# 01 2016 Devotional Phil. 3:13-14 The purpose of these devotionals is to draw closer to God by memorizing selected passages of Scripture. Further, to view the passage in context and grow spiritually by applying His Word to our daily living. All passages are taken from the NIV.
Philippians 3:13-14
“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and strain toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians is one of Paul’s prison letters but at this time he was under house arrest with the freedom of having visitors. He wants to thank the Philippian church for their material support and for their faithfulness to the Gospel. Chapter 3 is a warning about having “confidence in the flesh”, Paul is speaking against those who demand circumcision for all new believers of the Christian faith. In relation to this Paul prays for the Philippian church Ch.1:9-11. Paul prays for abounding love, knowledge, insight and discernment to see what is best and pure in Christ Jesus. Paul here rejects his past, his upbringing and his education under the law as rubbish and seeks to be found righteous by faith in Christ alone. That is what verses 13-14 are all about.
We must go back to verse10, Paul desires to know Christ, His resurrection and to share in His suffering, to be like Christ in death and to attain the resurrection from the dead. Paul here is not speaking of only spiritual resurrection that all Christians receive in Christ as new creations but the physical resurrection that await all those in Christ Jesus.
Paul has not yet attained it but he forgets the past, all that was contrary to the Gospel in his life before God called him, and he forgets his accomplishments. As there is in our lives, even now after God has called us, we leave 2015 behind, we forget our accomplishments, our failures and sins as God forgives and forgets them (Jer. 31:31-34). We are in the new covenant of Jesus’ blood we therefore strain forward into this New Year and like Paul seek the prize that comes with God’s call on our lives, the spiritual and physical resurrection for which Christ has called Paul, me,you, all of us, heavenward. Verse 20-21 culminates Paul’s exhortation: Our citizenship is not on this earth but in heaven and by the power of Christ in His time “will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body”. Praise be to His Name. Amen!
© cgvanwyk, all rights reserved
Heavenhigh 