Philippians 3:12-21
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining for what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
We have not already attained everything written about so far in the other posts. We have not truly started our new life in heaven, and we have not received our new bodies that are free of the sinful nature that plagues us. We are not perfect right now. We have not taken hold of it yet. But we must strain forward and not stop moving. Because Jesus Christ took hold of us. Since He took hold of us we shouldn't stop until we have taken hold of it. So we should forget about what is behind and strain toward what is ahead. Our sins are already forgiven and in our past. One of the biggest struggles I've had is condemning myself for my sin to the point that I start believing God hasn't forgiven me. Verse 13 has been the greatest help in that. For Jesus died in the past and took all of our sins. So forget the sins of your past for which you have repented, for it is all forgiven and gone. So we now are free to strain toward what is ahead, and that is life with Jesus Christ. And that is the prize which God has called us heavenward for.
Paul says that anyone who is mature should have this mentality. Why slip that in there? The reason is a question: How can a person chained to an immovable wall move forward? If we continue condemning ourselves and focusing on our sins, we can't be free to do what He wants us to. It would be like God telling us to go to a field so He can tell us to reap a harvest, but we say no I want to stay with the dust and ashes in the fireplace. But we must give up our sins to Him and let Him push us forward so He can do His good works through us. We must live up to what we have already attained: His Love and Forgiveness.
I separated the middle of this paragraph because it was too profound to skip over. The sentence in the middle of these in this section of the passage is another piece of Scripture that has become important to me. Paul says that if on some point you think differently, God will make it clear to you. So often I found Scripture that I just couldn't understand or that had a meaning I just thought did not work with the rest of the Bible. 1 John 3 is a great example. But it also works as an example in that God showed me how it fits. Sometimes it takes reading a lot of other Scripture, sometimes it takes some years of blessings or trials. But God does reveal what His words mean. And that too is something to realize about the Bible. It is not meant for a man to read and figure out it what it means on his own. The Bible is meant to be read with humility and an understanding that we don't know what we are truly reading. The Bible is what God reveals it to be. Those who do His Will as they learn it grow closer to Him and are able to hear His voice more clearly through the Holy Spirit. But those who do not do God's Will, hear Him less and less. Their hearts harden, and they do not know what His words truly mean. So have patience when reading the Scripture, and let God reveal what He will when He will.
In the next section Paul writes that all should take notice of those who live according to the pattern given. To live righteous lives according to the Scriptures that God reveals while constantly straining toward the Holy future that is ahead of us all. We should live by the example set by those who truly live for God and not of those in this world. One only has to go onto any other page of the very internet this post is being read with to see the evils filling this world. As Paul said, I say now with my own experiences and knowing what I have seen, "For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ." How numerous they are I do not know. But if it does not break our hearts to see even one person that does not believe, we have something wrong with us. For there is no sadder sight than someone who does not want the Love and Grace of Jesus, some who even declare a hatred for it. These people have nothing. They live for nothing but the "glory" they feel in their shameful actions. They live each day, just to get to tomorrow. The world is truly a living graveyard.
But... not all people in this world are dead. If that were true, I would not be writing this, and you would not be reading it. There are Christians in every part of the world. So many are dying yes, but, they know Paul's next point. That we are citizens of heaven. And we are all eagerly awaiting a Savior, Jesus Christ, to take us there. And when He does so, He will take us and give us new bodies free of the sinful nature that plagues us. And we will start our life with Him in perfection. So we are lights in this world to remind others that there is more to this life than living for the next vacation or party. We live now, to have life in heaven.
We are free from our sins, but not our sinful nature. We are dead to this world, but we still have to live in it. We are alive in Christ, but we do not yet live with Him in heaven. One can dwell on all these things, but then that would be dwelling in the past. How is the present the past? How can you divide 80-100 years by eternity? God is eternal. He is our tomorrow and our time. He is truly everything for us. I write these things not understanding them, but having the feeling that God is writing them and telling me just how little how know. So I write, let us strain toward that time that we do not yet know, for that body we do not yet have, and to see the Face we haven't yet received the honor of seeing. Our job as Christians is not yet over. It is only over when we are taken to heaven by Jesus Christ. What a Joyful day that will be, but also a mournful one. So let us go out and put the past behind us, so that God can do the Good He wants to do for those around us.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
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