Philippians 3:13-14 13Brothers [and sisters], I do not consider myself to have made it my own. But one thing, forgetting the things behind and straining forward to the things ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
The humility of Paul appears in verse 13 as he shares with the Philippians that his journey is not finished yet. As long as he has breath, he will keep pursuing knowing Christ. He repeats the verb used twice in verse 12, have made it my own (kateilēphenai). He is still on the journey. This is not an either/or type situation but a process and growth experience. He uses imagery from the races of his day that give the picture of a runner bent over, straining his head pointing forward, never giving a backward glance, with eyes fixed on goal.
This race involves two steps. The first is forgetting the things behind. Paul does not says what these “things” are, which allows each individual to put in whatever he or she needs to. We all have a different story and things that load our memories down with pain, sorrow, and brokenness. Is it really possible to forget the past? To Forget (epilanthanomenos) means to stop noticing and so conscientiously to ignore something, to treat something as if it never happened, even though one may still have the memory of it. This may require forgiveness of others or ourselves (Colossians 3:13). We may need to forget our past successes because the race is not finished yet. Old trophies do not help us win a race. We should forget your past mistakes and not do the “if only I had” game. As essential part of success is struggle. The key to success is to get up and run again just as hard and even harder. We should also forget our self-imposed guilt because we have been forgiven by God through the blood of Christ. We are new creations.
The second step is straining forward to the things ahead. This participle (epikteinomenos) gives the picture of runners about to finish the race, giving everything they have for the final effort. This calls for constant improvement and full commitment. The Christian life should be dynamic, always growing, moving, and changing. We could paraphrase Paul’s thinking here: “I might be all right for the stage of maturity at which I am now, but I don’t even begin to think that I am where God finally wants me to be!”
Verse 14 repeats Paul’s motivation for all the effort he has put into ministry and living his life for Christ. Reflecting back on his life, he would answer that all the pain, suffering, persecution, and struggles were worth it. He presses on to the goal. The verb press on (diōkō) is the same used in verse 12 for pursuing. The race Paul was running took his full commitment. He wrote the Corinthians about this same motivation to win his race in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. To win a race takes discipline and practice. This is not a matter of “works of the law” but of the “obedience of faith.” It is living out the love of Christ provided to us through grace (verse 12). The so-called spiritual disciplines should be viewed as our response of the commitment of faith for what God in Christ has provided to us. It requires our obedience through saying “yes” to the Holy Spirit. Our tendency is towards laziness and pursuing useless habits.
Paul’s goal was to win the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. The word for goal (skopon) was used for the goal marker at the end of the race upon which runners fixed their attention. The upward call likely refers to Paul’s future hope of heaven and the gain of being with Christ unhindered by the troubles of this world. This is the “gain” of 1:21 that has been the foundation for all Paul wrote in this letter. In the various games and races of the first century, such as the Olympics, after each event, the person’s name would be announced and the person would be honored with a crown. The ultimate prize for believers is Jesus Christ. To be in Christ Jesus is why we have been created. This should be our number one pursuit in this life.
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