II. The apostles method of Christian progress.
1. The concentration of his energies. Many things he did, and he did them wholly. But he made them all subservient to his one idea, which thus unified them all. Decision of character.
2. Oblivion of the past.A wonderful past was his, but he forgot it, except as it might supply a stimulus to his further advancespast times, past pleasures, past sins, past labours, past attainments. The past must have dwelt in his memory, but it did not satisfy him. Onward was his motto, and every day he began his race afresh.
3. Untiring activity.He had the goal ever in his eye; he often measured the distance between him and the goal; he stretched every nerve to reach the goal.
(1) Do we resemble Paul in his aim?
(2) Do we resemble Paul in his efforts.G. Brooks.
Aim High
I.
In pursuit of moral excellence.
II.
Intellectual character.
III.
Active usefulness.
Lessons.
1. God Himself has commanded it.
2. Society expects it of you.
3. The age in which you live demands it.E. D. Griffin.
Php. 3:15-16. The Temper to be cultivated by Christians of Different Denominations toward each other.
I. Those who adhere to this rule.
1. Seek and cultivate their society.
2. Use means to promote the mutual improvement of these persons and of ourselves.
3. Do all we can to render our mutual reciprocal union more perfect and our usefulness more extensive.
II. Those who differ from us in matters of great importance.
1. Give consideration to the way in which their religious characters have been formed.
2. Pay regard to the difficulties and misapprehensions which lie in the use of words.
3. Reflect what would probably have been the effects upon our minds had we been placed in their circumstances.
4. Act towards them with justice and kindness.
III. Those who differ from us in matters of smaller moment.
1. Show them sincere and honest respect and kindness.
2. Cultivate friendly intercourse with them as far as they are disposed to reciprocate such intercourse.
3. Show that we esteem the essential principle of the gospel more than controversial preciseness and ecclesiastical form.J. P. Smith.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
12. Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus.
Translation and Paraphrase
12. (I certainly am) not (implying) that I have already taken (hold of my goals), or (that) I have already become fully grown (and perfect); but I am pursuing (the goals), so that I may lay hold (upon them, the same goal) for which I was also laid hold upon by Christ. (He laid hold upon me at the time of my conversion, and directed me toward the goal, which I now long for and labor to take hold of.)
Notes
1.
Paul here reveals yet more of the attitudes which he held, attitudes which distinguished him from the false teachers who gloried in their Jewish background.
Paul did not consider himself yet to have laid hold on the goals he had stated in Php. 3:9-11. Compare Php. 3:13 a. He did not feel that he was yet perfect, even though Christ had given him that righteousness which comes through faith (Php. 3:9). There was more he yet desired to attain. The word attain in Php. 3:11 (Gr. katantao) is a different word from obtained in Php. 3:12 (Gr. lambano), even though the KJV translates them as attain and attained. The former word means to arrive at; the latter means to take.
2.
Perfect means full-grown, or mature in mind, complete. It does not suggest the idea of absolute sinlessness.
3.
Though he did not feel that he was perfect, Paul nevertheless was always pressing on (Gr. dioko, pursue). This should be a lesson against letting down in our efforts, even in old age! Paul was no longer young when he wrote these words. Compare Phm. 1:9.
4.
Paul sought to lay hold on the thing for which Christ had laid hold upon him and had directed him to seize. Christ had laid hold on Paul for a purpose, and now Paul sought to lay hold on that same purpose. We see here an illustration of the cooperation necessary between the divine will and the human will.
The idea that God and Christ lay hold on us, and direct our lives into certain paths for certain goals, is frequently found in the scripture. But in all such cases the human will and human effort had to cooperate with the divine directions, or the job did not get done. Note the cases of Moses (Exo. 3:10; Exo. 4:10-11), Jeremiah (Jer. 1:4-10). John the Baptist (Luk. 1:15-17), and Paul himself (Act. 26:19; Gal. 1:15-16). Compare Php. 2:13. Perhaps God is laying hold on your life for a special service. Will you accept this direction, and strive to lay hold on the goal for which you were laid hold on?
5.
R.S.V. translates Php. 3:12 b, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. The Gr. prepositional phrase eph ho (translated for which in KJV and ASV) does indeed sometimes mean because (Thayers Lexicon), in accord with this reading. But most of the other principal versions (New English, Phillips, Amplified, New A.S.V., Confraternity, etc.) render the verse by a meaning similar to our familiar KJV and ASV. This would seem to be the preferred reading.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(12) Not as though . . .The tenses are here varied. Not as though I ever yet attained, or have been already made perfect. To attain, or receive (probably the prize, see Php. 3:14), is a single act; to be perfected a continuous process. Clearly St. Paul has no belief, either in any indefectible grasp of salvation, or in any attainment of full spiritual perfection on this side of the grave. We may note our Lords use of the word to be perfected to signify His death (Luk. 13:32), and a similar application of the word to Him in Heb. 2:10; Heb. 5:9; also the use of the words made perfect to signify the condition of the glorified (Heb. 11:40; Heb. 12:23).
If that I may apprehend that for which also I am (rather, was) apprehended of Christ Jesus.The metaphor throughout is of the race, in which he, like an eager runner, stretches out continually to grasp the prize. But (following out the same line of thought as in Php. 3:7-8) he is unwilling to lay too much stress on his own exertions, and so breaks in on the metaphor, by the remembrance that he himself was once grasped, at his conversion, by the saving hand of Christ, and so only put in a condition to grasp the prize. The exact translation of the words which we render that for which, &c., is doubtful. Our version supplies an object after the verb apprehend, whereas the cognate verb attained is used absolutely; and the expression as it here stands is rather cumbrous. Perhaps it would be simpler to render inasmuch as or seeing that (as in Rom. 5:12; 2Co. 5:4). The hope to apprehend rests on the knowledge that he had been apprehended by One out of whose hand no man could pluck him.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Not as though The apostle here guards against a construing of his words (8-10) into over high profession. He has not attained; his is yet only a follow after; namely, after that conformableness to Christ’s death which will be attained at his own exanastasis.
Already perfect Rather, already perfected, referring not, as Clarke, to his martyrdom, nor to the physical resurrection change only; but to that perfected holiness of soul, that completing of the regeneration, which takes place at the exanastasis, by which the being passes out of the sphere of possible sin. This a higher being perfect, which is different from, but does not contradict, the lower perfect of Php 3:15, which belongs to the earthly Christian life, and to which St. Paul had attained, and which was an earnest follow after.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect, but I press on, if indeed I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus.’
These words would seem to confirm the view that the final resurrection is in mind, for Php 3:21 describes when it is that he and all God’s true people will become perfect, and that is at the second coming of Jesus Christ. Thus while he has certainly experienced a spiritual resurrection (Joh 5:24; Eph 2:1-4), he recognises that that does not mean that he has obtained the fullness of what God has for him. He is fully aware that he has not yet obtained the resurrection from the dead, and that he is not yet ‘perfect’. There is something better that yet awaits him (compare Eph 5:27). And he is therefore pressing on towards that goal, so that he may lay hold on that ‘for which also I was laid hold on by Jesus Christ’. One again we have both sides of the equation (compare Php 2:12-13). On the one hand he is putting every effort into laying hold of resurrection life by fully following Christ, and on the other he knows that it will be his because Christ Himself has laid hold on him for that very purpose.
‘Not that I have already obtained.’ The change of verb (from ‘attain’ to ‘obtain’), together with the lack of a direct object, may well indicate that we are to look wider for what he has ‘not obtained’ than simply to the resurrection mentioned in the previous verse. Thus we may see it as referring to ‘knowing Christ in all His fullness’, which has been his declared objective (Php 3:8-10). However, the very vagueness may indicate that both ‘knowing Christ in all His fullness’ and ‘the attaining of the resurrection’ are both to be included. Both are his final aim, and indeed are very much interconnected.
‘Or am already made perfect.’ It is generally agreed that Paul is here deliberately attacking the views of his opponents who considered that they had achieved a kind of spiritual perfection. They considered that their ‘experiences’ had signified their achievement of spiritual perfection. But Paul wants his readers to know that, whatever they have experienced, there is yet better ahead, as clearly expressed in Php 3:21. Salvation is of the total man, spirit, soul and body.
‘If indeed I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus.’ Paul’s doubt is not as to whether he will achieve his goal, but a humble recognition that to speak of laying hold of what in fact Christ has determined to bestow on him is a little presumptious. He wants it to be clear that really the work is Christ’s and not his. He is pressing on precisely because Christ has laid hold of him and will not let him go (Joh 10:27-28). For the glorious truth is that his salvation is not of his achieving, but through the election, calling and direct activity of Jesus Christ.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Paul’s Example of Genuine Perseverance in the Faith In Php 3:12-14 Paul measures himself against his calling in Christ rather than his carnal achievements as a Jew. Paul perseveres in the high calling in Christ Jesus.
Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:12
“but I follow after” Comments Although he has not obtained full sanctification, he is pursuing it, which is a part of the spiritual journey that every believers must partake of.
“if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus” Comments – Paul is pursuing full sanctification in order that he may reach his destination, which is glorification with God in heaven, called the resurrection from the dead in the previous verse (Php 3:11). Here in Php 3:12 we see both divine election and man’s free working side by side to bring man to his full redemption. We were apprehended and saved for good works and perfection. In Paul’s case, he was “apprehended” by Christ Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), when Jesus appeared to him and called him. Paul responded by giving his life to Jesus and is now pursuing Him.
Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:13
Php 3:10, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”
Php 3:13 “but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind” Comments Jesus called His disciples to forsake all and follow Him. This meant leaving loved ones, traditions, habits, familiarity, and comfort. Few people were willing to follow Jesus with such a sacrifice. Those who do press forward in Christ learn to leave their past behind. Ruth did this when she chose to follow Naomi to the land of Israel. Although God rewards us greatly for such sacrifices, it is not easy to begin this journey.
Kenneth Hagin says, “Before any believer can go on with God and reach his fullest potential in the ministry or whatever God has called him to do, he will have to forget about the past, especially his past mistakes. [75] Joyce Meyer said regarding Php 3:13, “Don’t kill today’s opportunities with yesterday’s disappointments.” [76] Another minister said, “Your past will erase your future, or your future will erase your past.”
[75] Kenneth Hagin, Following God’s Plan For Your Life (Tulsa, Oklahoma: Faith Library Publications, c1993, 1994), 148.
[76] Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word (Fenton, Missouri: Joyce Meyer Ministries), on Trinity Broadcasting Network (Santa Ana, California), television program.
One reason that we must forget those things that are past is that they can become a stumbling block. The failures of the past can be used by Satan to lead us into condemnation. The successes of the past can be used to make us believe we are to set up camp in these good experiences doing things the same way the rest of our lives, or to make us believe we are to continue down that successful path. The experiences of the past will serve to instruct us; but they do not give us guidance for the present and future path that God is guiding us into. The Lord spoke to Frances J. Roberts, saying, “The past I use for thine instruction, but not as a blueprint of the present nor guidance for the future. Be not afraid to follow Me.” [77]
[77] Frances J. Roberts, Come Away My Beloved (Ojai, California: King’s Farspan, Inc., 1973), 62.
Another reason that we must forget the past is because we can get into a rut living out learned behaviour. When I moved from Florida to Texas, I was able to make some changes in my life for the better. I was able to lay aside some of my old ways and look to a new future with different people. I took the good things from my past and left behind the bad. This is often a good way to make a change for the better in our lives, by actually leaving a physical environment and putting ourselves into a new one.
Not only should we lay aside failures, we must lay aside our achievements lest we become proud and lifted above others.
Php 3:13 “and reaching forth unto those things which are before” Comments – The word “reaching forth” is the Greek word ( ) (G1901), which literally means, “stretch” plus “out” plus “towards.” This word reflects an athlete who is focused upon his race, not bemoaning his previous defeats or victories in former races.
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Php 3:14
“for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” – Comments – He is sole focused upon obtaining the prize for winning this race. The winner in a race is called to ascend the platform and receive the prize in front of the audience. A believer will receive his rewards in a similar way in Heaven.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Sanctification Following Justification, and the Consummation of the Christian Hope.
The Christian’s eagerness in sanctification:
v. 12. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
v. 13. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
v. 14. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
v. 15. Let us, therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded; and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
v. 16. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. Paul here makes himself a type of all Christians. He shows what gain there is in having Christ and in following Christ. He is in possession of the righteousness of Christ, he has experienced the power of Christ’s death and resurrection in himself. But that does not argue that perfection has now been attained: Not that I have already laid hold of, or already am fully perfected. This is not said of faith, for faith accepts the whole Christ with all His blessings at once. The apostle, in speaking of receiving, of attaining, is speaking of sanctification. The goal for which he strives is the partaking of all the blessings of the resurrection of Christ. Christ is his, in all the fullness of His grace and mercy, and he is an heir of salvation, but its completion, its consummation is not yet in his possession. That perfection, when he shall put off all the weaknesses of the flesh, all its petty annoyances and foibles, will be attained in heaven, when the actual blessings of salvation will he enjoyed without any outside interference. The life of heaven in eternity is a status of perfection, of complete fulfillment. This is near before the apostle’s eyes, but he has not yet entered upon it. He must still run, he must still battle. But he follows after that he may lay hold upon it. He must not lose sight of his goal, he must strive onward on that basis of the fact that he has been fully received of Christ Jesus. Christ has enrolled him, made him one of His own, placed him among those that are His own. The believer has Christ as his Possession, just as Christ holds him as His possession. Being in this wonderful fellowship with Christ, he wishes to get to the end of life. He is eager for the consummation of his hopes, he longs to become an active partaker of the heavenly glory. All the thinking, longing, yearning of the Christians is directed heavenward.
The apostle continues to urge his own example: Brethren, I for myself not yet do regard that I have attained, but one thing: Forgetting that behind me, stretching forth toward those before, I strive for the goal, the premium of the calling of God above in Christ Jesus. Paul’s admonition at this point is an urgent call to his fellow-believers. So far as his own person is concerned, he repeats that he has not yet laid hold of the final glory; the last great goal is still before him. But that fact does not worry or distress him; for one thing is the case: he forgets all things that lie behind him, all the false movements and disappointments and disagreeable experiences with which he has been obliged to battle. Like a runner bending forward as he exerts himself to the utmost when nearing the end of the race, so he stretches forward toward those things that lie before. His one thought is to reach the end, the fulfillment, the victory, and that as quickly as possible. He does not forget what he has gained in Christian faith. Those are not things lightly forgotten, because they have not been lightly gained. But after all, this represents only earnest-money and a guarantee for the future. With a straining of every fiber of his body, therefore, he looks forward, because his goal is a prize and a premium, a precious and beautiful gift, far above all human understanding. It is a crown and reward of Christian valor which acts as a spur, urging him to use the last ounce of his strength. It is the prize of the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus. This call of God has reached the Christians in and through Jesus Christ. Through the call of God the believers were drawn to Christ, they have found and accepted Him as their Savior. That is conversion. And in conversion the believers are called out of this world to the home above. In this call the prize of the heavenly calling is already held out, the goal is set before us. Thus all the thoughts of the Christians are directed heavenward. No consideration of things on earth is permitted to draw their thoughts away from heaven.
This being the case, Paul’s gentle urging has a power beyond the bare content of his words: As many as are perfect, let us think this; and if in anything ye think differently, also this will God uncover to you. The apostle here makes a distinction between Christians, the perfect being contrasted with the minors in knowledge. See 1Co 14:20. Those that have a clear and full Christian knowledge, gained by long experience of Christ, should think as the apostle does, and therefore persist in leaving behind the battles of the past and in striving for the new and good. The more a Christian grows in sanctification, the more he finds that there are great gaps in his Christian knowledge and in his sanctification, the more eagerly he works for his sanctification. Since the language used by Paul might discourage those that are weak in knowledge, he hastens to add that, in case one still thinks differently about the matter, God will reveal it to him also. If the knowledge of some of the brethren is not yet perfect, God will give them the right understanding. To those that are really concerned about their salvation, God gives a better knowledge day after day; that is a part of the progress in sanctification. And as for the rest, as far as they had gotten, they should walk accordingly. Every Christian should apply what he has learned in his life. If he but practices all that he has grasped with the understanding of faith, that is sufficient. To hold fast to the Gospel, to the Lord and His truth, to the Word of Grace, that is the essential business of Christians.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Php 3:12. Not as though I had already, &c. “This I say not as if I had already attained to all that I wish to be, or were already perfected: for I am truly sensible how far I am from that consummate perfection of character, as well as of state, which the gospel teaches me to aspire after: but I pursue it, if by any means I may but reach that height of excellence for which also I am apprehended by Christ Jesus, whose condescending hand graciously laid hold on me in my mad career, inso extraordinary a manner as you have often heard, and has introduced me into that blessed race in which I am now engaged.” The Apostle here begins a new allegory; nor is it unusual with the most correct writers to pass from one allegory to another: but our version confounds these two allegories by translating both the word , Php 3:11 and the word , in the present verse, by the same word attained: St. Paul here compares himself to a racer, and borrows many terms from the Olympic games, as in several other places of his Epistles. The words rendered apprehend and apprehended are used in the same agonistical sense, 1Co 9:24. His design is to shew, that he considered not himself as havingalready gained the victory, or obtained the prize which is the reward of it,which the Jewish converts seem to have fancied of themselves; but that he was running and striving, and usingall proper methods to qualifyhimself throughDivine grace for it. Candidates in the Grecian games, especially when they first presented themselves, were often introduced by some person of established reputation, who at the same time that he spoke as honourably as might be of his friend, urged him to acquit himself with the utmost vigour and resolution;and it is probable that the latter clause of this verse may allude to that circumstance. See the note on Php 3:15.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Phi 3:12 . ] By this I do not mean to say that , etc. See on 2Co 1:24 ; 2Co 3:5 ; Joh 6:46 . Aken, Lehre v. Temp. u. Mod . p. 91 ff. He might encounter such a misconception on the part of his opponents; but “in summo fervore sobrietatem spiritualem non dimittit apostolus,” Bengel.
] that I have already grasped it . The object is not named by Paul, but left to be understood of itself from the context. The latter represents a prize-runner, who at the goal of the grasps the (Phi 3:14 ). This typifies the bliss of the Messiah’s kingdom (comp. 1Co 9:24 ; 2Ti 4:7-8 ), which therefore, and that as , is here to be conceived as the object, the attainment of which is denied to have already taken place. And accordingly, is to be explained of the having attained in ideal anticipation, in which the individual is as sure and certain of the future attainment of the , as if it were already an accomplished fact. What therefore Paul here denies of himself is the same imagination with which he reproaches the Corinthians in 1Co 4:8 (see in loc ). The reference to the (so Chrysostom, Oecumenius, Theophylact, Erasmus, Bengel, Heinrichs, Rilliet, and others) is not proleptic; [164] on the contrary, it is suggested by the idea of the race just introduced in Phi 3:12 , and is prepared for by the preceding . ., in which the Messianic makes its appearance, and the grasping of the is realized; hence it is so accordant with the context that all other references are excluded. Accordingly, we must neither supply metam generally (Beza, comp. Ewald); nor (Rheinwald); nor (Theodoret; comp. Weiss); nor moral perfection (Hoelemann, following Ambrosiaster and others); nor the right of resurrection (Grotius); nor even “the knowledge of Christ which appropriates, imitates, and strives to follow Him” (de Wette; comp. Ambrosiaster, Calvin, Vatablus, van Hengel, Wiesinger); nor yet the of Phi 3:11 (Matthies).
] or in order to express without a figure that which had been figuratively denoted by were already perfected . [165] For only the ethically perfected Christian, who has entirely become and is (observe the perfect ) what he was intended to become and be, would be able to say with truth that he had already grasped the , however infallibly certain might be to him, looking at his inward moral frame of life, the future . He who is not yet perfect has still always to run after it; see the sequel. The words , introduced in considerable authorities before , form a correct gloss, when understood in an ethical sense. For instances of which is not, with Hofmann, to be here taken in the indefinite generality of being ready in the sense of spiritual perfection (comp. Heb 2:10 ; Heb 5:9 ; Heb 12:23 ), see Ast, Lex. Plat . III. p. 369; comp. Philo, Alleg . p. 74 C, where the are adjudged to the soul, when it is perfected. To be at the goal (Hammond, Wolf, Loesner, Heinrichs, Flatt, Rilliet, and others), is a sense, which . might have, according to the context. In opposition to it, however, we may urge, not that the figure of the race-contest only comes in distinctly in the sequel, for it is already introduced in Phi 3:12 , but that Paul would thus have expressed himself quite tautologically, and that in Phi 3:15 is correlative with .
] but I pursue it, i.e . I strive after it with strenuous running; see Phi 3:14 . The idea of urgent haste is conveyed (Abresch, ad Aesch. Sept . 90; Blomfield, Gloss. Pers . 86). The has the force of an in the sense of on the other hand; Baeumlein, Partik . p. 95, and comp. on Eph 4:15 . We must understand as object to , just as in the case of and ; hence is not to be taken absolutely (Rilliet; comp. Rheinwald, de Wette, Hofmann), although this in itself would be linguistically admissible (in opposition to van Hengel), see on Phi 3:14 . Phavorinus: ;. also Eustathius, ad Il . xxiii. 344.
] This is, as in , Phi 3:11 , deliberative: if I also, etc., the idea of or some similar word being before his mind; the compound is more (in opposition to Weiss) than , and denotes the apprehension which takes possession; comp. on Rom 9:30 , 1Co 9:24 , where we have the same progression from . to . ; Herod, ix. 58: ; and implies: I not merely grasp ( ), but also actually apprehend. [166]
.] Comp. Plat. Tim . p. 38 D: , 1Co 13:12 : , Ignatius, Romans 8 : , , Trall . 5: , : because I was also apprehended by Christ . This is the determining ground of the , and of the thought thereto annexed, . Theophylact (comp. Chrysostom and Theodoret) aptly remarks: , , . . Otherwise, in fact, this having been apprehended would not have been responded to on my part. [167] Respecting , on the ground of this, that , i.e. propterea quod , see on Rom 5:12 ; 2Co 5:4 . The interpretation: for which, on which behalf (Oecumenius, Beza, Grotius, Rheinwald, Rilliet, Weiss, and others), just as in Phi 4:10 , is indeed linguistically correct and simple; but it assigns the conversion of Paul, not to the general object which it had (Gal 1:16 ), but to a personal object. In this case, moreover, Rilliet, de Wette, Wiesinger supply previously, which is not in accordance with the objectless . More artificial are the explanations: whereunto , in the sense of obligation (Hoelemann); under which condition (Matthies); in so far as (Castalio, Ewald); in the presupposition, that (Baur); which is certain from the fact, that (subjective ground of knowledge; so Ernesti, Urspr. d. Snde , II. p. 217). According to Hofmann, Paul desires to give the reason why, and for what purpose, he contemplates an apprehension . But thus the reference of . . . would be limited to et . , although the positive leading thought has been introduced in . . . . serves this leading thought along with that of its accessory definition . .
] also, subjoins to the active the ingeniously corresponding passive relation . And by . Paul expresses what at his conversion he experienced from Christ (hence the aorist ); there is no need for suggesting the idea, foreign to the context, of an apprehended fugitive (Chrysostom, Theophylact, Theodoret, and others, including Flatt and van Hengel). The fact that at that time Christ laid hold of him on his pre-Christian career, and took him into His power and gracious guidance as His own, is vividly illustrated by the figure, to which the context gave occasion, . .
[164] As also Hofmann objects, who finds the notion of the verb alone sufficient for expressing what is to be negatived, but yet likewise ultimately comes to eternal life as a supplement; for that which is not yet attained is one and the same with that which is one day to be attained.
[165] This being perfected is not the result of the (Wiesinger, Weiss), but the moral condition of him who can say . Note that is used, and not ; might have been taken as annexing the result.
[166] 2Ti 4:7
[167] Paul is conscious that, being apprehended by Christ, he may not and cannot do otherwise. Comp. Bengel: quoniam; sensus virtutis Christi accendit Christianum.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
Phi 3:12-14 . Protest, that in what he had said in Phi 3:7-11 he had not expressed the fanciful idea of a Christian perfection already attained; but that, on the contrary, his efforts are still ever directed forward towards that aim whereby a mirror for self-contemplation is held up before the Philippians in respect to the moral conceit which disturbed their unity (Phi 2:2-4 ), in order to stir them up to a like humility and diligence as a condition of Christian perfection (Phi 3:15 ).
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Ver. 12. But I follow after ] Gr. , I persecute, I follow hot footed with utmost eagerness. By this then he signifieth how greedily and incessantly he pursued after the perfect knowledge of Christ, having it as it were in chase, and resolved not to rest till he had attained unto it. (Airay.) Well might Chrysostom call St Paul an insatiable, greedy, devouring worshipper of God.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
12 14 .] This seems to be inserted to prevent the misapprehension, that he conceived himself already to possess this knowledge, and to have grasped Christ in all His fulness.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
12 .] not that (I do not mean, that , see reff.) I have already acquired (this : not the below (Mey.), which is an image subsequently introduced, whereas the reference here must be to something foregoing, nor , which has just been stated as an object of his wishes for the future: but as Calv., “nempe ut in solidum communicet Christi passionibus, ut perfectum habeat gustum potenti resurrectionis, ut ipsum plane cognoseat”) or am already completed (in spiritual perfection. Philo de Alleg. iii. 23, vol. i. p. 101, , , ; . ;), but I pursue (the image of a runner in a course is already before him. So absolute in sch. Theb. 89, . This is simpler than to suppose that an object, the , is in his mind, though not expressed. See Ellic.’s note) if (nearly = above) I may also (besides not as Mey., nicht bloss greife ( ), sondern auch ergreife: nor does it answer to the following, as De W.) lay hold of (Herod. ix. 58, , : Lucian, Hermotim. 77, ) that for which (this seems the simplest rendering, and has been the usual one. Meyer’s rendering of ‘ because ,’ after Chrys., Thdrt., Thl., requires to be absolute , and would more naturally be expressed , the emphatic first person hardly admitting of being supplied from the preceding clause: whereas on our rendering the whole forms but one clause, the first person recurring throughout it. Grot.’s, ‘quo ut pervenire possem,’ Beza’s, &c., ‘for which reason,’ all keeping absolute, are not open to the above objection) I was also laid hold of (the belongs to the verb, not to understood, nor to the , as if there might be other ends for which he was apprehended (Ellic.): see above and brings out, that in my case there was another instance of the . For the sense, cf. 1Co 13:12 , : and Plato, Tim. p. 39, . The time referred to by the aorist was his conversion : but we need not, as Chrys., al., press the image of the race, and regard him as flying and overtaken ) by Christ .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Phi 3:12-16 . THE MARK OF THE MATURE CHRISTIAN, TO PRESS FORWARD.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Phi 3:12 . . There is a curious difference (see W-M [57] . , p. 746) between the use of this phrase in classical and in N.T. Greek. is understood in both cases, but in the classical language the usage is rhetorical = “not only, but”. In N.T. its purpose is to guard against misunderstanding, “I do not mean that,” etc. . The aorist sums up the Apostle’s experiences as far as the point he has reached, looking at it (with the usual force of the aorist) as a single fact. In English, of course, we must translate, “Not that I have already attained” (so R.V.). In Greek a sharper distinction is made between past and present. Cf. Joh 17:4 , , . It is needless to ask what is the object of . None is required, just as we speak of “attaining”. He has in view all that is involved in winning Christ and knowing Him. Probably the remaining verses of this paragraph are a caution to some at Philippi who were claiming high sanctity, and so affecting superior airs towards their brethren. This would naturally lead to irritation and jealousies. . The interesting variant ( cf. 1Co 4:4 ) is plainly very ancient, the gloss, probably, of some pious copyist who imagined that the Divine side of sanctification was left too much out of sight. is a favourite word of the writer to the Hebrews. It means literally “to bring to the end” determined by God. See Bleek, Heb. Brief. , ii., 1, p. 299. A striking parallel to our passage is Philo, Leg. Alleg. , iii., 23 (ed. Cohn), , , ; ; , . . It is unnecessary to assume the metaphor of the racecourse. . and are correlative words ( . esp [58] . frequent in Paul) = “seek and find,” “pursue and overtake”. Cf. Rom 9:30 , Exo 15:9 (LXX). Of course both may be used with a metaphorical colour. Cf. 1Co 9:24 , and also 2 Clem. xviii. 2 (quoted by Wohl [59] . ). . See on . supr. The subjunctive here is deliberative as being in an indirect question (see Blass, Gramm. , p. 206). We believe ought to be read, as it would very easily slip out before . It emphasises the correspondence with the following , and may possibly be a sort of correction of in the previous verse, “in the hope that I may really grasp (do my part in grasping)”. Hpt [60] . quotes aptly from Luther: “ein Christ ist nicht im Wordensein sondern im Werden, darum wer ein Christ ist, ist kein Christ”. . Two distinct interpretations are possible and equally good. It may (1) be = , “for this reason, viz. , that I,” etc., or (2) = , “that with a view to which I,” etc. Whichever be chosen, the sense remains the same. Paul lays, as it were, the responsibility of his attaining upon Christ. Christ’s grasp of his whole being ( ) must have a definite purpose in it. Paul’s Christian progress is the only thing that can correspond ( ) to his experience of Christ’s power. . . is certainly to be omitted. It is difficult to decide whether . ought to be read or not. There is some force in the remark of Ws [61] . that there would be no motive for adding ., while . alone would follow the analogy of Phi 3:8-9 (see Ws [62] . , TK [63] . , p. 88).
[57] Moulton’s Ed. of Winer’s Grammar .
[58] especially.
[59] Wohlenberg.
[60] Haupt.
[61] . Weiss.
[62] . Weiss.
[63] . extkritik d. paulin. Briefe (Weiss)
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Philippians
LAID HOLD OF AND LAYING HOLD
Php 3:12 .
‘I was laid hold of by Jesus Christ.’ That is how Paul thinks of what we call his conversion. He would never have ‘turned’ unless a hand had been laid upon him. A strong loving grasp had gripped him in the midst of his career of persecution, and all that he had done was to yield to the grip, and not to wriggle out of it. The strong expression suggests, as it seems to me, the suddenness of the incident. Possibly impressions may have been working underground, ever since the martyrdom of Stephen, which were undermining his convictions, and the very insanity of his zeal may have been due to an uneasy consciousness that the ground was yielding beneath his feet. That may have been so, but, whether it were so or not, the crisis came like a bolt out of the blue, and he was checked in full career, as if a voice had spoken to the sea in its wildest storm, and frozen its waves into immobility.
There is suggested in the word, too, distinctly, our Lord’s personal action in the matter. No doubt, the fact of His supernatural appearance gives emphasis to the phrase here. But every Christian man and woman has been, as truly as ever Paul was, laid hold of by the personal action of Jesus Christ. He is present in His Word, and, by multitudes of inward impulses and outward providences, He is putting out a gentle and a firm hand, and laying it upon the shoulders of all of us. Have we yielded? Have we resisted, when we were laid hold of? Did we try to get away? Did we plant our feet and say, ‘I will not be drawn,’ or did we simply neglect the pressure? If we have yielded, my text tells us what we have to do next. For that hand is laid upon a man for a purpose, and that purpose is not secured by the hand being laid upon him, unless he, in his turn, will put out a hand and grasp. Our activity is needed; that activity will not be put forth without very distinct effort, and that effort has to be life-long, because our grasp at the best is incomplete. So then, we have here, first of all, to consider–
I. What Christ has laid His grip on us for.
Now, the immediate result of that grasp, when it is yielded to, is the sense of the removal of guilt, forgiveness of sins, acceptance with God. But these, the immediate results, are by no means the whole results, although a great many of us live as if we thought that the only thing that Christianity is meant to do to us is that it bars the gates of some future hell, and brings to us the message of forgiveness. We cannot think too nobly or too loftily of that gift of forgiveness, the initial gift that is laid in every Christian man’s hands, but we may think too exclusively of it, and a great many of us do think of it as if it were all that was to be given. A painter has to clear away the old paint off a door, or a wall, before he lays on the new. The initial gift that comes from being laid hold of by Jesus Christ is the burning off of the old coat of paint. But that is only the preliminary to the laying on of the new. A man away in the backwoods will spend a couple of years after he has got his bit of land in felling and burning the trees, and rooting out and destroying the weeds. But is that what he got the clearing for? That is only a preliminary to sowing the seed. My friend! If Jesus Christ has laid hold of you, and you have let Him keep hold of you, it is not only that you may be forgiven, not only that you may sun yourself in the light of God’s countenance, and feel that a new blessed relation is set up between you and Him, but there are great purposes lying at the back of that, of which all that is only the preliminary and the preparation.
Conversion. Yes; but what is the good of turning a man round unless he goes in the direction in which his face is turned? And so here the Apostle having for years lived in the light of that great thought, that God was reconciled in Jesus Christ, and that he was God’s friend, discerns far beyond that, in dim perspective, towering high above the land in the front, the snowy sunlit summits of a great range to which he has yet to climb, and says, ‘I press on to lay hold of that for which I was laid hold of by Jesus Christ.’
And what was that? On the road to Damascus Paul was only told one thing, that Christ had grasped him and drawn him to Himself in order that He might make him a chosen vessel to bear the Word far hence amongst the Gentiles. The bearing of His conversion upon Paul himself was never mentioned. The bearing of His conversion on the world was the only subject that Jesus spoke of at first. But here Paul has nothing to say about his world-wide mission. He does not think of himself as being called to be an Apostle, but as being summoned to be a Christian. And so, forgetting for the time all the glorious and yet burdensome obligations which were laid upon him, and the discharge of which was the very life of his life, he thinks only of what affects his own character, the perfecting of which he regards as being the one thing for which he was ‘laid hold of by Christ Jesus.’ The purpose is twofold. No Christian man is made a Christian only in order that he may secure his own salvation; there is the world to think of. No Christian man is made a Christian only in order that he may be Christ’s instrument for carrying the Word to other people; there is himself to think of. And these two phases of the purpose for which Jesus Christ lays hold upon us are very hard to unite in practice, giving to each its due place and prominence, and they are often separated, to the detriment of both the one that is attended to, and the one that is neglected. The monastic life has not produced the noblest Christians; and there are pitfalls lying in the path of every man who, like me, has for his profession to preach the Gospel, which, if they are fallen into, the inward life is utterly wrecked.
The two sides of Christ’s purpose have, in our practice, to be held together, but for the present I only wish to say a word or two about that which, as I have indicated, is but one hemisphere of the completed orb, and that is our personal culture and growth in the divine life. What did Christ lay hold of me for? Paul answers the question very strikingly and beautifully in a previous verse. Here is his conception of the purpose, ‘that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.’ That is what you were forgiven for; that is what you have ‘passed from death unto life’ for; that is what you have come into the sweet fellowship of God, and can think of Him as your Friend and Helper for.
Let us take the clauses seriatim , and say a word about each of them. ‘That I may know Him.’ Ah! there is a great deal more in Jesus Christ than a man sees when he first sees Him through his tears and his fears, and apprehends Him as the Saviour of his soul, and the sacrifice on whom the burden and the guilt of his sins were laid. We must begin there, as I believe. But woe to us if we stop there. There is far more in Christ than that; although all that is in Him is included in that, yet you have to dig deep before you find all that is included in it. You have to live with Him day by day, and year by year, and to learn to know Him as we learn to know husbands and wives, by continual intercourse, by continual experience of a sweet and unfailing love, by many a sacred hour of interchange of affection and reception of gifts and counsels. It is only thus that we learn to know what Jesus Christ is. When He lays hold of us, He comes like the angel that came to Peter in the prison in the dark and awoke him out of his sleep and said ‘Rise! and follow me.’ It is only when we get out into the street, and have been with Him for awhile, and the daylight begins to stream in, that we see clearly the face of our Deliverer, and know Him for all that He is. This knowledge is not the sort of knowledge that you can get by thinking, or out of a book. It is the knowledge of experience. It is the knowledge of love, it is the knowledge of union, and it is in order that we may know Christ that He lays his hand upon us.
‘The power of His Resurrection.’ Now, by that I understand a similar knowledge, by experience, of the risen life of Jesus Christ flowing into us, and filling our hearts and minds with its own power. The risen life of Jesus is the nourishment and strengthening and blessing and life of a Christian. Our daily experience ought to be that there comes, wavelet by wavelet, that silent, gentle, and yet omnipotent influx into our empty hearts, the very life of Christ Himself.
I know that this generation says that that is mysticism. I do not know whether it is mysticism or not. I am sure it is truth; and I do not understand Christianity at all, unless there is that kind of mysticism, perfectly wholesome and good, in it. You will never know Jesus Christ until you know Him as pouring into your hearts the power of an endless life, His own life. Christ for us by all means,–Christ’s death the basis of our hope, but Christ in us, and Christ’s life as the true gift to His Church. Have you got that? Do you know the power of His Resurrection?
‘The fellowship of His sufferings.’ Has Paul made a mistake, and deserted the chronological order? Why does he put the ‘fellowship of the sufferings’ after the ‘power of the Resurrection’? For this plain reason, that if we get Christ’s life into our hearts, in the measure in which we get it we shall bear a similar relation to the world which He bore to it, and in our measure will ‘fill up that which is behind in the sufferings of Christ,’ and will understand how true it is that ‘if they hate Me they will hate you also.’ Brethren, the test of us who have the life of Christ in our hearts is that we shall, in some measure, suffer with Him, because ‘as He is, so are we, in this world,’ and because we must in that case look upon the world, its sins and its sorrows, with something of the sad gaze with which He looked across the valley to the Temple sparkling in the morning light, and wept over it. So if we know the power of His Resurrection we shall know the fellowship of His sufferings.
And then Paul goes on, in his definition of the purpose for which Christ lays hold upon men, apparently to say the same thing over again, only in the opposite order, ‘that I may be conformable to His death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.’ Both of these clauses, I think, refer to the future, to the actual dying of the body, and the actual future resurrection of the same. And the thought is this, that if here, through our earthly lives, we have been recipients of the risen life of Jesus Christ, and so have stood to the world in our degree as He stood to it, then when the moment of death comes to us, we shall, in so far, have our departure shaped after His as that we shall be able to say, ‘Into Thy hands I commit my spirit,’ and die willingly, and at last shall be partakers of that blessed Resurrection unto life eternal which closes the vista of our earthly history. Stephen’s death was conformed to Christ’s in outward fashion, in so far as it echoed the Master’s prayer, ‘Father forgive them, for they know not what they do,’ and in so far as it echoed the Master’s last words, with the significant alteration that, whilst Jesus commended His spirit to the Father, the first martyr commended his to Jesus Christ.
These, then, are the purposes for which Christ laid His hand upon us, that we might know Him, the power of His Resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death yet by attaining the resurrection of the dead.
II. Notice, again, our laying hold because we have been laid hold of.
Christ’s laying hold of me, blessed and powerful as it is, does not of itself secure that I shall reach the end which He had in view in His arresting of me. What more is wanted? My effort. ‘I follow after if I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended.’ Now, notice, in the one case, the Apostle speaks of himself, not as passive, but certainly not as active. ‘I was laid hold of.’ What did he do? As I have said, he simply yielded to the grasp. But ‘I may lay hold of’ conveys the idea of personal effort; and so these two expressions, ‘I was apprehended,’ and ‘I apprehend,’ suggest this consideration, that, for the initial blessings of the Christian life, forgiveness, acceptance, the sense of God’s favour, and of reconciliation with him, nothing is needed but the simple faith that yields itself altogether to the grasp of Christ’s hand, but that for my possessing what Christ means that I should possess when He lays His hand on me, there is needed not only faith but effort. I have to put out my hand and tighten my fingers round the thing, if I would make it my own, and keep it.
So–faith, to begin with, and work based on faith, to go on with. It is because a man is sure that Jesus Christ has laid His hand upon him, and meant something when He did it, that he fights on with all his might to realise Christ’s purpose, and to get and keep the thing which Christ meant him to have. There is stimulus in the thought, I was laid hold of by Him for a purpose. There is all the difference between striving, however eagerly, however nobly, however strenuously, however constantly, after self-improvement, by one’s own effort only, and striving after it because one knows that he is therein fulfilling the purpose for which Jesus Christ drew him to Himself.
And if that be so, then the nature of the thing to be laid hold of determines what we are to do to lay hold of it. And since to know Christ, and the power of His Resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, is the aim and end of our conversion, the way to secure it must be keeping in continual touch with Jesus by meditating upon Him, by holding many a moment of still, sacred, sweet communion with Him, by carefully avoiding whatever might come between us and our knowledge of Him, and the influx of His life into us, and by yielding ourselves, day by day, to the continual influence of His divine grace upon us and by the discipline which shall make our inward natures more and more capable of receiving more and more of that dear Lord. These being the things to do, in regard to the inward life, there must be effort too, in regard to the outward; for we must, if we are to lay hold of that for which we are laid hold of by Jesus Christ, bring all the outward life under the dominion of this inward impulse, and when the flood pours into our hearts we must, by many a sluice and trench, guide it into every corner of the field, that all may be irrigated. The first thing they do when they are going to sow rice in an Eastern field is to flood it, and then they cast in the seed, and it germinates. Flood your lives with Christ, and then sow the seed and you will get a crop.
III. Lastly, the text suggests the incompleteness of our grasp.
‘I follow that,’ says Paul, ‘if that I may apprehend.’ This letter was written far on in his career, in the time of his imprisonment in Rome, which all but ended his ministerial activity; and was many years after that day on the road to Damascus. And yet, matured Christian and exercised Apostle as he was, with all that past behind him, he says, ‘I follow after, that I may apprehend.’ Ah, brother, our experience must be incomplete, for we have an infinite aim set before us, and there is no end to the possibilities of plunging deeper and deeper and deeper into the knowledge of Christ, and having larger and larger and larger draughts of the fulness of His life. We have only been like goldseekers, who have contented themselves as yet with washing the precious grains out of the gravel of the river. There are great reefs filled with the ore that we have not touched. Thank God for the necessary incompleteness of our ‘apprehending.’ It is the very salt of life. To have realised our aims, to have fulfilled our ideals, to have sucked dry the cluster of the grapes is the death of aspiration, of hope, of blessedness; and to have the distance beckoning, and all experience ‘an arch, wherethro’ gleams the untravelled world to which we move,’ is the secret of perpetual youth and energy.
Because incomplete, our experience should be progressive; and that is a truth that needs hammering into Christian people to-day. About how many of us can it be said that our light ‘shineth more and more unto the noonday.’ Alas! about an enormous number of us it must be said, ‘When for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you.’ All our churches have many grown babies, and cases of arrested development–people that ought to be living on strong meat, and are unable to masticate or digest it, and by their own fault have still need of the milk of infancy. There is an old fable about a strange animal that fastened itself to the keel of sailing ships, and by some uncanny power was able to arrest them in mid-ocean, though the winds were filling all their sails. There is a remora, as they called it, of that sort adhering to a great many Christian people, and keeping them fixed on one spot, instead of ‘following after, if that they may apprehend.’
Dear friends–and especially you younger Christians–Christ has laid hold of you. Well and good! that is the beginning. He has laid hold of you for an end. That end will not be reached without your effort, and that effort must be perpetual. It is a life-long task. Ay! and even up yonder the apprehending will be incomplete. Like those mathematical lines that ever approximate to a point which they never reach, we shall through Eternity be, as it were, rising, in ascending and ever-closer drawing spirals, to that great Throne, and to Him that sits upon it. So that, striking out the humble ‘may’ from our text, the rest of it describes the progressive blessedness of the endless life in the heavens, as truly as it does the progressive duty of the Christian life here, and the glorified flock that follows the Lamb in the heavenly pastures may each say: I follow after in order to apprehend that ‘for which,’ long ago and down amidst the dim shadows of earth, ‘I was apprehended of Christ Jesus.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Php 3:12-16
12Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; 16however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.
Php 3:12 “Not that I have already obtained it” Paul lived in the tension of the present but not yet consummated Kingdom of God. He knew Christ, he knew who he was in Christ, he knew he was accepted by Christ but he struggled with Christlike living (cf. Romans 7). Paul had arrived but had not fully arrived; he was complete but not fully complete.
Some ancient Greek manuscripts, P46, D*, and G, add “or have been righteous.” This addition is also found in the Greek texts used by Irenaeus and Ambrosiaster. However, the shorter text is supported by MSS P61, , A, B, Dc, K, and P as well as the ancient translations, the Vulgate, the Syrian, and the Coptic.
NASB, TEV”or have already become perfect”
NKJV”or am already perfected”
NRSV”or have already reached the goal”
NJB”nor yet reached my goal”
This is a perfect passive indicative with the implication that something happened in the past which has become a settled state and this was accomplished by God. The term itself meant
1. fully developed
2. fully equipped
3. complete
4. mature
5. adequate
It did not have the English connotation of perfection or sinlessness.
“I press on” This is a present active indicative. This was originally a hunting term meaning “to pursue an animal.” It came to be used metaphorically of a foot race. Paul did not pursue salvation (cf. Rom 9:30) but a maturity, a Christlikeness (cf. Rom 6:4-9).
NASB”in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus”
NKJV”that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me”
NRSV”to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own”
TEV”to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself”
NJB”in the attempt to take hold of the prize for which Christ Jesus took hold of me”
This section starts with a third class conditional sentence (using ei instead of ean) which means probable future action (cf. Php 3:11). It can refer to (1) salvation (Php 3:9); (2) Christlikeness (Php 3:10); or (3) resurrection (Php 3:11).
This is a strong Greek word. Paul was “snatched” by Christ on the road to Damascus (cf. Act 9:1-22; Act 22:3-16; Act 26:9-18). The One whose followers he persecuted now confronted him as the resurrected Lord. Theology and personal experience merged! Paul now sought to be like those and Him whom he once attacked.
Php 3:13 “I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet” This is a Perfect active infinitive. This term is used three times in Php 3:12-13. Paul strove to be mature in Christ but he knew that he fell short of Christlike maturity (cf. Romans 7). Yet the great truth of the gospel is that in Christ he (and all believers) were already complete (justified and sanctified, cf. Rom 8:29-30).
The terms “regard,” “impute,” or “reckon” (cf. Rom 4:3; Rom 6:11; 1Co 13:5) all refer to a mental affirmation whereby fallen mankind understands the gospel and chooses to live in light of its new truth and new worldview in Christ!
There is a manuscript variation in this sentence with the word “yet” versus “not.” The ancient texts are split between these two options. The best explanation is that scribes changed Paul’s “not” to “not yet” because they perhaps thought he was being too modest. Like most manuscript variations this affects interpretation very little.
“forgetting what lies behind” This is a present middle (deponent) participle. Paul started over spiritually. He had left his Jewish past. However, because it is present tense this phrase may include his Apostolic work or present imprisonment. His spiritual standing before God was not based on human performance, past or present!
“reaching forward to what lies ahead” This is another present middle (deponent) participle. This is the first in a series of athletic terms. It meant “a runner stretching for the goal.” It is an intensified compound with two prepositions, epi and ek. Paul vigorously lived a life of gratitude. After being saved his intensity level remained high but the motive was radically changed from self-effort to gospel service.
Php 3:14 This is a series of athletic metaphors. They show us the strenuous effort needed for the Christian life (cf. 1Co 9:24; 1Co 9:27; Heb 12:1).
“upward call of God” See Special Topic: Called at Eph 4:1.
Php 3:15 “as many as are perfect” This is the same term “perfect” as Php 3:12 but Paul is using it in two different senses. Christians can be mature without being sinless (cf. 1Co 2:6; 1Co 14:20; Eph 4:13; Heb 5:14; Heb 6:1).
“let us. . .have this attitude” Paul often refers to the mental processes. Paul uses several of the Greek words for reasoning or thinking. This is a present active subjunctive of “phrone” (cf. Php 1:7; Php 3:15; Php 3:19); “ginosko” (cf. Php 1:12); “psuch” (cf. Php 1:27); “noma” (cf. Php 4:7); “logizomai” (cf. Php 4:9); “manthano” (cf. Php 4:9; Php 4:11). Believers are to worship God with their minds (cf. Deu 6:23, quoted in Mat 22:36-38; Mar 12:29-34; Luk 10:27-28). True Christianity cannot be anti-intellectual. However, we must not trust in our fallen human reasoning, but in God’s self disclosure (Scripture).
“if” This is a first class conditional sentence, which is assumed to be true from the author’s perspective or for his literary purposes. There were those in the fellowship who did have a “different attitude.”
“God will reveal that also to you” There is disagreement among believers about many aspects of the faith. Paul felt confident that the new covenant which involved an indwelling Spirit, a new heart, and a new mind would eventually inform and reform all believers (cf. Jer 31:31-34; Eze 36:26-27; Joh 6:45; Eph 1:17; 1Th 4:9; 1Jn 2:27).
In context this phrase reveals Paul’s view about the authority of his message. He felt he was led by the Spirit (cf. 1Co 2:10; 1Co 7:10-12; 1Co 11:23; 1Co 14:37-38; 2Co 10:8; 2Co 12:1; Gal 1:12; Gal 1:16; Gal 2:2; 2Th 3:14). This was another way to reflect his sense of apostolic authority.
This could be interpreted in two ways: (1) God will reveal His truth to errant believers or (2) God will reveal to believers those who are errant in their doctrine or practice. In context #2 seems best.
Php 3:16
NASB”however, let us keep living by the same standard to which we have attained”
NKJV”Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind”
NRSV”Only let us hold fast to what we have attained”
TEV”However that may be, let us go forward according to the same rules we have followed until now”
NJB” Meanwhile, let us go forward from the point we have each attained”
This verse is Paul’s admonition to continue to live as Christians (cf. Eph 4:1; Eph 4:17; Eph 5:2; Eph 5:15). Believers are justified and sanctified by God’s gift through faith in Christ, but they must continue to strive toward Christlike maturity (cf. 2Co 3:18).
There is a series of additions to the verse in the ancient Greek manuscripts. The shortest text (NASB and NRSV) is found in the Greek manuscripts P16, P46, *, A, B. The UBS4 gives this shorter text an “A” rating (certain). The Textus Receptus adds “let us be of the same mind” (NKJV) which is found in MSS c, K, and P. There are several other additions which seems to show the scribal tendency to modify and add to this verse.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
as though = that.
had. Omit.
attained = received.
perfect = perfected. App-125.
follow after. Same as Php 3:6 (persecuting), and Php 3:14 (press).
apprehend. Greek. katalambano. See Joh 1:5. Eph 3:18, The Greek adds “also”,
for. App-104.
also, Read after “apprehended”.
am = was.
of = by. App-104.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
12-14.] This seems to be inserted to prevent the misapprehension, that he conceived himself already to possess this knowledge, and to have grasped Christ in all His fulness.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Php 3:12. , not that, not as though) In his highest fervour, the apostle does not let go his spiritual sobriety.-, I had received [attained]) the prize.-) and differ. The former is applied to the man fully fit for running, Php 3:15-16; the latter to him who is nearest to the prize, at the very point of receiving [attaining] it.[44]- ) , even, is intensive; for , to apprehend (comprehendere), is more than , to take hold of (prehendere): , to take hold of, is done at the moment when the last step has been made; , to apprehend, is done when the man is in full possession. There is an example of one on the very point of receiving [attaining] at 2Ti 4:7-8 [Psa 73:23; Psa 73:28].- , since [but Engl. Vers. that for which]) The perception of the power of Christ influences the Christian.- , I have been also apprehended) by a heavenly calling, Php 3:14; Acts [Act 9:6] Act 26:14; Act 26:19; 2Co 5:14. Christ, the author and finisher [consummator], when He consummated His own race of faith, also consummates His people, Heb 12:2; where the very appellation, , prince (author), implies His relation to His followers. , also, is again intensive, so that the force of the first aorist [I am apprehended] may be observed denoting the present state of the apostle.
[44] means often not absolutely perfect, but one having attained the full limit of stature, strength, etc., which constitute the mans , opposed to or , youths or children. See 1Co 2:6. So Paul here, ver. 15, claims to be , fully established in the things of God, no longer a babe in Christ. Yet in ver. 12 he denies that he is as yet (a race-course expression), i.e. crowned with the garland of victory, his course completed, and perfection absolutely reached. See Trench Syn.-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Php 3:12
Php 3:12
Not that I have already obtained,-He explains that he, an apostle of Jesus Christ, who had been more abundant in labors and sufferings than all others, had not already attained to the blessedness of salvation that came to those who were raised in Jesus, neither had he completed his race. He gathers up the whole past in its relation to the present.
or am already made perfect:-Jesus was made perfect through suffering the death of the cross, and became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him (Heb 5:7-8), and Paul did not claim perfection before he suffered as did his Master. [There is a relative perfection which was true of Paul and of all who grow in grace at all and are no longer babes in Christ (Php 3:15). Concerning that he is not speaking. This wholly dissatisfaction with his spiritual attainments and eager longing for loftier heights in Christ we often see in Pauls writings. (Eph 3:13-19; Col 1:28).]
but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus.-Christ Jesus laid hold on Paul when he appeared to him on the Damascus road, and called him to his service, and he through the obedience and death sought to gain the crown of righteousness, which God had promised to him, and not to him only, but also to all them that have loved his appearing. (2Ti 4:8). He did not boast of his attainments, but was humble, modest, distrustful of self, and felt what he received was of Gods mercy.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
perfect
(See Scofield “Mat 5:48”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
I had: Phi 3:13, Phi 3:16, Psa 119:5, Psa 119:173-176, Rom 7:19-24, Gal 5:17, 1Ti 6:12, Jam 3:2
already perfect: Job 17:9, Psa 138:8, Pro 4:18, 1Co 13:10, 2Co 7:1, 2Co 13:9, Eph 4:12, Heb 12:23, Heb 13:21, 1Pe 5:10, 2Pe 1:5-8, 2Pe 3:18
I follow: Phi 3:14, Psa 42:1, Psa 63:1-3, Psa 63:8, Psa 84:2, Psa 94:15, Isa 51:1, Hos 6:3, 1Th 5:15, 1Ti 5:10, 1Ti 6:11, Heb 12:14, 1Pe 3:11-13
that I: Phi 3:14, 1Ti 6:12
apprehended: Psa 110:2, Psa 110:3, Act 9:3-6, Act 9:15, Eph 1:4, 2Th 2:13
Reciprocal: Deu 18:13 – Thou shalt 1Ki 8:61 – perfect Job 2:3 – Hast thou Job 9:20 – I am perfect Psa 101:6 – in a perfect way Pro 21:21 – that Mat 5:48 – ye Mat 19:21 – If Mat 26:41 – the spirit Joh 1:43 – and findeth Rom 7:15 – what Rom 7:18 – for to will 1Co 2:6 – them 1Co 13:12 – we see Phi 3:15 – be thus Col 4:12 – that Heb 6:1 – let Jam 1:4 – perfect and
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Php 3:12.) , -Not that I already have attained, either already have been perfected. The phrase warns against misconception. Joh 7:22; 2Co 1:24; Php 4:17. It is almost equivalent to – . Bernhardy, p. 352; Winer, 64, 6; Hermann, ad Viger. p. 804. In the verb there is the idea of laying hold of something before him which he had not yet reached-Nor have I been perfected. He had not yet realized the Divine ideal. The verb has no formal accusative, and its object is left in vagueness. To what then does the apostle refer? The reference is supposed by De Wette, Robinson, and van Hengel, to be to the excellent knowledge-a reference not only too remote, but severed by many intermediate objects of aspiration. Nor can we refer the verb to , with Theodoret; nor with Rheinwald to the resurrection; nor with Matthies to the attainment of it, for in that case the expression would be a truism; nor yet with Grotius to the jus resurrectionis, for it would imply too low an estimate of the apostle’s faith and privilege. Nor, with Hoelemann, can we take it to be simply moral perfection. More readily would we, with Calvin and Alford, refer it to the previous general statement, for the paragraph itself seems to contain the reference. The figure of the race and its prize rose up directly to the apostle’s mind, and as he is about to give it shape, other ideas intrude themselves and claim a prior expression; that is to say, what the apostle had not yet attained to is what he has been describing in the previous verses, but that now especially imaged to his mind as the prize given to one who is victor in the race-course. In the first clause of the 13th verse the apostle resumes the figure, and in a few vivid touches completes it. We agree, then, with Bengel, Am Ende, Rilliet, and Meyer, that is really the object, as would seem also to be indicated by the use of more generally in this verse, and more pointedly in the 14th verse. In the repetition of the apostle emphasizes the notion-that at the present moment he did not regard himself as perfected. The first verb is an aorist, and keeps its proper past signification, while the second, in the perfect tense, takes up the same thought, and brings it down to the present time. At no past period could I say that I attained; nay, up to the present moment, I have not been perfected. Winer, 40, 5, , .It serves no purpose, with Hammond, Rilliet, and others, to give a technical reference to the stadium. It is better explained by the various but unwarranted reading- . But defect begets effort-
, , -but I press on, if indeed I may seize that, for which also I was seized by Christ. here connects two thoughts-the latter no negation of the former, but still of an opposite nature. Klotz, Devarius, 2.360. The verb is employed to express the intense action of the runner in the stadium, and may be either taken absolutely or with an ideal . Kypke in loc.; Lucian, Hermot. 77; Loesner in loc.For the phrase see under Php 2:17. The double use of the verb is Pauline (1Co 13:12); the compound verb () deepens the sense, while the seems to bring out this idea-If over and above this pressing on I may also seize the prize; or, as De Wette says, it may correspond to the of the following clause. Some difficulty lies in the formula , and various meanings have been assigned to it. The meaning of because that-propterea quod-has been preferred by Chrysostom, Theodoret, Am Ende, Meyer, and Bisping; others, as OEcumenius and Rheinwald, give it the sense whereto, or in order to which-quo consilio; while Calvin is followed by van Hengel in affixing the more general sense of quemadmodum. The two former meanings may both be justified by abundant usage. Examples of the first may be found in Rom 5:12; 2Co 5:4; Mat 19:9; Act 4:21;-and of the second, Gal 5:13; Php 4:10, etc. Winer, 48, c, d; Krger, 68, 41. If we adopt the first interpretation, then the verb is supposed to be used somewhat absolutely-If indeed I may seize, because indeed I was seized by Christ. In the other case an object or antecedent is supposed-If indeed I may also seize that, in order to which I was also seized myself by Christ. The Syriac has -that for the sake of which. The second signification, adopted by Rilliet, Ellicott, and Alford, is preferable-I press on to seize the prize, to attain which Christ seized me. This gives a closer connection than the other method. This second , as Ellicott suggests, is not connected with a supposed , nor yet with the verb, but with the preceding relative-for which, too, for which very salvation I was apprehended. He means to say, not merely that he pursues a certain course of action because he has been converted, but because this course of action is in unison with the purpose of his conversion. Christ seized him, that he might seize the prize. The apostle’s conversion is no less graphically than truly represented as a seizure. The Lord laid hold on him with a sharp and sudden grasp, and ever afterwards wielded him at His pleasure. He was overtaken in the vicinity of Damascus-the vision of Jesus produced instantaneous conviction, and with a force which convulsed him as he fell to the earth. It was not a slow and calm process of judgment, a prolonged and delicate balancing of arguments, or a daily ripening of views and opinions as the mists gradually cleared away, but the shock of a moment, which so changed his entire nature as to make him an utter contrast to his previous self. And Jesus grasped him, that he might grasp the prize. His aim was in unison with his destiny, that aim being to seize the prize as completely as the Master had seized him, while to this very destiny had he been converted and set apart. Some of the Greek Fathers introduce the idea, that Paul was fleeing from Christ when he was arrested. Thus Chrysostom- ; but there is no ground for such a supplementary image. Not content with what he has uttered, he still proceeds in the same spirit-
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Php 3:12. The gain or advantage that Paul obtained immediately upon his becoming a Christian, was not considered as the complete experience he expected. Lest his readers might get the wrong impression, the apostle explains that he had not yet attained to it, or that he was perfect which means complete as regards the good things to be enjoyed through Christ. Follow after is from the Greek word DIOKO, and the Englishman’s Greek New Testament renders it, “am pursuing.” Apprehend is from KATALAMBANO, and Thayer defines it at this place, “to lay hold of so as to make one’s own, to obtain, to attain to.” Christ Jesus had laid hold upon Paul, and through the obedience to the Gospel, He wished that the convert would finally “lay hold on eternal life” (1Ti 6:12). Paul is declaring that his reason for this “pursuing” is that he may lay hold upon the reward for which Christ had laid hold on him.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Php 3:12. Not that I have already obtained. He has been speaking of righteousness which is Gods free gift to the faithful, as distinct from that righteousness which the Jew sought by the works of the law. But lest his readers should run into the error of supposing that the righteousness of which he speaks demands no zeal or effort from its recipients, because it is of Gods free grace, he proceeds to explain to them his own position and feelings. He has received the gift of faith with which to make a start in the Christian race, but that is only means to an end, which end will not be gained in this life.
or am already made perfect. Such a state is not attained while we live here, he would say. Every day brings its new opportunities either to be improved or to be neglected. If rightly used, they bring men nearer to perfection; but the work is ever doing, never done; for the stature of the fulness of Christ is the Christians aim, and of this his greatest and best efforts must ever fall short.
but I press on. The figure is from the race-course, on which there must be no stoppage till the goal is reached. For Christians all the earthly life is the running time: they must press on all their days; and this the apostle does.
if so be that I may apprehend. That is, gain the prize in the end, which cannot be without the constant hastening and toil.
that for which also I was apprehended by Christ Jesus. In the previous clause he has spoken of his chance of apprehending or winning the reward, but before his lips have spoken the word reward his heart corrects the thought that it would be any winning of his own, and he closes his sentence in such a way as to show that he knew how true it was that Christ had sought him; before he sought Christ, the Lord had marked him as a vessel of choice, or there would have been no thought in his heart about the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus. Christ, at his conversion, made Saul His own prize, and for this reason only it is that the apostle hopes that in the end he may win the prize in the race to which Christs grace has sent him forth.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Our apostle here compares himself to a person running in a race; the prize which he did contend and run for, was, perfection in grace. The highest degree of which, in this life, consists in a desire and endeavour to obtain the largest measures and fullest degrees of holiness, that are here attainable: the manner how he ran for this prize, he tells us, was by looking forward, not backward; he did not look back to the things which he had left behind, namely, to the privileges of Judaism, nor to his past performances; but, like a racer, kept himself continually upon the stretch, with his eye fixed firmly upon the prize at the end of the goal, that he might lay hold upon it, and be crowned with it.
Note, Christianity is a race; every Christian in this life must run this race; in his running he must look forward, and not backward, not reckon how much of the way is past, but make the best of the way to come: he must keep heaven, as the mark and prize he runs for, continually in his eye, to hearten him on against all hardships and discouragements whatsoever; and in a word, must be apprehended before he can apprehend. St. Paul was apprehended by Christ, and caught hold of by him, whin he fled from him, otherwise he had never apprehended: Christ takes hold on us, before we have any desire to lay hold on him; we move as moved of him, and assisted of him.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Paul Did Not Count Himself As Successful
The only time Paul was willing to say he had run the race completely and would receive the crown was when he was about to die. He told Timothy, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day” ( 2Ti 4:6-8 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Php 3:12. Not as though I had already attained , literally, not that I have already received, namely, the blessings which I am in pursuit of, even that complete knowledge of Christ, of the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings, and conformity to his death just mentioned; either were already perfect , perfected, completed: or had finished my course of duty and sufferings. It appears from Php 3:15, that there is a difference between one that is , perfect, and one that is perfected; the one is fitted for the race, the other has finished the race, and is ready to receive the prize. But I follow after , I pursue, what is still before me. The apostle changes his allusion from a voyage to a race, which he continues through the two next verses. That I may apprehend that perfect holiness, that entire conformity to the will of God, for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus Appearing to me in the way to Damascus, (Act 26:14,) whose condescending hand graciously laid hold on me when I was proceeding in my mad career of persecuting him and his followers, and in the extraordinary manner of which you have often heard, brought me to engage in running that very different race which I am now pursuing.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
ARGUMENT 12
PERFECTION OF GLORY VERSUS PERFECTION OF GRACE
12. Not that I have already received, or have already been made perfect; but I persevere, if I may receive that for which I was also received by Christ Jesus. Foolish people quote this passage against Christian perfection, making Paul flatly contradict himself in the fifteenth verse, where he claims perfection for himself and others. In the twelfth verse he is speaking of glory, which he will not receive till the end of probation. This he disclaims. In the fifteenth verse he speaks of the perfection of grace, which he claims for himself and others. Christ took him into hand for his complete and final restitution, which will not take place till this mortal puts on immortality. Paul, with contemporary saints, was on the constant outlook for the Lord to come and transfigure his body, taking him up with his bride. Sanctification is Christian perfection, which Paul, in the fifteenth verse, positively claims for himself and others; while transfiguration is ultimate perfection involved in the restitutionary work of Christ, which he has undertaken for Paul and all of his saints. When Paul lost his head at Neros block, his soul was glorified, and thus made perfect in the final sense here involved. In the first resurrection, for which I am now looking, his body will leap into glory from the soil of Italy.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 12
Were already perfect; had perfected or completed my course so as to attain the final reward.–Apprehend; receive.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am {l} apprehended of Christ Jesus.
(l) For we run only as far forth as we are laid hold on by Christ, that is, as God gives us strength, and shows us the way.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Paul’s persistent zeal 3:12-14
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Paul had said that he had not already grasped the intimate knowledge of His Savior that he sought to obtain (Php 3:10). He did not want his readers to understand him as saying that his conversion brought him into the intimate personal relationship with Christ that he desired. At conversion his views about what is important in life changed drastically, however. He did not believe he was perfect. There are some Christians who believe that after conversion they do not sin (cf. 1Jn 1:6-10).
"The word ’perfect,’ as the Bible uses it of men, does not refer to sinless perfection. Old Testament characters described as ’perfect’ were obviously not sinless (cp. Gen 6:9; 1Ki 15:14; 2Ki 20:3; 1Ch 12:38; Job 1:1; Job 1:8; Psa 37:37). Although a number of Hebrew and Greek words are translated ’perfect,’ the thought is usually either completeness in all details (Heb. tamam, Gk. katartizo), or to reach a goal or achieve a purpose (Gk. teleioo). Three stages of perfection are revealed: (1) Positional perfection, already possessed by every believer in Christ (Heb 10:14). (2) Relative perfection, i.e. spiritual maturity (Php 3:15), especially in such aspects as the will of God (Col 4:12), love (1Jn 4:17-18), holiness (2Co 7:1), patience (Jas 1:4), ’every good work’ (Heb 13:21). Maturity is achieved progressively, as in 2Co 7:1, ’perfecting holiness,’ and Gal 3:3, lit., ’are ye now being made perfect?’ and is accomplished through gifts of ministry bestowed ’for the perfecting of the saints’ (Eph 4:12). And (3) ultimate perfection, i.e. perfection in soul, spirit, and body, which Paul denies he has attained (Php 3:12) but which will be realized at the time of the resurrection of the dead (Php 3:11). For the Christian nothing short of the moral perfection of God is always the absolute standard of conduct, but Scripture recognizes that Christians do not attain sinless perfection in this life (cp. 1Pe 1:15-16; 1Jn 1:8-10)." [Note: The New Scofield . . ., p. 1283.]
Paul realized his responsibility to pursue greater personal experiential knowledge of Christ, intimacy with Christ, conformity to Christ, and holiness. One of the reasons that God has saved us is that we might enjoy fellowship with Christ (John 15; 1Jn 1:1-3). Practical sanctification does not come automatically by faith, as justification and glorification do. We must pursue it diligently by following the Lord (Php 3:13-15; cf. Gal 5:16; 2Pe 1:5-11).
"To know the incomprehensible greatness of Christ demands a lifetime of arduous inquiry." [Note: Hawthorne, p. 151.]
"A divine dissatisfaction is essential for spiritual progress." [Note: Wiersbe, The Bible . . ., 2:89.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Chapter 14
CHRISTIAN LIFE A RACE.
Php 3:12-17 (R.V.)
VARIOUS passages in this Epistle suggest that the Apostles Philippian friends or some of them were relaxing in diligence; they were failing perhaps to lay to heart the need of progress, less sensitive than they ought to be to the impulse of Christianity as a religion of effort and expectancy. Some of them, it might be, were inclined to think of themselves as now pretty well initiated into the new religion, and as pretty thorough adepts in its teaching and its practice; entitled therefore to sit down and look round with a certain satisfaction and complacency. If it were so, the tendency to division would be accounted for. Arrogance in Christians is a sure preliminary to heats and disputings. At all events, however it might be at Philippi, an insidious complacency in little improvements and small attainments is not unknown among Christians. It is, one may fear, a common impression among us that we are fair average Christians, – a feeling perhaps not so cherished as to make us boast, but yet so cherished as to make us feel content. And, alas! the very meaning of Christianity was to inspire us with a spirit that would refuse so to be contented.
Some feeling of this kind may have led the Apostle to lay stress on the onward energising character of Christianity as he knew it. This was the manner of his regard to his Lord. At the foundation of his religion there was, indeed, the faith of a wonderful gift of righteousness and life. That gift he welcomed and embraced. But it wrought in him eagerness of desire, and intentness of purpose, to secure and have all that this gift implied. It stirred him to activity and progress. His was not the Christianity of one who counts himself to have already obtained all into possession, nor of one who finds himself landed already in the state at which the Christian promises aim. Rather he is one set in full view of a great result: some experience of the benefits of it is already entering into his history; but it is yet to be brought to pass in its fulness; and that must be along a line of believing endeavour, Christ working and Paul working, Christ faithful with Paul faithful. “I follow after, if that I may lay hold and extend my grasp, seeing Christ has laid hold with His grasp on me.” Christ had a purpose, and has mightily inaugurated a process through which this purpose may be achieved in the history of Paul. And as Christ lays His grasp on Paul, behold the purpose of Christ becomes also the purpose of Paul, and he now throws himself into the process with all his force, to apprehend that for the sake of which Christ apprehended him.
Here Paul signalised one distinguishing attribute of genuine Christianity as he knew it. He did not yet count himself to have laid complete grasp on the whole of Christian good. In a very important practical sense salvation was still something ahead of him, as to the final, secure, complete possession; Christ Himself was an object still before him, as to the knowledge and the fellowship for which he longed. But one thing is vital and distinctive. “This Saviour with His salvation holds me so, that I count all but loss for Him. He holds me so, that forgetting all that lies behind, I bend myself to the race, stretching out towards the goal at which the prize of the high calling of God in Christ is won. That is my Christianity.” He who had suffered loss of all for Christ, he who so burned with desire to know Him in His righteousness, in the power of His resurrection, in the fellowship of His sufferings, is far from thinking he has reached the goal. Because the knowledge of Christ is so great a thing in his eyes, therefore, on the one hand, all he has attained as yet seems partial and imperfect; but for the same reason, on the other hand, he feels the great attraction by which all his powers are drawn into the endeavour which so great a prize shall crown.
The question may here be put how the consistency of the gospel can be made out if we are called to rest and rejoice in Christ, and if, at the same time, we find ourselves committed to so absorbing a struggle for a prize. If God will have us, it may be said, to seek and strive that we may obtain, then we must do so because it is His will. But where is the connection of things that will avert inconsistency, and bring out a reasonable continuity of principles, between the call to rest on Christ for full salvation, and the call to run a race, and so run as to obtain? For answer it is to be remembered, in the first place, that (as commonly happens in matters where life and its activities are concerned) the difficulty concerns only the adjustment of our theory; it begins to vanish when we come to practice. When we are in vital contact with the spiritual realities themselves, we find both elements of the case to be true for us, and each indispensable to the truth of the other. The rest of faith and the fight of faith belong to each other. But not to dwell on so general a consideration, two lines of thought may be suggested to those who are conscious of embarrassment at this point.
First, let it be considered that the faith of a Christian embraces real relations with the living God, different from anything that is possible to unbelief. Through Christ we believe in God. Those relations are conceived to be real and vital from the first, though the perfect experience of all that they imply belongs to the future. Faith means that from the outset of believing we are to be to God, and God is to be to us, something different from what the flesh perceives. Christ believed in is an assurance that so it is and shall be. But now, the state of men is such, as long as they have to carry on a life of faith in a world of sense and sin, that this faith of theirs presently meets with flat contradiction. The course of the world treats it all as null. Sin in their own hearts, and many experiences of life, seem to negative the pretensions and the claims of faith. And strong temptations whisper that this high fellowship with a living God not only does not exist, but that it is not desirable that it should. So that from the outset and all along, faith, it is not content to be a mere dream, if it will count for a reality, must contend for its life. It must fight, “praying always with all prayer,” to make good its ground, and to hold on to its Lord. It is indeed the nature of faith to rest, for it is a trust; not less certainly faith is under necessity to strive, for it is challenged and impeached.
It lies therefore in the very nature of the case that, if faith is in earnest in embracing real and progressive salvation, it must find itself drawn into conflict and effort to assert the reality and to experience the progress. The opposition it meets with ensures this.
On the other hand, it is the nature of the gospel to set men free for active service. It supplies motives, therefore, for enterprise, diligence, and fidelity; and it provides a goal towards which all shall tend. So men become fellow-labourers with their Lord. And if it is intelligible that the Lord should exert continual care for them, it ought to be intelligible also that they are to be exercised in a continual care for Him; care, that is, for the discharge of the trust which they hold from Him.
The Apostle dwells on all this, evidently because he felt it to be a point of so great importance in practical Christianity. In this world the right Christian is the man who knows well he has not attained, but who devotes his life to attaining. Paul brings this out by means of the image of a race for a prize, such as might be seen in the public games. This is a favourite illustration with him. His use of it illustrates the way in which things that are steeped in worldliness may aid us in apprehending the things of Gods kingdom. They do so, because they involve elements or energies of mans nature that are good as far as they go. As the Apostle thought of the racers, prepared by unsparing discipline, which had been concentrated on the one object; as he thought of the determination with which the eager runners started, and of the way in which every thought and every act was bent upon the one purpose of success, until the moment when the panting runner shot past the goal, it stirred him with the resolve to be not less eager in his race; and it made him long to see the children of light as practical and wise as, in their generation, the children of this world are.
As usual in the case of illustrations, this one will not hold in all points. For instance, in a race one only wins, and all the rest are defeated and disappointed. This is not so in the Christian race. The analogies lie elsewhere. In order to run well the runners submit to preparation in which everything is done to bring out their utmost energy for the race. When the race comes each competitor may possibly win: in order to win he must put forth his utmost powers; he must do so within a short period of time; and during that time nothing must distract him from the one aim of winning. He does this for a benefit embodied in, or symbolised by, the prize which rewards and commemorates his victory. These are the points in which the races of public games afford lessons for the Christian race. In the former the fact that the success of any one competitor deprives the others of the prize they seek, is the circumstance that puts intensity into the whole business, and makes a real race of it. So also in the spiritual antitype there are elements which make the race the most real, though they are elements of another kind.
The prize can be nothing else than the life eternal {1Ti 6:12} which comes, as we have seen, into full possession at the resurrection of the dead. He whose favour is life confers it. The bestowment of it is conceived as taking place with gladness and with honourable approbation: “Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” The prize stands in strict connection with the perfecting of the believer: the time of receiving the prize is also the time of being presented faultless. Neither prize nor perfectness is attained here; neither is attained unless sought here; and the blessedness bestowed is connected in fact and measure with the faith and diligence expended on the race. On all these accounts the prize is spoken of as a crown; a crown of glory, for it is very honourable; a crown of life, incorruptible, that fadeth not away, for it shall never wither on the brow, as the wreaths of those earthly champions did. Now to run his race was for Paul the one thing. He had not yet attained; he could not sit still as if he had: it was his living condition that he must run, as one not yet there, following on in earnest that he might actually have the prize.
Perhaps some one may regard it as objectionable to conceive practical Christianity as a race for a prize. This seems, it may be said, to subordinate the present to the future, this world to the other world, and, in particular, virtue to happiness; because in this way the efforts of goodness here are conceived only as a means to enjoyment or satisfaction there. We reply that the prize does indeed include joy, the joy of the Lord. But it includes, first of all, goodness, consummate in the type of it proper to the individual; and gladness is present no otherwise than as it is harmonised with goodness, being indeed her proper sister and companion. Besides, the elements of the gladness of that state come in as the expression of Gods love-a love both holy and wise. Communion with that love is the true security for goodness. It is equally absurd to suppose, on the one hand, that when that love fills the heart with its unreserved communication there can fail to be gladness; and, on the other hand, to suppose that fellowship with it can be other than the proper and supreme object of a creatures aspiration.
There is no unworthiness in devoting life to win this prize; for it is a state of victorious well-being and well-doing. The highest goodness of all intervening stages is to aspire to that highest goodness of all. Whatever we may do or be, meanwhile, is best attained and done as it confesses its own shortcoming, and hopes and longs to be better and to do more.
It is true that a complete gift of eternal life is held out to us in Christ, and it is faiths part to accept that gift and to rest in it. But yet part of that gift itself is an emancipation of the soul; in virtue of this the man becomes actively responsive to the high calling, reiterates his fundamental decision all along the detail of mortal life, affirms his agreement with the mind and life of his Lord, approves himself faithful and devoted, and runs so as to obtain. All this is in the idea of the gift bestowed, and is unfolded in the experience of the gift received. So the prize is to arise to us as the close of a course of progressive effort tending that way: the reality of the prize corresponds to the reality of the progress; the degree of it, in some way, to the rate of that progress. The progress itself is made good, as we have said, by perpetually re-affirming the initial choice; doing so in new circumstances, under new lights, with a new sense of its meaning, against the difficulties implied in new temptations; yet so as ever, in the main, to abide by the beginning of our confidence. With all this let it be remembered that the time is short; and it will be understood that the Christian life, so viewed, assumes the character, and may well exhibit the intensity and pressure, of a race.
How far short men fall of the great idea of such a life-how they flinch from the perfectness of this Christian imperfection-need not be enlarged upon. But if any life is wholly untrue to this ideal, the Apostle seemingly could not count it Christian. This one thing he did, he bent himself to the race. For if the ultimate attainment has become very attractive, if the sense of present disproportion to it is great, and if, in Christ, both the obligation and the hopefulness of reaching the perfect good have become imperatively plain, what can a man do but run?
Verses 15 and 16 (Php 3:15-16) state the use which the Apostle desires his disciples to make of this account of his own views and feelings, his attitude and his effort, -“As many of us as are perfect.”
Since the Apostle has disclaimed (Php 3:12) being already perfected, it may seem strange that he should now say, “As many of us as are perfect.” His use of language in other places, however, warrants the position that he is not speaking of absolute perfection, as if the complete result of the Christian calling had been attained. Rather he is thinking of ripe practical insight into the real spirit of the Christian life-that is to say, advanced acquaintance, by experience, with the real nature of the Christian life. He uses this word “perfect” in contrast to “babes” or “children” in Christ. These last are persons who have been truly brought to Christ; but their conceptions and their attainments are rudimentary. They have not attained to large insight into the means and ends of the Christian life, nor to any ripe acquaintance with the position of a Christian man, and the relation he holds to things around him. They are therefore unready to face the responsibilities and perform the duties of Christian manhood. Hence the translators of the Authorised Version, in some passages, render the same word so as to bring out this sense of it. So 1Co 14:20, “Be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men” (), and Heb 5:14, “Strong meat belongs to those that are of full age” ().
It cannot be doubted, however, that the word is used here with a certain emphatic significance in reference to the previous disclaimer, “I am not yet perfected.” In the Philippians, or in some of them, Paul apprehended the existence of a self-satisfied mood of mind, such as might perhaps be warrantable if they were now perfect, if Christianity had brought forth all its results for them, but on no other terms. In contrast to this he had set before them the intense avidity with which he himself stretched out towards attainment and completeness which he had not reached. And now he teaches them that to be thus well aware how far we are from the true completeness, to be thus reaching out to it, is the true perfection of our present state: he only is the perfect Christian who is “thus minded”; who knows and feels how much remains to be attained, and gives himself up to the effort and the race under that inspiration. It is as if he said: Would you approve yourselves to be believers, advanced and established; would you show that you have come to a larger measure of just views and just feelings about the new world into which faith has brought you; would you have the character of men well-acquainted with your Lords mind about you, with your own position in relation to Him; in short, would you be perfect, fully under the influence of the Christianity you profess:-then let you and me be “thus minded”; let us evince the lowly sense of our distance from the goal, along with a living sense of the magnificence and urgency of the motives which constrain us to press on to it.
For is there such a thing attainable here as a Christian perfectness, a ripe fulness of the Christian life, which exhibits that working of it, in its various forces, which was designed for this stage of our history? If so, what must it be? That man surely is the perfect man who fully apprehends the position in which the gospel places him here, and the ends it sets before him, and who most fully admits into his life the views and considerations which, in this state of things, the gospel proposes. Then, he must be a man penetrated with a sense of the disproportion between his attainment and Christs ideal, and at the same time set on fire with the desire and hope of overcoming it. Has a man experienced many gracious dealings at his Lords hands, has he made attainments by grace, has he come to a Christian standing that may be called full age, would he be what all this would seem to imply, -then let him take heed to be “thus minded.” Otherwise he is already beginning to lose what he seemed to have attained.
It is not so surprising, and it is not so severely to be reprehended, if those fail in this point who are but children in Christ. When the glorious things of the new world are freshly bursting into view, when the affections of the child of God are in their early exercise, when sin for the present seems stricken down, it is not so wonderful if men suppose danger and difficulty to be over. Like the Corinthians, “now they are full, now they are rich, now they have reigned as kings.” It has often been so; and at that stage it may be more easily pardoned. One may say of it, “They will learn their lesson by-and-by; they will soon find out that in the life of a Christian all is not triumph and exultation.” But it concerns those who have got further on, and it is expected of them, that they should be “thus minded” as the Apostle Paul was. It is a more serious business for them to be of another mind on this point, than for those who are only children in Christ. It tends to great loss. Are we, says the Apostle, come to a point at which we may be thought to be-may hope we are-experienced believers, well acquainted now with the salvation and the service, men in Christ? Then as we would ever act in a manner answerable, at this stage, to the gospel and to our position under the gospel, let us be thus minded; forgetting that which is behind, reaching forth to that which is before, let us press toward the mark. For at each stage of progress much depends on the way in which we deal with the position now attained, with the views which have opened to us, and with the experiences that have been acquired. This may decide whether the stage reached shall be but a step towards something better and more blessed, or whether a sad blight and declension shall set in. There are Christian lives to-day sadly marred, entangled and bewildered so that one knows not what to make of them, and all by reason of failure to be “thus minded.”
A man is awakened to the supreme importance of Divine things. At the outset of his course, for years, perhaps, he is a vigorous and growing Christian. So he comes to a large measure of establishment: he grows into knowledge of truth and duty. But after a time the feeling creeps into his mind that matters are now less urgent. He acts rather as a man disposed to keep his ground, than as one that would advance. Now he seems to himself to lose ground somewhat, now to awaken a little and recover it, and on those terms he is fairly well contented. All this while it would be unjust to say that he does not love and serve Christ. But time passes on; life draws nearer to its close. The period at which Gods afflictions usually multiply has arrived. And he awakens at last to see how much of his life has been lost; how extensively, though secretly, decay has marred his attainments and his service; and how little, in the result, of that honourable success has crowned his life which once seemed fair before him.
“Let us be thus minded.” Let Christians be admonished who have for some time been Christians, and especially those who are passing through middle life, or from middle life into older years. There is enchanted ground here, in passing over which too many of Christs servants go to sleep. Leave that which is behind.
“Let us be thus minded”: but this proves hard. One may see it in a general way to be most reasonable, but to come up to it m particulars is hard. In all particular cases we are tempted to be otherwise minded. And in many particulars we find it very difficult to judge the manner of spirit that we are of. Were all right in us, absolutely right, rectitude of disposition and of moral action would be in a manner instinctive. But now it is not so. With reference to many aspects of our life, it is very difficult to bring out distinctly to our own minds how the attitude that becomes us is to be attained and maintained. The difficulty is real; and therefore a promise is annexed. “If in anything ye be otherwise minded.” That may realise, itself in two ways. You may be distinctly conscious that your way of dealing with some interests which enter into your lives is unsatisfactory, is below your calling and privilege as a Christian; and yet you may find it hard to see how you are to rise into the worthier life. It is like a problem which you cannot solve. Or, again, you may fear that it is so; you may fear that if things were seen in the true light it would turn out so. But you cannot see clearly; you cannot identify the faulty element, far less amend it. Here the promise meets you. “If in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” Keep your face in the right direction. Be honestly set on the attainment, and the way will open up to you as you go. You will see the path opening from the point where you stand, into life that throughout is akin to the aspiration and the achievement of the life of Paul.
Paul here has regard to a distinction which theorists are apt to overlook. We have a sufficient objective rule in the word and example of Christ. This may be summarised in forms easily repeated, and a man may, in that respect, know all that need be said as to what he is to do and to be. But in morals and in spiritual life this is only the beginning of another process-namely, the subjective individual entrance into the meaning of it all and the practical appropriation of it. I know the whole of duty on the human side: I am to love my neighbour as myself. It is most essential to know it, and a grand thing to have consented to make a rule of it. But, says one, there remains the difficulty of doing it? Is that all? I reply. There is another previous difficulty. I can preach a sermon on loving my neighbour as myself. But what does that mean, for me, not for any one else, but for myself, on a given day in November, at half-past one in the afternoon, when I am face to face with my neighbour, who has his merits, and also his defects, being, perhaps, provoking and encroaching, with whom I have some business to arrange? What does it mean then and there and for me? Here there opens the whole question of the subjective insight into the scope and genius of the rule; in which problem heart and mind must work together; and commonly there have to be training, experience, growth, in order to the expert and just discernment. Short of that there may be honest effort, blundering most likely, but honest, and lovingly accepted through Christ. But there ought to be growth on this subjective side.
Moreover, when progress has been made here it imposes responsibility. Have you been carried forward to such and such degrees of this subjective insight? Then this ought to be for you a fruitful attainment. Do not neglect its suggestions, do not prove careless and untrue to insight attained. Whereto we have attained, “by the same rule let us walk,”-or, as we may render it, “go on in the same line.” So new insight and new achievement shall wait upon our steps.
Generally, if their Lord had carried the Philippians forward to genuine attainments of Christian living, then that history of theirs was a track which reached further on. It was not a blind alley, stopping at the point now reached. It had had a meaning; there was some rationale of it; it proceeded on principles which could be understood, for they had been put in practice; and it demanded to be further pursued. There is a continuity in the work of grace. There is a rational development of spiritual progress in the case of each child of God. What God means, what the direction is in which His finger beckons, what the dispositions are under the influence of which His call is complied with and obeyed, these are things which have been so far learned in that course of lessons and conflicts, of defeats and backslidings, restorations and victories; which has brought you so far. Let this be carried out; keep on in the same road. Whereto you have attained, go on with the same.
But such an admonition at once raises a question; the question, namely, whether we are at any stage in the pathway of Christian attainment, whether there is for us as yet any history of a Divine life. Among those who claim part in Christs benefits are some whom the grace of God has never taught to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly; for they have been persistently deaf to the lesson. There are some who do not know how Christ turns men from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. To them the line of admonition now in hand does not apply: to exhort them to “walk on in the same” would be to perpetuate for them a sad mistake. Their course has been dark and downward. Therefore to the admonition already given, the Apostle adds another. “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark (keep sight of) them who walk so as ye have us for an example.” Do not mistake the whole nature of Christianity; do not altogether miss the path in which Gods children go. It is one spirit that dwells in the Church; let not your walk forsake the fellowship of that spirit. Christians are not bound to any human authority: Christ is their Master. They must sometimes assert their independence, even with respect to the maxims and manners of good people. Yet there is one spirit in Gods true Church, and there is in the main one course of life which it inspires. Gods children have not been mistaken in the main things. In these, to forsake the spirit and the way of Christs flock is to forsake Christ.