Philippians, Rightly Divided, Verse-by-Verse

Session 14 | Phillippians 3:11-14

Philippians 3:4-14 | Paul's Journey

• Verses 4-6 -- see session 12

• Verses 7-10 -- see session 13

• Verse 11- Black

  • This verse is problematic as the concluding words of the previous testimony, in which Paul claimed to have a righteousness which is of God by faith (v. 9), yet now he sees uncertain as to whether he will attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Since Paul has given been giving his theological journey, and included such a strong testimony of being found in him (v. 9), it appears that verse 11 should begin a new sentence rather than complete the old. This new sentence concerns His Jewish life, for the resurrection of the dead is a Jewish national matter and not something of the Body of Christ (which will have its resurrection, but this particular phrase seems to speak more of the Jewish resurrection at the Second Coming, compare Matthew 22:31, Acts 17:32, 1 Corinthians 15:12, Hebrews 6:2, etc., each of which is built on passages like Daniel 12:2).

  • The resurrection at rapture is taught in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, and Paul is confident that he will be included (1 Thes. 4:13-15). His confidence in this resurrection was written many years before Philippians.

  • So, our premise is that Paul's testimony has now shifted to speak of his Jewish and thus Kingdom faith and resurrection. And in this, he appears to not have a full confidence. He had, you may remember, persecuted the church of God, and wasted it (Gal. 1:13), perhaps even putting some to death for their Messianic belief.

  • We will take, therefore, these words to refer to the first resurrection (Rev. 20:5), that of Israel, and assume that Paul is striving for this resurrection. By necessity, therefore, one would need to hold the position of a double Gospel during this time-frame (compare Gal. 2:7).

  • This is an assumption we will attempt to confirm or reject in the coming verses.

  • If we start the sentence with verse 11, then we would take verses 12-13 as parenthetical, and verse 14 as the completion of verse 11.

  • Note: this assumption is why I have kept these verses in black print.

    
    

• Verse 12 -- Black

  • Do these words not sound like works rather than grace? All the verbs are in the active tense, save the last. Any normal reading of the verse would conclude that Paul is striving for perfection and that he is dependent upon his own efforts to get there.

  • Of course, this self-effort would be fitting under the Kingdom program, but not allowed at all in the Grace program. Once again, there must be an overlap of these two programs. Concerning the self-effort, compare passages like Romans 2:7, Revelation 2:10, etc.

  • While this view sounds radical, consider the closing words of this verse. Paul wants to apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. For what was Paul apprehended? While at first we might want to say,“so that he could be the recipient of the mystery," we should study the Acts accounts closely and we will discover that he was apprehended on the Road to Damascus to become a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes (Acts 24:5). Thus, his phrase apprehended of Christ Jesus is an allusion to the Damascus Road experience, which was thoroughly Jewish. An interesting comparison is found in Romans 9:30-31, where Gentiles have attained to righteousness...which is of faith (v. 30) but Israel hath not attained to the law of righteousness (v. 31). Beginning in verse 12, Paul is putting himself in the category with Israel.

    
    

• Verse 13 -- Black

  • Paul's Jewish testimony is that he had not yet apprehended (the perfection, as mentioned in v. 12). And yet, just a few verses back (v. 6) he claimed to be blameless in relation to the law. However, here the perfection is not for law-obedience, but rather for the task to which he had been apprehended of Christ Jesus (v. 12).

    Paul therefore does the only thing that one can do in such a situation: forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.
    

• Verse 14 -- Black

  • This verse is often applied to those of us who are complete in Christ (Col. 2:10). And while there is a sense in which we, too, would want to press forward, we should first look and ask what the mark is, and the prize of the high calling. If we looked to Revelation 3:21, the mark would be to overcome* and the prize would be to sit with Christ in His kingdom*. If this is not the mark or the prize, then what is it? And since these do not pertain to the life under grace, should we press toward a mark and a prize that is not ours? Or should we press toward a mark and a prize that we cannot define?

  • Did Paul ever get there? When we read 2 Timothy 4:7-8 we find Paul's later testimony.

  • In verse 11 we considered the possibility that Paul's striving was related to the Kingdom Gospel (which requires works and faithfulness to the end). The subsequent verses, through verse 14, seem to confirm this assumption.