Press on in Your Christian Life – Philippians 3:12-21
3 (12) It is not that I have already obtained this or have already been made perfect; rather, I press on so that I may take hold of that for which also I have been taken hold of by Christ. (13) Brothers, I do not regard myself as having already taken hold of these things; rather, I do this one thing: forgetting the things that are behind and reaching for the things that lie ahead, (14) I press on to the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
(15) All of us who are mature should have this attitude; and if you have any different attitude, God will certainly reveal that to you; (16) only let us live in agreement with the level of maturity we have attained.
(17) Join in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who are walking in accordance with the model you have in us. (18) As I have often told you, and even now tell you with tears, many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. (19) Their destiny is perdition, their god is their own appetites,* and they glory in their shameful conduct. They set their minds on earthly things.
(20) But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. (21) By the power that enables him to bring everything into submission to himself, he will transform the body belonging to the present state of our humiliation, so that it may be conformed to his glorified body.
*Literally, “their god is the belly”
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
