Will there ever be a time in this life when we will be able to say that we have “arrived”? Will the day come when our sanctification will be entire, when our knowledge of God will be complete, when we will be able to relax and enjoy our victory over sin? Some think so. Years ago I was waiting tables at a fancy Marina Del Rey (Los Angeles) restaurant, when a beaming couple announced to me that they no longer sinned. They had victory in Jesus. They no longer had to get sick, either. Similarly, a visiting professor at the seminary I attended announced he hadn’t sinned in 25 years! I was eager to meet such a man. More than that, I wanted to meet his wife, to see what she had to say about his perfected state. The Apostle Paul says,

Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on (Phil 3:12a)

Social, political economical, and religious pendulums tend to swing from one extreme to the next, rarely stopping in the more balanced middle. Californians went from electing as Governor the very conservative Ronald Reagan for two terms, only to be followed by the very liberal Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown the next two terms. England went from the Puritan Commonwealth of Oliver Cromwell to the bawdy restoration of Charles II. The 1950’s in the twentieth century gave way to the revolutionary 1960’s. From one extreme to the next the pendulum swings.

Who needs to know that we have not “obtained it” or “become perfect” and so have to “press on”? The Apostle Paul is battling a legalistic corruption of the gospel in 3:1-11. However, in doing so he spoke of a very complete salvation in Christ-righteousness by faith in Christ (v. 9), sanctification by the power of His resurrection (v. 10), and the promise of glorification (v. 11). It’s so complete that some might, and apparently had gotten the wrong idea. They began to imagine that they had received the fullness of that salvation right then and there. They began to believe that they had arrived, and so no longer had to try to be holy, and indeed no longer sinned. Consequently, sin was being indulged, but redefined as something other than sin, because, after all, those who have been perfected no longer sin. By definition, whatever they do it isn’t sin, because they are perfect in Christ. Following the pendulum, he must now deal with this libertine or antinomian tendency in 3:12-16. We might also call it a libertine/perfectionist tendency.1 What does the Apostle Paul have to say to those who are self-satisfied and content in their spiritual attainments?

Incomplete

Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:12)

First, our salvation, in this world, is incomplete. The Apostle Paul says he has not yet “obtained it” or “received it.” What is the “it”? The next phrase tells us. “Or have already become perfect.” The “it” refers to the completion or perfecting of the salvation described variously in verses 9-11. “It” is all that has been discussed in the preceding verses. “It” is to fully “gain Christ,” to “know Christ,” to be “found in Him” (vv 8-10). “It” is to know the fullness of “the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His suffering” and “to attain to the resurrection from the dead” (vv 10,11). This has not happened. “Not that I have already obtained all this,” the NIV reads. Our transformation and new life in Christ is incomplete in this world.

I have a faith that justifies (verse 9). But my faith is flawed. It’s weak. I have “little faith,” like the Disciples. I pray, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief” (Mk 9:24). My faith is very, very fragile. I have a true knowledge of Christ. I know lots of Bible and lots of theology, so it seems, but my knowledge is superficial. It is shallow. I know but “in part” (1 Cor 13:9). My knowledge is very, very limited. I’ve experienced the power of the resurrection in sanctification. But I still stumble. I still fall. I still fail. I still stray. Sometimes that power seems hardly evident at all. I know Christ’s fellowship. I know of the Good Shepherd’s presence in my life, protecting, strengthening, leading, guiding, feeding. But He still often seems distant. He seems remote. I know He said, “I am with you always” (Mt 28:20), but I still feel at times that I have been abandoned. It seems at times that I know of His absence as much as His presence. I know what it is to enter into His suffering and death. I feel as though I have surrendered over to Christ my whole life. Yet, I fear suffering. I am cowardly when facing persecution. I compromise rather than deny myself. Again and again I see that my salvation is incomplete, imperfect, flawed. Why? Because glorification takes place in the next world. We have not “already become perfect.” We’ve not “reached perfection.”2 Perfection will come. One day we will be perfected. But not in this life. He repeats the same in verse 13:

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; (Phil 3:13a)

He has not “laid hold of it” or “arrived.” Think of the Christian life as a pilgrimage. We never arrive at our destination in this world. Christ’s work in us never is completed. There always will be room for growth. There always will be sins to mortify. There always will be disciplines, such as daily prayer, attendance at public worship, Scripture reading, Sabbath-keeping, tithing, and family prayer to master. There always will be battles against the devil, the flesh, and the world to wage. Christ will perfect what he has begun in us (1:6), but not in this world. We live in the period of “the already” and the “not yet.” We already are saved. Yet we are being saved. We already are holy, yet we are being made holy. We already are complete, yet we are being completed. All spiritual progress, all spiritual growth, all spiritual maturation is in this world incomplete and partial.

One of the ironies of the Christian life is that as we grow in knowledge and maturity, the more these inadequacies become obvious. As we grow in sanctification we simultaneously grow in what one might call “divine discontent” and dissatisfaction. Maybe once I thought I was a pretty knowledgeable and right-living person. However, the more I know of the holiness of God, the more keenly I am aware of my own corruption; the more I know of God’s glory, the more I become aware of my own ignorance. This is why a holy man like the Apostle Paul can speak of himself as the “chief of sinners” (1 Tim 1:15). This was not false modesty on his part. The closer he drew to God, the more he saw of his unworthiness to be there. The closer we draw to the light of Christ, the more the dark corners of our hearts are exposed. The more we are conformed to the image of Christ, the more obvious our flaws, corruption, and non-conformity become. Never can we say that we have arrived. Indeed, the more we grow, the less likely we are to claim it.

Pursued

Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:12)

Given our incomplete salvation, given that no matter how hard we try we’ll never arrive, what are we to do, give up? Just the opposite. He says, “I press on.” He uses a hunting word (diōkō). It has the flavor of “pursue and overtake,” or “chase and capture,” says Martin.3 It is also used of foot races. It signifies single-minded and strenuous effort. Though perfectionism is denied, “there is equally no question of passivity or indifferent acquiescence in his present experience,” Martin further observes.4 Quietism is no solution. He wishes to “lay hold of” that for which he was “laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” He is referring back to “the resurrection from the dead,” i.e. glorification (v. 11), and all that goes with it: our entire sanctification, a mature knowledge of Christ, complete conformity to the image of Christ, and eternal life (cf. 1 Jn 3:2). Again, we are being required to think of our salvation not as something that happens at a point in time, such as when we first believed and were justified by faith. The forgiveness of our sins is just the beginning of our completed salvation which includes sanctification, perseverance, and culminates in glorification. We are saved not only from the penalty of sin, but also its power. We were “predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29). We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him” (Eph 1:4). We are saved so that we might become living examples of holy living. As we saw before, Jesus liberates us from bondage to sin so that we might be free to pursue righteousness through “the power of His resurrection” (v. 10). This is why Christ “laid hold” of us. He aims at our complete deliverance from darkness. This is what we “press on” to “lay hold” of. Our goal is victory over the power of sin. We want to experience the fullness, the completion of our salvation. He repeats the same in verses 13,14:

Brethren, 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, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:13,14)

We pause to note who it is who is speaking. This is the Apostle Paul. He was “blameless” even before he was a Christian! But even he hasn’t arrived. Even he must “press on.” It would be the height of pride and folly for anyone else to claim that one had already “laid hold of it.” The Apostle Paul hasn’t. Not one of us has. It is a standard above us. It is beyond our reach. Yet we are to pursue. Again he says, “I press on.” He is pursuing it. He elaborates some on what he means by pressing on.

First, he is determined to forget “what lies behind” (v 13). He will not allow himself to become distracted by the past. What lies in the past? Both victories and defeats. By looking back at victories or accomplishments one might be tempted to rest in one’s laurels to become prematurely content and complacent. On the other hand, by looking back at one’s defeats, one might become discouraged. One might lose confidence. I might even disqualify myself and give up the struggle. Past failure is to be handled through confession of sin and receiving the promised forgiveness. Recalling the past for the sake of reminding ourselves of the depth of our depravity and the magnitude of God’s grace can be a good thing (e.g. 1 Tim 1:15,16); but it never should become an excuse for passivity or inactivity. I’m not to allow myself to wallow in the past and to be crippled by my prior sins and mistakes, however serious they might be.

Second, he is determined to “reach forward to what lies ahead.” He uses a word (epekteiomenos) used of a runner stretching for the tape at the finish line, muscles straining, arms pulling the air. “I press on,” he says a second time. This is the “one thing” he does. He is driven to know Christ and be like Christ. This is his “goal,” using another athletic image referring to the finish line. “I race toward the finish line,” he is saying. He is aiming toward the “prize,” the victor’s prize in a contest, or “reward,” still another athletic metaphor. This is the “upward call” of God to us in Christ Jesus. “He has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus,” reads the NIV. He calls us away from the temporal and earthly to the eternal and heavenly. The goal or purpose toward which we aim is the spiritual not the material, divine not human. The goal, then, is our completed salvation, our perfected faith, our perfected knowledge of Christ and perfected fellowship with Christ, our perfected righteousness, and our glorification. Since that is the goal, does it not make sense that in the meantime it would be that which we would pursue?

A fairly clear picture of the Christian life emerges, doesn’t it? Properly lived, the Christian life is a life in aggressive pursuit of the ultimate goal of our salvation, which is to know Christ and be like Him. Christians are a people pressing toward perfection. They never are content with this current state of affairs. They press forward for more knowledge, more holiness, more love, more character, more Christ-likeness. This is our “one thing,” our priority, our consuming passion.

The Apostle Paul recognizes that not all will share his perspective.

Let 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; (Phil 3:15)

With some irony he challenges “as many as are perfect,” that is, claim perfection, “have this attitude.” If you really are perfect, you will share this outlook that says 1) we’ve not arrived; 2) the goal is reached only by pressing-on. The “perfect” may show their perfection by acknowledging the imperfection! The Apostle Paul is not at all afraid to say that other opinions are out of court. If anyone has another attitude, God will correct it. In the meantime,

however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained. (Phil 3:16)

Theological error must not lead to ethical error. The standards for living must not be compromised by those now lost in a theological muddle of their own making.

The Christian life, then, is a period of preparation, where I strive now to become more like I will be then, and enjoy now what I will enjoy in its fullness then. Because this is my desire, I press on. Spiritual goals will take precedent over whatever earthbound goals that we might have. The “upward” call will be our priority. We will pursue Christ with single-minded devotion. It will take priority over everything else. We will want to know Him. So we will “press on” in prayer, and in Bible reading, and in reading good Christian books, and attending public worship. We will reach for the tape.

Likewise becoming like Christ will be our priority. Time will be committed to getting the victory over our dark habits and addictions. Sin will be mortified, put to death (Rom 8:13). The body will be disciplined (1 Cor 9:27). The flesh will be crucified (Gal 5:24). This agenda requires an aggressive, proactive approach. We “discipline ourselves for the sake of godliness” (1 Tim 4:7). We will experience only a truncated salvation if we are content to drift, passively, down the world’s streams, listening to the odd sermon, but not entering the fray. We will pursue Christ eagerly lest we forever remain babes, half-committed, half-worldly, fit only for milk and not solid food.

If the Apostle Paul must use images of single-minded and strenuous devotion to portray the Christian life, what about us? Is it possible that we can know Christ truly and do less? Is it possible that we ever will progress? grow? mature? contribute fruitful service? It never will happen. The Christian life cannot be lived and the fullness of our salvation cannot be experienced with a part-time commitment. God has given us all the resources we need in Christ – righteousness by faith, the power of the resurrection, fellowship, and glory (vv 9-11). Forget what is behind. Join the race, brethren. Strain toward the goal. Press on toward the prize. Aim at the “upward call” which is ours in Christ Jesus.