Ian & Jocelyn Barker

The resurrection is the privilege of the saints and the hope of our faith. The pathway to the resurrection is the pathway that Jesus took (2:5-11), humiliation and obedience before resurrection and glorification. Paul’s desire is to “attain” to the resurrection, and he will not cease pressing on towards this eternal reality until he meets the Lord.

Verse 13 says, “forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on…”. There is a time when it is good to remember God’s goodness in the past, or lessons learned in the past, to encourage and help us in the journey towards the future. But I think what Paul is getting at is the forgetting of past failures that discourage us. As believers, we can take confidence in the power of the blood to cleanse of our sins, which qualifies us as we continue our journey towards the resurrection. Oftentimes, I will dwell on my mistakes in the past and I become discouraged thinking that I won’t make it because my next mistake will be too big. But Paul knew the power of Christ’s resurrection and His power that had laid hold of him and he continued to press on in hope.

Paul exhorts the Philippians to have the same attitude of forward thinking that he had. God will help us to change our attitudes so that we have a hope-filled vision of the future. Then he says, “however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.” Christians are not supposed to regress in their walk with Him. We can have days or even a week where we feel discouraged, but that should only help to propel us forward as we get back up and keep going. The hope of the resurrection requires a constant and steady walk with the Lord.