God’s Word for You
Philippians 3:12-14 The paradox
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Saturday, April 11, 2026
12 Not as though I have already attained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus has taken hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenward call of God in Christ Jesus.
“Not as though” is a case of breviloquence or a shorthand way of speaking, common both in English and in Greek. The reader or listener automatically supplies a phrase like, “I don’t mean to say” or something along those lines. What is “this” that Paul says he has not yet attained? It is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection (verse 10). And yet Paul puts this in terms of it being a goal, and a prize, and to be “perfect” or “mature” (verse 15). But are we not perfect and declared to be holy in Christ, and through faith in Christ? Do we not already have a sufficient knowledge of Christ?
Here we come to a paradox, the paradox of justification vs. sanctification. In just the very next verse after this passage, Philippians 3:15, Paul calls Christians “those of us who are perfect” or “mature,” depending on the translation, but the word teleioi (τέλειοι) certainly implies a finished, perfected state.
About the doctrine of justification. The Scripture teaches that God has acquitted the guilty, and declared them to be not guilty and also righteous in his sight, not on account of the person’s merits, but on account of Christ’s merits, and on account of Christ’s righteousness. This is entirely by the grace of God (Romans 3:28) and not on account of any law that we might have kept, but through faith in Christ (Romans 5:1).
Yet in this lifetime, we also continue to sin. We are saved, yet we are sinners. Therefore Luther’s brilliant judgment of man holds true: simul iustus et peccator, “at the same time saint and sinner.” This may be difficult to understand philosophically, but the Bible points it out again and again, and any Christian who is honest about their own life cannot help but arrive at the same conclusion. I am forgiven, and therefore a saint, but I continue to sin, and therefore a sinner. Or as Paul put it, “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am!” (Romans 7:22-24).
Even if a man thought he led a very pious and pure life, he would have to admit that he was still infected by original sin, which continues in all mankind all our lives; it is “the sin that so easily entangles us” (Hebrews 12:1). We cannot rise to a perfect love of God. Something is always lacking in our good works. We want to show our love for God, but it is always flawed. A weak faith often succumbs to temptation more easily than a strong faith. The holiness of our lives is different from person to person. No two of us are exactly alike; some will give in to one sin more easily, some will be more easily tempted by another sin, and there might be someone who gives in to many sins but manages to show his faith with only one or two, to the confusion of his friends and neighbors. But through the word and the working of the Holy Spirit, “your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing” (2 Thessalonians 1:3).
The call of God, the call to faith and then to holy living (the one always comes first, the other always follows), is the prize Paul talks about; the goal. Even so, no matter how well we might think we have done, we must finally say, “We are only unworthy servants” (Luke 17:10). But we must not say this with a false humility! A servant or a slave in ancient times had few rights and could make no demands of his master the way that employees do today. Jesus says, “Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?” (Luke 17:7-9). This is our place in God’s kingdom. There is always more to be done. Ambrose says, “Admit you are a servant… Do not count yourself important because you are called a child of God. Grace must be acknowledged, but nature must not be ignored. You should not boast that you have served well, because you were obligated to do these things.”
There, our sin has been torn open and put on display so that the most stubborn among us will be cut to the heart. But God also offers grace in these same words. For “the prize of the heavenward call of God” is surely the gospel of the forgiveness of our sins and all of the glories and delights that go with it, from the resurrection to the gift of eternal life. All of this is ours through our dear Lord Jesus.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.