Wednesday AM Bible Study; April 9, 2025 from Philippians 3:15-16

Theme: Joy in the Christian faith comes as a result of faithfully pressing on to maturity, whatever our circumstances.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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What is life on this earth all about? There are a lot of people with a lot of different answers to that question; and few of those answers seem compelling. But if the apostle Paul were to have been asked that question, he’d have given us the most satisfying answer we could hear. In a sense, he has been explaining that answer for us in Philippians 3.

For him, the singular focus is the Person of Jesus Christ Himself. He counted all things loss for Christ. As we’ve seen in Philippians 3:7-8—after telling his brothers and sisters in Philippi about his long and frustrating effort to earn God’s favor through his religious works—he wrote,

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:7-11).

That tells us—from Paul’s perspective—what the end goal of life is. It’s that we might have Christ in all His fullness. But that’s something that comes at the end of our time on earth. What, then, is the reason for our life on this earth presently? Paul seems to answer that, too. He tells us, in verses 12-14, that it’s to press on to lay hold by faith on all for which Jesus laid hold of us. He went on to write,

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (vv. 12-14).

So, from Paul’s perspective, the reason for our time on this earth as believers is to ‘press forward’ and to make ongoing progress in that for which Jesus gave Himself for us—anticipating the day when we will see Him and finally enter into the fullness of our relationship with Him. Now; it may be that we first trusted in Jesus at a very early age, and have lived a life of ongoing growth in Him since we were very small. Or it may be that we lived a life of sin for many years, and only recently trusted Jesus as our Savior—having come to Him relatively late in life. Or it may even be that we have known Him for many years, but really didn’t consider how to ongoingly grow in our relationship with Him until later—perhaps feeling that there were many years wasted, and that we now want to commit to progress rather late in life. But in the end, the true purpose for our lives on this earth—during the short time we have on it—is to use it to prepare for that coming day of glory, and to truly lay hold of that for which Jesus gave Himself on the cross to lay hold of us.

That was Paul’s perspective. And he wanted it also to be the perspective of his beloved brothers and sisters in Philippi. It’s as if, after having talked at length about his own perspective, he then turned to his readers and urged them to have the same perspective that he had. In verses 15-16, he wrote,

Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind (vv. 15-16).

This—as we’ve been stressing all along in our study of Philippians—is a book about experiencing full joy in Jesus Christ. It was written by a man who manifested overwhelming joy while in the most difficult of circumstances—while in prison under the dark shadow of possible execution. And in these words, he lets us know that joy in the Christian faith comes as a result of faithfully pressing on to maturity whatever our circumstances.

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Consider the word ‘maturity’—as Paul used it in this passage. The Greek word he used is teleios; which ordinarily carries the idea of ‘completion’ or ‘perfection’. But in this case, it couldn’t mean complete ‘perfection’ in the Christian life on earth because even Paul admitted in verse 12 that he was not “already perfected”. In verse 12, he used the form of the word that expressed that he had not yet been given ‘complete perfection’—although the fact that he anticipated complete perfection is shown in what he said in verse 9: that in gaining Christ, he would eventually “be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith”.

So; when he uses this word in our passage this morning—speaking of his fellow believers in Philippi by the name “as many as are mature”—there are a couple of possibilities. He could be speaking of his fellow believers as those who are destined for ultimate perfection and who ought to strive faithfully to live in practice on earth like what they already are in destiny before God. This is a strong possibility since he’d already said, in Philippians 1:6, that God will “complete” (epiteleō—perfect, fully accomplish) the work He began in us in Christ. If this is the case, then, Paul would be speaking to his fellow Christians in the same way that the apostle John did in 1 John 3:1-3;

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (1 John 3:1-3).

But another possibility is that he could be speaking of perfection in a relative sense—that is, writing to fellow believers who were, like himself, longing to lay hold of that for which Jesus had laid hold of them, and were pressing forward in their growth. They were increasingly forgetting what is behind, and increasingly reaching forward to what lies ahead. They were ‘mature’ in their faith; and were ‘maturing’ day by day. This seems like a more likely way of understanding Paul’s words; since he urged them to ‘walk’ in accord with what they had ‘already attained’; and would urge them—in verse 17—to join in following his example. And if that’s the case, he’d be saying something very much like what the writer of Hebrews said in Hebrews 6:1;

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection … (Hebrews 6:1).

So, how do we strive toward maturity—and thus experience the true joy of the Christian faith on this earth? Paul highlighted three basic principles. The first is …

1. KEEP A ‘PRESSING ON’ ATTITUDE (v. 15a).

Paul said, “Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind …” The word “therefore” turns our attention backward to the things that he had just written with respect to his own commitment to “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (v. 14). This is the “mind”—that is, the attitude or mindset or frame of thinking—that is to characterize the truly mature believer. They don’t lose sight of the prospect of beholding Jesus in glory and of being transformed into His image. They don’t take their eyes off the glorious objective of entering into the fullness of an eternal relationship with Jesus Himself and of ‘gaining’ Him. It’s this attitude that compels them to strive forward to new levels of maturity—to give their all in each area of their lives to ‘lay hold’ of that for which Jesus gave His all to ‘lay hold’ of them.

The words that Paul used in verse 14 described the straining and stretching forward of an athlete in a competition. And this was the attitude that Paul himself had with respect to his Christian life. ‘Maturity’ meant ‘pressing on’ to more maturity. In 1 Corinthians 9:23-27, he wrote,

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

Paul’s experience of the Christian life on earth was often a strenuous one. But as he said in Romans 8:18,

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us (Romans 8:18).

So, one way that we press on to maturity is by keeping a ‘pressing on’ attitude—continually reaching forward to the goal … like Paul Himself.

Another way is when we …

2. MAINTAIN A TEACHABLE SPIRIT (v. 15b).

Paul urged his readers to have the same attitude that he had—an attitude of pressing on; and he then said, “and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.” Some have taken Paul to be saying that if anyone to whom he was writing didn’t think that they needed to press on—that they had already been perfected and didn’t need to grow—God would reveal this to them and rebuke their pride. But in this context, he was writing to “as many as are mature”. So, it seems better to understand Paul as saying that in the general progress toward maturity, if there are any individual areas of our lives in which we are not making progress as we should, we can be confident that God will show this to us and help us to grow. This means that keeping a humble, receptive, ‘teachable’ spirit before God—under the rule and guidance of the Holy Spirit—is essential.

As those who desire to grow in our Christian faith, we should always remember that our Lord desires that growth even more than we do. He died in order to bring us to His own eternal glory. What’s more, the Father constantly watches over us and advances our growth. As Jesus said,

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away [or as it can better be translated, “raises up”]; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit (John 15:1-2).

Furthermore, the heavenly Father has placed the Holy Spirit in us to seal us for eternal glory. The Holy Spirit is constantly with us—guiding us, protecting us, empowering us, and teaching us how to walk in ongoing faithfulness to our Lord. As Jesus Himself said,

… when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13-15).

And so, in writing to his fellow believers, Paul was confident that if in any area of their lives in which they were not yet mature—if there’s any progress that was being stunted in them because of a failure to stop looking behind and to keep looking forward instead—if there were any blind-spot in their character that needs to be changed—God would reveal it to them.

The same is true for us. And the key is to not think that we have ‘arrived’ to full perfection yet, and to remain teachable and welcome His ongoing instruction from His word … and to obey that instruction when it is given.

And a third way to press on to maturity is to …

3. PRESERVE OUR GAINS TOGETHER (v. 16).

There will be times, as Paul has said, when the heavenly Father will prune us of those things in our lives that prevent fruitfulness in our Christian walk and will lovingly show us the areas in which we need to grow. But as we make progress in one area, we must be careful not to lose the progress that was made in another area. And this is why we need one another in the body of Christ in order to truly grow in maturity. Paul told his Philippian readers, “Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.”

Some ancient copies of Paul’s letter do not have the words at the end of verse 16—that is, that his readers were to walk “by the same rule” and “be of the same mind”. The New American Standard version, for example, translates this full verse, “however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained”; and the New International Version has it, “Only let us live up to what we have already attained”. But in any case, the basic idea seems to be that if we have grown in maturity in certain areas of life—if God has given us victory over sin and has enabled us to walk in a more Christ-like manner during our time on this earth—we should be careful not to let that progress slip away but keep hold of it in practice.

And we truly need one another in the Body of Christ to help us in this. Paul took it as a given that ‘maturity’ doesn’t happen in a believer’s life in any other context than in union with other believers. As he put it in Ephesians 4:11-16;

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4:11-16).

It is only by keeping united together as fellow sojourners toward the eternal glory of Christ that we can grow in individual maturity and maintain the particular progress we have made.

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The goal that we reach at the end of our life on this earth is Christ Himself—sharing forever in His eternal glory. And as Paul’s own example teaches us, the reason why we are presently living on this earth for this short time is to ‘press on’ and ‘lay hold’ of everything for which Christ has laid hold on us. God our Father continually keeps us in a program of maturity; and He allows every circumstance or situation that comes upon us to be an opportunity for progress in that maturity. As it says in James 1:2-4;

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:2-4).

That’s the pathway to joy … by way of maturity.

AE