Pressing Toward the Goal; the Mind of the Perfect (Philippians 3:10–15)

Phil. 3:10–11. 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.

All our Eastern commentators see in this passage an exposition of the essence of righteousness in Christ Jesus—the essence of the Christian faith. St. Chrysostom, having expounded the opening words, says: “This is what constitutes our (that is, Christian) righteousness!” St. John of Damascus begins his explanation thus: “The Apostle teaches what the righteousness which is from God consists in.” And likewise Theodoret: “This righteousness consists in knowing by faith”—and so on.

In what, then, does the essence of our saving faith—or righteousness in Christ Jesus—consist? In this: that, having come to know the Lord Jesus Christ through faith, we enter into communion with His sufferings, and thereby become worthy to attain the glorious resurrection in Him. The heart of the thought lies in co-suffering with Christ the Lord. The death on the Cross of the Lord replaced all the sacrifices of the Old Testament and all its rites of justification. It alone replaces all sacrifices. Whoever enters into co-suffering with the Lord thereby appropriates to himself the power of His death on the Cross, and by that one act accomplishes what all the sacrifices together accomplish—that is, appropriates to himself full justification before Divine righteousness.

“That I may know Him”—that is, the Lord Jesus Christ. — We know by faith that “He is God and Creator of all, and took upon Himself our nature, accomplishing our salvation.” Here is meant the knowledge of the Person of Jesus Christ—of His divine-humanity, with all that pertains to it: the eternal purpose of our salvation in Him, the ordering of the world according to the idea of that purpose, the promises concerning Him after the Fall, the preparation of the human race for His coming, His manifestation in the flesh and the accomplishment of our salvation through His death on the Cross, His resurrection and ascension. All this we know from the Creed from our earliest days; yet to know it fully and essentially would exhaust all our strength and life. It is an inexhaustible object of knowledge for all eternity.

“And the power of His resurrection.” From among all the objects of knowledge concerning the Lord, the holy Apostle singles out in particular the grasping of the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. The power of Christ’s resurrection has not yet been fully revealed. We know the act of the resurrection; but its significance within the order of being is still hidden from us. If the Risen One is God, and the human nature raised in Him is the center of all creation, then the power of Christ’s resurrection, falling most directly upon humanity, must through it descend into all regions of existence. How all this is, remains hidden—for humanity still awaits its resurrection and has not yet partaken of it. When that resurrection is accomplished, then in all its magnitude will the significance of Christ’s resurrection be revealed throughout all creation; and until then, creation too awaits and groans for freedom from corruption. — The moral power of Christ’s resurrection we know more nearly: it is the first article in the Christian’s convictions, and its light illumines the entire realm of Christian knowledge; it points to the ultimate goal of Christian hope, and the glory of it is the stimulus of energy in every manifestation of Christian activity. He who contemplates the resurrection and grasps, in his measure, the power of it, in that same measure burns with faith and zeal for a life of faith.

“And the fellowship of His sufferings.” Christ the Lord was destined to suffer in order to enter into His glory, which was expressed in the resurrection, after which, as an inseparable consequence, followed the ascension and His sitting at the right hand of the Father. There the risen Lord is enthroned. Around Him there gather all His faithful servants—according to His word—into a foretaste of sharing in His glory. But just as the Lord entered His glory through suffering and the Cross, so all who ascend to Him enter into the sharing of His glory only by passing through a like path of suffering. These sufferings make them partakers of His sufferings and open to them the way to the place where the Lord entered by the way of the Cross. As it was for them, so for all. This path was explained and shown by St. Paul in himself and through himself. — Thus the first essential feature of active Christianity—or, what is the same thing, of the work of salvation—or, again, of justification by faith, of which the Apostle speaks—is fellowship in the sufferings of Christ. More simply put: the Lord gained salvation for you through suffering; if you wish to receive your salvation from Him and make it your own, suffer together with the Lord. Whether the suffering is voluntary or involuntary, without suffering there is no salvation. How is this to be done?

“Being conformed to His death.” St. Chrysostom says on these words: “Being conformed, he says, to His death—that is, sharing in it; for just as He suffered at the hands of men, so also I. This is why the Apostle said: ‘being conformed’; and in another place: ‘I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ’ (Col. 1:24)—that is, my persecutions and sufferings constitute this image of His death; for the Apostle was not seeking his own benefit but the benefit of many. Therefore persecutions, sorrows, and tribulations ought not only not to dismay you, but should even bring you joy—because through them we are conformed to the death of Jesus Christ and, so to speak, represent Him in ourselves, as the Apostle says in another place: ‘always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus’ (2 Cor. 4:10). — And this proceeds from faith. We believe that Christ rose and after the resurrection has great power; therefore we walk the same path He walked—that is, we become brothers to Him in this, and so, as one might say, become christs in this respect as well. O, how great is the dignity of sufferings!”

This is one form of co-suffering—through external sorrows and deprivations endured for the faith in the Lord. Another form of co-suffering is given by the struggle against the passions and lusts, of which the Apostle speaks in another place: “those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). And again: “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27). By this is meant all acts of self-mortification, voluntary privations—external, and a merciless self-compulsion toward every good thing and self-resistance to every sinful impulse. In all this there is no less pain than in external involuntary sufferings. Therefore here too, in the full sense, there is co-suffering with the Lord, conformed to His death.

Holy Baptism, in which we are buried together with the Lord in death, makes us partakers of the death of Christ the Lord (Rom. 6). This is accomplished sacramentally; but to what end? To this end: that the one who is baptized, drawing near to the Lord, vows to be faithful to Him to the laying down of his life. This resolution is a self-offering to death for the Lord’s sake, and therefore a direct union with His death. It is upon this resolution that the regenerating grace descends. Thereafter, what is here laid down as the resolution of the will is enacted throughout the whole of one’s life. External sufferings do not always come; but the inward painful struggle against the passions for the sake of the Lord’s commandments is always present. By this path, he who has once and for all died in Baptism for the Lord’s sake continues thereafter to die for Him, for His will and His holy commandments—throughout his whole life. The life of the true Christian is the way of the Cross. And this is how he is conformed to the death of the Lord. St. Chrysostom speaks of this mode of co-crucifixion with the Lord also, though his words are recorded somewhat obscurely.

“If by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” The resurrection from the dead is not a matter of one’s own will; it cannot therefore be the object of a moral aim. All will rise, whether they wish it or not, whether they have expected resurrection or not; but some will rise to glory, and others to torment. To attain, after the resurrection, to glory—this one may seek. This is what the Apostle meant when he expressed the desire to attain to the resurrection. He is speaking here of a resurrection that leads directly to Christ. His underlying thought is this: if you do not die—as indicated above—you will not attain such a resurrection. (All of the above reflects the thought of St. Chrysostom.)

Glorious resurrection can be attained only through co-suffering with the Lord, being conformed to His death—either through external involuntary sufferings, or through the crucifixion of the flesh with its passions and lusts. How does this means relate to the stated goal? Let us recall the expression frequently found in the holy Fathers: to rise in the soul before that glorious general resurrection. The soul is dead through sin, which operates in the passions. The seed of its quickening is planted in Baptism, on the foundation of the Christian’s moral resolve to resist sin to death. The whole of life lived after Baptism is nothing other than the development of that seed. But that seed evidently consists in overcoming the passions and establishing the virtues in their place. Together with this, quickening spreads throughout every part of the soul. The more passions that are overcome, the greater the part of the soul that comes alive. When all the passions are expelled and virtuous dispositions established in their place, the soul comes fully alive—as if rising from the dead. This is the resurrection before the universal resurrection. And it is evident that whoever rises thus in this life will assuredly be counted worthy of the glorious resurrection; or, after the resurrection, will go directly to Christ. What, then, does the Apostle desire when he expresses the wish to attain such a resurrection? He desires to attain in this life the resurrection of the soul, through the overcoming of the passions and the establishment of the virtues, by way of voluntary or involuntary sufferings and privations in the struggle against the passions and lusts—through which he is altogether introduced into conformity with the death of the Lord and into fellowship with His sufferings. — And this is the direct meaning of St. Chrysostom’s words: “If you do not so die and come to life, you will not attain the glorious resurrection.”

“But why does he say ‘if by any means I may attain’—as though uncertain that he is on the right path? He was certain that he was on the right path; but he could not rely on himself to be always walking it—whether he would reach the end, whether he might turn back or stray from the road. — “I, as it were, say thus: I have believed in Christ and in the power of His resurrection, I share in His sufferings and am conformed to His death; but for all that I am not yet fully assured”—which he also says in another place: ‘let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall’ (1 Cor. 10:12). And again: ‘lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified’ (1 Cor. 9:27)” (St. Chrysostom).

If so great an Apostle could not rely on himself, who would dare to do so? Therefore to all applies: work out “your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Watch keenly, attend with all diligence, for there are many snares. On the other hand, it is certain that our path is sure and leads straight to a glorious resurrection; but who can say that he has precisely fulfilled and continues to fulfill all the conditions required for this? This is why in all the great holy ascetics there runs the law: labor, sweat to the point of exhaustion—in hope, but without presumption. Do not presume in advance the glory of the resurrection; seek it, work for the acquiring of it—with full hope, yet do not presume it as a settled matter. If you presume, you enter into a state of self-delusion, which is enervating and puffing up—the state in which the whole company of the self-confident is sunk.

Phil. 3:12. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, if I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.

I cannot say, he says, that I have already attained. Attained what? That state to which, as its sure reward, the glorious resurrection belongs. Applying what was said above, we obtain: I cannot say that I have already attained the state of full freedom from passion. This is akin to what he wrote earlier to the Romans: “I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind” (that is, of the spirit)“, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members” (Rom. 7:23). Thus the words “not that I have already attained” are evidently explained by: (not that I have already) “been perfected.” I am not yet perfected, not yet advanced in all things as I should be. But I do not sleep, I do not give way to despair, but I press on and press on, “if I may lay hold.” “If I may lay hold” does not express uncertainty but points to a goal, in the sense of: in order to lay hold. Or thus: the measure of our perfection is exceedingly great, while our life is short; therefore I strive with all my might, whether I may in this brief span of time reach the final limits of the perfection appointed for us.

“That for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” — “That for which”—upon what basis, on what terms, with what offer and in what hopes and purposes. The Lord Jesus Christ laid hold of him on the road to Damascus with the purpose of making him the Apostle of the Gentiles. But the Apostle does not have this in mind when he says “that for which I was laid hold of”; rather, he means the common Christian goal toward which every Christian must strive. He says, as it were: I press on to attain that to which I have been called by the Lord as a Christian—together with all Christians. — St. Paul has his attention fixed on his own spiritual and moral side, not on his apostolic rank; he stands in the same place he stood when he said: “lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.” Since he does not state directly what he strives to attain, his words may be paraphrased thus: I strive to attain the ideal of spiritual and moral Christian perfection. There is no end to this, for the Lord says: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). Closer to hand: whoever, having been laid hold of by the Lord, wishes to follow in His steps, “let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Him” (Mk. 8:34). Only by this path does one arrive where the Lord is—seated at the right hand of God. By “press on” the Apostle can mean nothing other than the intensifying of the labors of self-denial, with the aim of ever more completely purifying and perfecting one’s nature, in order thereby to be found worthy of the glorious resurrection—as is clear from the course of the argument.

St. Chrysostom says on this: “What do the words ‘if I may lay hold’ mean? Shall I attain His resurrection—if I could suffer as much as He, if I could become like Him, if I could be made conformed to Him? Thus Christ suffered greatly—was spat upon, struck, scourged, and at last died. This is the course; through all this must all His athletes attain to His resurrection. The Apostle says, as it were: if I complete all the labors, then I shall also attain His resurrection and rise with glory. Now, he says, I am not yet worthy of this: ‘but I press on, if I may lay hold.’ My life is still in labors; I am still far from the goal, not yet near the rewards, I am still running, still pressing on. He did not say: I run, but: ‘I press on’—and rightly so. For you know with what effort the one who presses forward in the races strains: he looks at no one, with great exertion thrusts aside all who hinder him, and directs mind, gaze, strength, soul, and body toward one thing alone, having nothing else in view but the final mark. But if Paul, pressing on thus, having suffered so much, still says: ‘if I may lay hold’—what shall we say, who lie on our sides? Further, wishing to show that this is an obligation, the Apostle says: ‘that for which I have also been laid hold of by Christ Jesus’ (to that end was I called, to strive thus, pressing toward perfection. Pause upon the word: ‘laid hold of.’) The Apostle expressed by this word both the zeal of God who wills to lay hold of us, and our great aversion from Him, our wandering, and the fact that we had gone far from Him. He says, as it were: I was among the perishing, I was sinking, I was near to destruction; but God saved me—for He pursues us who flee from Him with great swiftness.” The like writes also Theodoret: “He first laid hold of me, caught me in His net. I was fleeing from Him, greatly averse to Him, but He overtook me in my flight. Therefore I press forward after Him, wishing to overtake Him, that I may not be deprived of salvation.”

Phil. 3:13–14. Brethren, I do not count myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do—forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the mark for the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.

“I do not count myself to have laid hold.” “The Apostle says this to those who think highly of the progress they have already made, humbling their high opinion of themselves” (blessed Theodoret). “Nothing so renders our virtues vain and puffs us up as the recollection of the good we have done. It produces a twofold evil: it makes us more careless and proud. Therefore Paul, who knew that our nature is very prone to carelessness and who had given the Philippians much praise, see how he restrains them from pride—by many other means mentioned above, and especially by the present words. For what does he say? ‘Brethren, I do not count myself to have laid hold’; but if even Paul has not yet laid hold and has no full assurance of his (glorious) resurrection, it is hardly possible for those who have not accomplished even a small part of his virtues. The Apostle says here: I do not yet consider myself to have attained full perfection; I have not yet done everything. True, in another place he says: ‘I have fought the good fight’ and so on (2 Tim. 4:7), and here: ‘I do not count myself to have laid hold’; but whoever reads both passages will understand the reason for each: the present words were spoken long before, those later words shortly before his death. ‘I do not count myself,’ he says, ‘to have laid hold,’ but think of one thing only—how to press forward; for that is the meaning of his words: ‘forgetting what lies behind, and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the mark.’ See how clearly he showed by these words what impelled him to press forward. Thus, whoever thinks of himself that he is already perfect and lacks nothing for the fullness of virtue will stop striving, as one who has attained everything; whereas whoever thinks that he is still far from the goal will never cease pressing toward it. This we too must always think, even if we have done very much good; for if Paul, after countless deaths and so many hardships, thought thus of himself, how much more must we. I have not lost heart, says the Apostle, nor fallen into despair because, having run so great a course, I have not yet arrived; but I still strive, still labor. My only thought is how truly to advance. So must we too act—forget our good deeds and leave them behind us. The runner thinks not of how much of the course he has run, but of how much remains. So let us think not of how many good works we have done, but of how many remain yet to be done. For what good is what we have done if something still remains undone? And the Apostle did not say: I do not think of, I do not remember, but: ‘forgetting’—so as to make us more attentive. For we become more zealous, we devote all our diligence to what is not yet done, when we consign what is done to forgetfulness. When we reach forward, it means we try to take hold of something before we have arrived. For he who reaches forward tries to outrun his own feet, still in motion, by stretching out the rest of his body and extending his hands. But this proceeds from great eagerness and from intense desire. So must we strive. — In heaven abides He who gives the reward; in heaven the reward is stored. See how vast the distance: this is what must be run; see how great the height: there one must soar on the wings of the spirit, for otherwise it is impossible to fly through that height. — Train your feet to step firmly, for there are many slippery places; and if you fall, you will lose much; yet even if you fall, rise up again, for even then it is possible to overcome. Never step on what is slippery, and you will not fall; run on firm ground, head toward heaven, eyes toward heaven. — Look upward, where the reward is: the very sight of the reward strengthens one’s resolve. Fear of punishment prevents one from feeling weariness, and the long road seems short. What is this reward? Not a palm branch—but what? The Kingdom of Heaven, eternal rest, glory with Christ, and innumerable blessings which it is impossible to express in words” (St. Chrysostom).

To this inspired discourse of St. Chrysostom nothing need be added for a proper understanding of these texts. One remark—on the translation: “with all diligence”; in Greek it reads: κατα σκοπον. — Σκοπος is the mark, the goal toward which those who race against one another must run, and upon which they fix their eyes, straining all their strength toward it so as to reach it before the others. I press on toward this mark, or by this mark—by its direction, in the direction where it stands. “For the prize”—in Greek reads: επι βραβειον. — Βραβειον is what we today call the prize in races. Επι denotes: because of, for the sake of. The Apostle, drawing upon the customs of the race course, says: I press on toward the mark for the sake of such-and-such a reward. And what is the reward? — “The upward calling of God in Christ Jesus.” And what is that? The Kingdom of Heaven. — The Apostle strives not toward the Kingdom itself, but toward a certain mark; and if he reaches it, he will receive the Kingdom of Heaven, or, by the course of the argument, will be counted worthy of the glorious resurrection. And what is the mark? Christian spiritual perfection, which consists in the cleansing of our nature from sin and the passions through the labors of self-mortification and the bearing of involuntary sorrows—labors that make the ascetic and warrior a partaker of the saving sufferings of Christ. Whoever reaches this mark, to him belongs the Kingdom of Heaven. For nothing impure shall enter there. To this end is directed the entire economy of our salvation—to equip us with all that is needed to attain it. Through communion in the sufferings of Christ, the grace of the Holy Spirit overshadows the one who has communed. And he becomes wholly penetrated and enveloped by its fire, like heated metal. This is the image of the pure—or the one free from passion. To him belongs also the glorious resurrection, together with the Kingdom of Heaven.

Phil. 3:15. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this mind; and if in anything you think differently, God will reveal even this to you.

The Apostle has just said that he has not yet attained, has not been perfected—and now he says: “as many as are perfect”—and numbers himself among them: “let us have this mind.” What is his thought? Either this: those of you who think you are already perfect. The Apostle had learned that among the Philippians there were some who thought highly of themselves, and he brings them to humility. Earlier he had already instructed them by the example of the Lord who humbled Himself for our sake, and now he instructs them by his own example—by showing how he, for all that he is God’s chosen Apostle, thinks precisely as he has just described. He says as it were: those of you therefore who count yourselves already perfect—let us change our opinion of ourselves and think as I have set forth. And he inserted himself among those being instructed, in order to soften the rebuke and the corrective counsel.

Or the word “perfect” is used by him not absolutely, but relatively: those who are more perfect than others. In any assembly of persons, all are never at the same level; always some are better, others worse, and some very good—standing out from the rest. To these the Apostle says: you who are better than others, do not allow yourself the thought that you have already reached the end, but think as I do—that you have not yet arrived, not yet been perfected, and, forgetting what lies behind, press ever forward and forward.

Or by “perfect” he designates those who are striving toward perfection and zealous to attain it—as if saying: you who strive for perfection, if you wish to attain it, never think that you have attained it, but press on and press on after it—and you will attain it. And indeed it is the very sign that someone is striving for perfection and has attained it in a certain measure, that he counts himself imperfect. In the earliest steps on the path toward perfection, a person might still think himself perfect; but having gone on a little way, he will inevitably see that the path is long, and the more swiftly and far he goes, the more the final goal seems to recede further and further away. The Apostle expresses it as: however perfect we may be—let us think thus. There is no point even in ascribing perfection to ourselves, when the law is such that those who are making progress see themselves as less and less perfect. St. Chrysostom says that “it is precisely perfection not to count oneself perfect. What is the meaning of ‘this’? That what lies behind must be forgotten; therefore the property of the perfect is not to count oneself perfect. This is what constitutes perfection.”

“And if in anything you think differently, God will reveal even this to you.” Somewhat obscure. The most direct meaning would seem to be: if you reason about this otherwise than I have set forth, I am confident that God will reveal to you that you are reasoning wrongly and will lead you to the manner of thinking I have expounded—“He will reveal even this.” One may supplement: I pray that He will reveal it, or: pray, and God will reveal it, or simply: reveal this to them also, O Lord. The Apostle had it to say: if you reason differently, be corrected; but he gave such a turn to his words that he also awakens in them a desire for correction. St. Chrysostom says: “and if in anything you think differently”—that is, if anyone thinks he has accomplished all the virtues. The Apostle warns the Philippians, but did not say it so; rather, what? “God will reveal even this to you.” See how modestly he has said it. God will instruct you—for though Paul teaches, it is God who enlightens. However, the Apostle did not say “will enlighten” either; but: “will reveal”—so as to show that such an opinion arises chiefly from ignorance. This was said not concerning dogmas, but concerning perfection of life and not counting oneself perfect; for whoever thinks he has already attained everything has nothing.