Pressing On for the Prize
Philippians 3:12-16
If you are trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior, Lord, and Treasure, then you have been forgiven and justified and adopted into God’s family. But there are aspects of your salvation that have not yet happened: you have not yet been resurrected, or glorified, or entered heaven.
So when it comes to being glorified, entering heaven, and being resurrected from the dead, how important is the way we live now? Must we live a certain way to enter heaven? Or is the way we live now irrelevant?
Paul tells us in Philippians 3:12-16. So let’s turn there. If you need a Bible, please raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Philippians 3 is on page 981 in the Bibles we are passing out.
Here’s the broader context of this passage. In the beginning of chapter 3 Paul urges his readers to seek their joy in Christ. And Paul says this because some of his readers were tempted to seek their joy in the status of being Jewish.
But Paul says that he, too, used to seek his joy in the status of being Jewish. But all that changed when he met Jesus Christ. The joy of knowing Christ, being forgiven for all his sins, being clothed in Jesus’ perfect righteousness, and being assured of heaven forever far surpasses the joys of being Jewish.
So Paul has turned from everything else he used to trust for his joy, and he is seeking his joy in Christ. And Paul wants to persuade everyone to do this. So look at what Paul says in verses 12-16 --
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
To understand this paragraph we need to be clear on the meaning of verse 12. In verse 12 Paul says there is something he has not yet obtained. So what has Paul not yet obtained?
There are two clues in verse 12. Notice that he says it’s “not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect.” So what Paul has not already obtained is perfection -- and we know that perfection is not reached until we enter heaven. So that’s one clue. The second clue is the word “this” – “not that I have already obtained this.”
What’s included in the word “this”? It’s the things Paul listed in the previous verses. Let’s read those verses to see what Paul has not already obtained –
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--
10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 that by any means possible [which means with every possible effort] I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
And then verse 12 –
12 Not that I have already obtained this [namely, the things he has mentioned in versus 8-11]…
So there are aspects of salvation that Paul has not yet obtained. And that might sound puzzling. But when you study the New Testament, you see that salvation is talked about three different ways.
- It is talked about in the past tense – that by faith in Christ we have already been saved (Ephesians 2:8-9).
- But it is also talked about in the present tense – that by faith in Christ we are being saved (1 Corinthians 1:18).
- And – it is also talked about in the future tense – that by faith in Christ we will be saved (Romans 5:9).
And it’s that future salvation that Paul is talking about here. There are aspects of his salvation he has not yet received, and he is determined to press on until he receives them.
- Paul has not yet received the full gain of knowing Christ – so he presses on to receive that full gain.
- He has not yet stood before God at the final judgment and been declared righteous by being found in Christ – so he presses on so he will be found in Christ.
- He knows there is more of Christ’s power to be known in this life -- so he presses on to experience more of Christ’s power.
- He knows there is more sweet sharing in Christ’s sufferings to be known in this life – so he presses on to have that sweet fellowship with Christ.
- And he knows he has not yet experienced the resurrection from the dead – so he presses on so that he will be raised from the dead.
These are things Paul has not yet obtained, which is why the goal of his life is to pursue them. It’s like final salvation is over here, but Paul is not there yet. Paul is back over here. But Paul wants the infinite joy of that final salvation, so he presses on to attain it.
But Paul knows that could be misunderstood. We could think that if Paul needs to pursue final salvation, that there is the possibility that he won’t reach final salvation. And we could think that if we need to pursue final salvation, that there is the possibility that we won’t reach final salvation.
So to keep us from drawing that wrong conclusion, look at what Paul says at the end of verse 12 –
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
What does that mean? What does it mean that Christ Jesus has made Paul his own? From the moment that Christ saved Paul, Paul belonged to Christ. And when the all-powerful Jesus Christ makes you his own, you will always be his own, which means you will always be saved.
Let’s think about what this means. If this morning you are trusting Christ as Savior, Lord, and Treasure, then you have been saved by Christ. And he has made you his own – forever. Here’s what that means --
- It started in eternity past, when in amazing mercy, knowing your sinfulness, Jesus loved you and chose to save you.
- Then Jesus came to earth and lived a perfectly righteous life, so that when you trusted him his perfect righteousness would clothe you forever.
- Then he was punished on the cross in your place for all your sin so you can be completely forgiven, be freed from God’s judgment, and know his love forever.
- Then at some point in your life, because of what Christ had done, God reached down from heaven and took out your heart of stone, and gave you a new heart of flesh which trusted and loved Jesus more than anything else.
- And then, as you turned to trust Christ, God gave you the Holy Spirit, whose infinite power will not let you stumble, will not let you fall away, but will keep you persevering in faith until you enter heaven to be with him forever.
So that’s how Christ made you his own. And that’s what Paul is talking about at the end of verse 12. Paul wants us to understand that Christ has done everything necessary to keep you persevering until you enter heaven.
So final salvation is over there. And Paul and the rest of us are over here. But Jesus Christ will keep us persevering so we get from here to there.
But how does this truth impact Paul? Since Christ will get us from here to there, does that mean Paul can just put his life on cruise control? No. Read verse 12 again –
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
So while it’s true that Christ will keep Paul persevering all the way to heaven, it’s also true that Paul must persevere all the way to heaven. And notice that word because. One reason Paul presses on to get to heaven, is because Christ Jesus has made him his own and will bring Paul to heaven.
This is huge. You could think that if Jesus brings Paul to heaven, that would make Paul spiritually lazy. But that’s not how it works. It’s because Jesus will bring Paul to heaven, that Paul presses on to get to heaven. So how does that work?
See if this illustration helps. Let’s say that 50 miles away is beautiful Paradise Valley where you will have joy forever. But you’re not yet in Paradise Valley. To get to Paradise Valley you must travel the 50 miles.
But that 50 miles is not easy. God says it will be hard. We need to go through Persecution Pass, where people will harm us. We need to climb over Suffering Summit, with its heartbreaking trials. We need to persevere through Temptation Trail, where Satan tries to pull us off into sin. We need to keep walking on Obedience Path, even though it can be steep and rocky.
It’s not that our walking earns heaven. It does not. We are only saved by faith in Jesus Christ. His blood and righteousness earns heaven for us. So our walking does not earn heaven. But we must walk if we are going to enter heaven.
And it’s not that we need to walk perfectly. None of us will. We will all stumble and sin. But when we do, we can turn back to Christ in repentance and confession, and he will come to us and forgive us, and comfort us, so we get back on the path and keep walking.
But the path is hard. And all those difficulties could make us say – “I will never make it. Why even try? You’d be better not trying at all, than to try, and suffer, and then not make it.” But Jesus says – “You don’t understand. I made you my own. You will make it. I will cause your heart to keep persevering, and to turn back to me when you stumble. If you are genuinely trusting me, then you can be certain that I will keep you persevering all the way to heaven. I will give you all the strength you need for Persecution Pass, all the comfort you need for Suffering Summit, all the heart-satisfaction you will need for Temptation Trail, all the faith you need to keep walking on the path of obedience.
“So even though it is hard, you will surely make it, and Paradise Valley will be yours.”
Isn’t that motivating? Christ has purchased you for his own. He will cause you to keep persevering all the way to Paradise Valley.
So in light of that – what does Paul do? He tells us in verses 13-14 –
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Notice the energy and passion that’s reflected in the words Paul uses. He says there is one thing he does, he forgets what lies behind, strains forward to what lies ahead, and presses on toward the goal for the prize.
So what would Paul actually do? He would –
- Nurture love for Christ through prayer and meditation on God’s word.
- Fight to trust God’s promises when temptations and trials come is way.
- Obey Christ by loving fellow believers, and encouraging them in the faith.
- And by loving lost people, by reaching out to them, connecting with them, sharing the gospel with them.
So that’s what Paul does. And then in verses 15-16 he tells us what we should do. What should we do? Start with verse 15 –
15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.
You could think Paul is saying that if you are mature you will press on toward heaven, but if you’re not convinced of that yet, then don’t worry, because God will reveal it to you. But I don’t think that’s what Paul is saying, because Paul never talks that way. When Paul knows someone is making a wrong choice, then out of love he tells them are making a wrong choice.
So Paul is saying: “because you are mature, press on towards heaven. And if you are pressing on towards heaven, but are mistaken on other minor topics, God will reveal that to you.
Then read verse 16 –
16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Paul is saying that by Christ’s work we have already attained everything we need for final salvation. So let’s hold true to what Christ has done for us, by setting our eyes on heaven, and pressing on with all our might.
Paradise Valley awaits. Yes there are temptations. There is suffering. There is persecution. But Jesus will give us everything we need. And the joy of knowing him on the path, and in Paradise Valley, is worth it all.