Message: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce

 Message: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. 

By Rev. Katherine Liu Bruce   

Christian Arts Ministries: Biblical precepts & Gospel Music 

Scriptures reading:  

 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of what for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brother, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining 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 3:12-14) 

Apostle Paul had experienced and gained Christ tremendously, yet he did not account of himself to have experienced Christ in full or gained Him to the uttermost. He still endeavored to pursue toward the goal –the gaining of Christ to the fullest extent.  In order to gain Christ to the fullest extent, Paul not only forsook his experiences in Judaism but also would not linger in his past experiences of Christ. He forgot the past. No matter how much experiences, if we linger in the past experiences of Christ, not to forget, they were frustrates our further pursuing of Christ. Christ is unsearchable rich. There is a vast territory of His riches to be possessed. Paul was stretching out to reach the farthest extent of this territory. The fullest enjoyment and gaining of Christ; the uttermost enjoyment of Christ in the millennial kingdom as a reward to the victorious runners of the New Testament race.   

             To be called upward is for the obtaining of the prize to which God has called us from above, from the heavens. This heavenly calling (Heb.3:1) corresponds with the heavenly commonwealth in v.20 which says,“For our commonwealth exists in the heavens, from which also we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transfigure the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of His glory, according to His operation by which He is able even to subject all things to Himself. “(Phillppians3:20-21). In NIV translates “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20-21).   It is not an earthly calling like that given to the children of Israel in the flesh. This upward calling is to take possession of Christ, whereas the earthly calling to the children of Israel was to take possession of the physical land.  

         Citizenship, the Greek word denotes commonwealth, associations of life. In contrast to earthly in the preceding verse. Those who practiced the Epicurean philosophy set their mind on earthly things, but our commonwealth (citizenship) is in the heavens. The transfiguration of our body is the ultimate consummation of God’s salvation. In His salvation God first regenerate our spirit (John3:6). Now is transforming our soul (Rom.12:2), and consummately will transfigure our body, making us the same as Christ in all three parts of our being.  Christ’s resurrected body, saturated with God’s glory (Luke 24:26) . The transfiguring of our body is accomplished by the Lord’s great power, which subjects all things to Himself (Eph.1:19-22). This is the Almighty power in the universe.