Lesson for March 29, 2020

The Book of Philippians

Chapter 3:12-16

“Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting whatlies 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. 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; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”

The ultimate goal for every believer while on earth should be to reach ultra-super-grace. Ultra-super-grace is greater spiritual growth and greater blessing from greater testing. Super-grace and ultra-super-grace are categories within spiritual maturity. Super-grace is the advanced function of the Royal Priesthood and the advanced production of divine good. 

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect. Paul was a spiritually mature believer when he wrote this this letter to the Philippian church, but had not yet reached ultra-super-grace status.

By the time he wrote II Timothy he could write as an ultra-super-grace believer. What was not already accomplished when writing Philippians would later be accomplished when writing the Pastoral Epistles of I Timothy, II Timothy and Titus. At the time of writing, he was in super-grace and getting ready to advance to the final objective of ultra-super-grace.

But I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. The Greek word for press is “dioko”and means to hotly pursue as in a race. The Greek word for lay hold of is “katalambano,” which means to seize and hold on to, to attain, to appropriate or to overtake. It is one of the strongest words for seizing, grasping or taking possession of something. Here it has the concept of attaining by the study and application of doctrine. Paul saw the objective and he pressed on. The same Greek word “katalambano” is used for Christ laying hold of Paul.

Paul was seized and held metaphorically by Jesus Christ. He was on the Damascus road while pursuing and killing Christians, but on his way the Lord stopped him and “seized him and held him,” as it were. Paul was referring to the point of his salvation on the Damascus road where he was stopped and turned around, spiritually. At his salvation, he was turned around spiritually to faith in Christ and perhaps became the greatest believer in history and reached spiritual objectives never before attained. Once saved or overtaken by Christ, Paul pursued the ultimate in his spiritual life, which was ultra-super-grace.

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet refers to Paul’s remembrance of his set-back in reaching ultra-super-grace earlier because of his disobedience in going to Jerusalem and his recovery and determination to keep on advancing to the goal. (Acts 21) He was not discouraged because of his failure, but he kept on advancing in his spiritual life. None of us should ever be stopped from advancing in the spiritual life by our failures. Simply acknowledge your sins to God and get back on track by evaluating yourself and studying and applying Bible doctrine. Regarding myself means evaluating yourself, which is something that all believers must do regularly in an objective way. Paul’s evaluation of the situation applied to Paul’s first Roman imprisonment when he had taken back control of his spiritual life and was once again rapidly moving toward the objective of ultra-super-grace.

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind.  As long as we are alive, God has a purpose for us. Paul had to forget the fact that he went into reversionism and had to put it behind him. He is not going to forget his failure because he obviously writes about it from time to time, but he is going to forget it as a handicap. It was not a handicap. He was not going to feel sorry for himself. You never advance while handicapping yourself with some past failure. This refers to Paul’s reversionism, as well as any past sin or carnality that might disturb him. Our past failures are never to be a deterrent in our spiritual advance. Carnality is handled by the Rebound Technique. Then we are to forget about it and move on. Reversionism is handled by the persistent study and application of Bible doctrine. The recovery is a process and in the case of Paul it took some time, but he made all the way back to spiritual maturity by being persistent in his spiritual advance. And reaching forward to what lies ahead, uses the Greek word“epekteino” [epi = on, over, after, near; ekteino = to stretch out] for reaching forward, which means to stretch out after or farther, to reach out toward or to strain for. This is pursuing the objective vigorously.

The importance of Bible doctrine cannot be overstated in regard to this passage and performing all these functions of forgetting failures of the past and advancing from spiritual maturity to super-grace and ultra-super-grace. Bible doctrine is the key to avoiding the trap of being stopped by past failures. Past failure, therefore, must not interfere with present victories and the glorification of Jesus Christ. Therefore, never let your failures keep you down. All believers have failed, but not all believers have recovered and moved on to victory. 

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  The prize is the Greek word “brabeion,” which means reward, prize or a prize of victory. The prize is the upward call of God in Christ Jesus which means Paul was thinking about being with his Savoir and the eternal rewards that await him in Heaven.

Paul was very familiar with the Roman system of rewards for both the military and for athletic competition. These are primarily the illustrations he used throughout the New Testament to represent eternal rewards for faithful believers. Eternal rewards are represented in the Bible by crowns (actually wreaths, “Stephanos” in Greek). Some wreaths were worn on the head like a crown. Some were battle medals or medals for winners in athletic competition worn on the uniform. Both were for accomplishments at the maximum level. Both carried with them immense honor and wealth. Some were given land, some were made rulers over cities or estates, some received cash, but all were exempt from paying income taxes for life.

Eternal rewards for the believer are in many ways similar to the blessings of this life, but there are some differences. Eternal rewards are themselves blessings and they are based on the grace of God. God in His grace gives the believer the tools he needs in order to attain these rewards. However, these rewards are given as a result of compliance with the terms of an agreement between the believer and God (something given as a result of something done). Executing the Christian Way of Life is the key to eternal rewards. These rewards are as follows:

1. Rulership of cities – this reward is given to all believers who faithfully fulfill their spiritual lives before God. It is given to those who are advancing in their Christian lives and to those who are consistently learning God’s Word from accurately taught Bible doctrine and making correct application of it to their lives. (Luke 19:17;II Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:10)
2. Crown of Righteousness – this reward is for all believers who attain spiritual maturity, thus fulfilling the potential established by the imputed righteousness of Christ in their souls. In other words, they are making their experience align with their position in Christ. (II Timothy 4:7-8)
3. Crown of Life – this reward is reserved for all believers who pass the test of undeserved suffering or divine testing. This crown is attained by applying Bible doctrine to your experience while in the midst of suffering. Remember that all suffering is not divine discipline. Undeserved suffering is designed for our growth. (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10)
4. Crown of Joy – this is a reward reserved for all believers who consistently share the Gospel with others. (Philippians 4:1; I Thessalonians 2:19-20)
5. Crown of Glory – this reward is reserved for those with the gift of pastor-teacher. It is given for faithfully fulfilling the gift by using it to teach accurate Bible doctrine. The primary job of the pastor-teacher is to study and teach. (I Peter 5:1-4)
6. The Winner’s Crown – this reward is given to all believers who advance according to the rules. In other words, doing a right thing in a right way. This reward is for those who exercise self-discipline, diligence and persistence over a long period of time to learn a system of doctrinal truth and accurately apply that truth.(II Timothy 2:5; I Corinthians 9:24)

Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude. Perfect means spiritually mature. This attitude is the Greek word “phroneo,” which means to think divine viewpoint based on Bible doctrine in the soul. The thoughts of the soul determine the real person. Human viewpoint is any thinking which is in opposition to Bible doctrine. Divine viewpoint is the thinking of the believer who has doctrine in his soul. All divine viewpoint is Bible doctrine that the believer has transferred from the Bible into his soul by faith. Divine viewpoint, therefore, is thinking doctrine. Without doctrine in the soul you cannot possibly have divine viewpoint.

And if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you. This was addressed to the Philippians, many of whom had reached super-grace and were now being challenged to move to the next objective which was ultra-super-grace. Different attitude you cannot go from super-grace to ultra-super-grace if something malfunctions in your mental attitude. Paul knew the situation in Philippi. He had discovered that in the absence of their pastor, Epaphroditus, there had been a kind of power grab. There had been some bad feeling and people were beginning to think, not in terms of divine viewpoint but in their reaction to each other. So, their thinking had become different. They were not thinking on the basis of what the Bible says, they were thinking in terms of their reactions to others. God will reveal that also to you means God will reveal the truth to you through the accurate teaching of doctrine which is the means by which He has chosen to reveal everything.

However, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained is a command to advance to the final objective of ultra-super-grace. Paul was now encouraging these believers to recognize the importance of keep advancing after evaluating some of the problems that they faced. Keep living is the Greek word “stoicheo,” which means to walk in a straight line, to march in rank under discipline. There is no spiritual advance apart from the study and application of Bible doctrine. Standard is the Greek word “kanon,” which means rule and is referring to the Canon of Scripture. It refers to the sum total of accurate Bible doctrine in the Word of God. Paul and many of the believers in Philippi had reached super-grace by means of the consistent execution of the Christian Way of Life. Paul’s encouragement was to continue doing the same thing they had been doing to reach super-grace status.