INTRODUCTION
The Church at Philippi appears to have been one of the purest of the Apostolic age, and beyond any other called out the Apostle’s thankfulness and commendation.
The occasion of the Epistle seems to have been the return of Epaphroditus, who had brought a gift from Paul’s friends in Philippi, but had been seized by a dangerous illness, Paul was a prisoner in his own hired house in Rome and was anticipating his trial before the emperor.
There is nothing controversial in this letter. The peace of God keeps the Apostle’s mind and heart, and out of it pours a tide of deep and tender love. The hope of being alive at Christ’s coming is still his guiding star. His citizenship is in heaven, and all that he has forfeited of earthly wealth and joy is more than compensated for by what he has found in Christ.
OUTLINE OF THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS
TO PRESENT EVERY MAN PERFECT IN CHRIST
HUMAN AND DIVINE RIGHTEOUSNESS CONTRASTED
Warning against the Fleshly-Minded
8. What should we ever seek to apprehend?
STRAINING TOWARD THE GOAL
Not that I have already obtained it [this goal of being Christlike] or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that [perfection] for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own. [1Co_9:24; 1Ti_6:12]
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
All of us who are mature [pursuing spiritual perfection] should have this attitude. And if in any respect you have a different attitude, that too God will make clear to you.
Only let us stay true to what we have already attained.
Brothers and sisters, together follow my example and observe those who live by the pattern we gave you.
For there are many, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, who live as enemies of the cross of Christ [rejecting and opposing His way of salvation],
whose fate is destruction, whose god is their belly [their worldly appetite, their sensuality, their vanity], and whose glory is in their shame–who focus their mind on earthly and temporal things.
But [we are different, because] our citizenship is in heaven. And from there we eagerly await [the coming of] the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;
who, by exerting that power which enables Him even to subject everything to Himself, will [not only] transform [but completely refashion] our earthly bodies so that they will be like His glorious resurrected body.
Comments by
F.B.Meyer
On
Philippians 3:12-21
PRESSING ON “UNTO THE PRIZE”
The nearer the saint comes to the perfect life, the farther he feels from it. It is only when we have climbed the foothills that we realize how lofty the mountain summits are. But there is no need for discouragement. We have eternity before us, the expanding landscape of truth is our inspiration, and the loving Spirit of God bears us upward on eagle’s wings. Our Savior had a distinct purpose in view when He apprehended us. Its full scope was only known to Him; let us strive that we may not fail to realize His ideal. We can do this best by forgetting past failures, past sins, and past successes, and pressing on toward the goal. Will not the prize be the Lord Himself? Let us always remember that God’s call is upward. This will help us when there seems collision between two duties.
Instead of judging another, let us walk together along the path of obedience. Those who leave the narrow track and still profess godliness are greater enemies to the Cross than avowed antagonists. We are citizens of the skies, who come forth to spend a few hours each day on earth. This is our inn, yonder is our true home. Thence Jesus will come to complete the work of salvation by giving us a body like His own.
Pastor Jeff Arthur.
Heavenly Citizenship
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