Scripture Daily

Context No. 773 of 4322 · Philippians

Context · Reflection

Philippians 3:7-12: in context

7However, I consider those things that were gain to me as a loss for Christ. 8Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, 10that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death, 11if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus.

Just before this, Paul listed the things he had once counted as his assets: born into the right people, circumcised on the right day, a Pharisee, blameless under the law. Then he crosses the whole ledger out. Whatever was gain to me, he says, I now count as loss for the sake of Christ, and not only those things but everything, which he calls rubbish, a blunt word for what you throw out, compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. His aim is not a doctrine but a person: that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings.

And then, having said all that, Paul does something that should be a relief to anyone tired of pretending. He admits he is not there yet. Not that I have already obtained this, he writes, or am already perfect; but I press on to take hold of it, because Christ Jesus has taken hold of me. The greatest of the apostles, near the end of his life, will not claim to have arrived. He is still pressing, still reaching, and the only thing settled is at the other end of the sentence: he was first grabbed by Christ. The life he describes is not a finished achievement to display. It is a pursuit, carried along by the One who caught hold of him before he ever reached for anything.

Paul would not claim to have arrived; he only kept pressing on, held by the Christ who first took hold of him. Do I wear myself out pretending to have arrived, when I am allowed simply to keep pressing on, already caught?

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