In Philippians 3:13 Paul says, “Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before.” Paul had experienced and gained Christ tremendously, yet he did not account of himself to have experienced Christ in full or to have gained Him to the uttermost. He still endeavored to pursue toward the goal—the gaining of Christ to the fullest extent.
In verse 13 Paul speaks of forgetting the things which are behind. In order to gain Christ to the fullest extent, Paul not only forsook his experiences in Judaism but also would not linger in his past experiences of Christ. He forgot the past. Not to forget but to linger in our past experiences, however genuine they were, frustrates our further pursuing of Christ.
Paul also tells us that he was stretching forward to the things which are before. He knew that Christ is unsearchably rich, that there is a vast territory of His riches to be possessed. He was stretching forward to gain these riches and to advance further into this territory.
Even though Paul was a matured saint and an experienced apostle, he tells us that he had not already obtained and had not yet been perfected. He did not regard himself as one who had obtained the full enjoyment of Christ or the full maturity in life. He, of course, had obtained the common salvation by the common faith (1 Tim. 1:14-16), but he was still pursuing Christ in order to gain Him to the fullest extent. Furthermore, Paul was also seeking Christ in order to have the extra portion of resurrection, the out-resurrection. In order to have this portion of resurrection, we must pursue, run the race, and finish our course triumphantly. Like Paul, we have been regenerated, but we are not yet perfected, or matured, in life. At the time of our conversion, we were gained by Christ so that we may gain Him. Now as those who have not yet obtained and who have not yet been perfected, we are pursuing Christ.
In Philippians 3:14 Paul declares, “I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward.” Paul was pursuing toward the goal for the prize. Christ is both the goal and the prize. The goal is the fullest enjoyment and gaining of Christ, and the prize is the uttermost enjoyment of Christ in the millennial kingdom as a reward to the victorious runners of the New Testament race. In order to reach the goal for the prize, Paul was exercised to forget the things which are behind and to stretch forward to the things which are before. This is the way to gain Christ by pursuing Him.
To be called upward is for the obtaining of the prize to which God has called us from above, from the heavens. This heavenly calling (Heb. 3:1) corresponds with the heavenly commonwealth in Philippians 3:20. It is not an earthly calling like that given to the children of Israel in the flesh. This upward calling is to take possession of Christ, whereas the earthly calling to the children of Israel was to take possession of the physical land.
We should see the fact that God has set up a goal and prepared a prize. We need to run a good race and to pursue Christ by forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, that is, the things concerning Christ and His Body, the church. Let us all forget the things behind and pay attention to the bright future ahead of us, a future of gaining Christ and experiencing Him to the uttermost in His Body.
We should not be satisfied simply with Bible knowledge, not even with the knowledge of Philippians 3. We need to have the actual pursuing of Christ. The Greek word for pursue can also be translated “persecute.” Before Paul was saved, he was persecuting Christ in a negative way. After he was saved, he pursued Christ to such an extent that we may even say he persecuted Christ but in a very positive way. To persecute a person is to trouble him and refuse to let him go. Before Paul was saved, he bothered Christ and would not let Him go, persecuting Him negatively. But after he was saved and had been gained by Christ, Paul still persecuted Him, but positively, for he refused to let Christ go. We also should persecute Christ in this way in order to gain Him. We should not let Christ go; rather, we should bother Him, persecute Him, in order to gain Him. This is to pursue Christ.
To persecute Christ in this way is exhausting. As we persecute Christ, we should spend ourselves completely. Our whole being with all of our strength should be consumed in pursuing Christ. We need to be stirred up to seek Him, even in a persecuting way. We should not allow Christ to get away from us. Instead, we should seek Him, pursue Him, and persecute Him in such a positive way; then we will gain Him.
In verse 15 Paul says, “Let us therefore, as many as are full-grown, have this mind; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, this also God will reveal to you.” In this book the dealing with the Philippian believers is focused on the mind, the leading part of the soul. This book charges them to strive together with one soul along with the personified gospel (1:27), to think the same thing, to be joined in soul, even to think the one thing (2:2; 4:2), to let the mind that was in Christ Jesus be in them (2:5), and to have this one mind, a mind focused on the pursuing and gaining of Christ to the uttermost. When our mind is thus occupied, we have the same mind, thinking the same thing, even thinking the one thing—the fullest gaining of Christ—being joined in soul, like-souled (v. 20), and made one soul.
The pursuing of Christ must be our goal. We should not be otherwise minded. God reveals to us that we need such a mind, a mind focused on the pursuing of Christ. Thus, God desires to continually adjust our mind, turning it toward Christ as the center.
We all need to see God’s unique goal. It is easy to be distracted in the Christian life, for there are many distracting factors surrounding us. If we do not have a fixed goal, the unique goal, the goal set up by God in eternity, and hold to it, we will eventually be distracted. The only thing that can keep us on God’s way is His unique goal—Christ for our highest enjoyment and ultimate gain. If we take this goal as our ultimate goal, we will be preserved.
In 3:16, Paul goes on to say, “Nevertheless whereunto we have attained, by the same rule let us walk.” The Greek word for walk is stoicheo, meaning to walk orderly, derived from steicho, which means to march in military rank, to keep step, to conform to virtue and piety. The word is also used in Romans 4:12 and Galatians 5:25 and 6:16. By this word the apostle charged us to walk and to order our lives—whereunto we have attained, at the state to which we have attained—by the same rule, in the same line, in the same path, in the same footsteps. Whatever state we have attained to in our spiritual life, we all must walk, as the apostle did, by the same rule, in the same path; that is, we must pursue Christ, toward the goal that we may gain Christ to the fullest extent as the prize of the upward calling of God.
Paul’s main thought in Philippians 3:16 is that, as Christians, the most important principle of our Christian life should be to pursue Christ. This principle must become a basic and governing element in our Christian walk. The governing principle of our Christian life should be the pursuing after the enjoyment and experience of Christ. This principle will preserve us in the proper oneness. May the Lord have mercy on us that we would have a mind to pursue Christ to the uttermost and to walk according to the elementary principle of the Christian life. This principle is that we pursue Christ, forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the goal established by God, that we may obtain the prize that He has prepared for us.