Colossians, Ephesians, and Philippians

Sanctification part 3

The previous article is a prerequisite to reading this one. In this article, we will examine sanctification through the books of Colossians, Ephesians, and Philippians.

In light of the Wesleyan doctrines of “Christian perfection,” let’s examine the book of Colossians. Did they reach the point of God’s rest? Of entire sanctification? What do we know? Here in the next paragraph, I will summarize, condense, and paraphrase the condition of the Colossian church. My main aim here is mainly to see how their spiritual condition was in terms of sanctification and what might be said about regeneration (transformed heart/life in being saved). In addition, I will bring to the surface the methods and applications that Paul prescribes for his readers. These are things that took me many years to learn as they aren’t widely taught in churches but I will condense all those years of learning into this short article. So, prepare for this concentrated energy drink.

Examining Colossians

The church of Colossae was praised for their faith and love (Col 1:4, 8), their good discipline and stability of their faith (2:5), having been firmly rooted and built up in Christ and established in their faith and overflowing with gratitude (2:7). They were made complete in Christ and had their fleshly passions and desires circumcised away from them (2:10) because they were buried with Christ in His baptism and raised with Him through faith (v. 11-12) and they were made alive through Christ (v. 13). They were exhorted to renew their minds (3:1-2), recalling that they have died and their life is hidden in Christ in God (v. 3) and so they needed to consider the members of their body as dead to evil desires (v. 5) and therefore put all sin aside (v. 8) since they have already put on the new self who is being renewed according to the true knowledge and image of God (v. 10). They were exhorted to put on compassion and love, etc. and to let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts along with the word of Christ to dwell in them richly (v. 12-17). Overall, that sounds like a pretty healthy and Spirit-filled church. One of the strongest exhortations they had against them though was to not be taken captive through legalistic rules (ch. 2). In chapter 3, Paul exhorts them to put off specific sinful things that he mentions and what good things they should be doing. Paul may have said this to them because of some wrong behaviors that they were doing or it could have been because Paul was informing them what instructions against sin were truly necessary as opposed to all these extra rules and regulations some people were trying to impose upon them in the previous chapter. That seems to be the more probable case or reason since he said that those sins were the things in which they had previously lived and walked in (3:7). Either way, whoever needed to hear that message would hear it. And in either case, the new self is being continually renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created them (3:10).

Having examined the life of the Colossians through the lens of Paul’s letter to them, it seems like a probable scenario that many of them had already entered into God’s rest and Paul was giving them instructions of obedience to inform their consciences so that they would know what obedience to God is really important and be unmoved by those who were shaking their faith by trying to get them into following their legalistic and man-made rules which could remove them from that place of rest in Christ.

Like I have mentioned before though, for the early church to have the untainted gospel and all the correct church doctrines handed down to them from the apostles, it would have made reaching God’s rest a much easier thing to do for the average believer. It may have even been that God’s rest was initiated at the point of regeneration which would have been this great degree of initial sanctification. For some people today, that may even be a possible reality, especially for those who have come from a hard life where life itself has humbled them, emptied them, and brought them to the end of themselves so that it is as if they already walked a sort of cross life and then when they hear the gospel for the first time, God saves them and enters them into His rest. From this point, it is their duty to remain there and not let the trials, difficulties of life, pleasures of the world, isolation from Christian fellowship, failure to use their spiritual gifts and love one another, or wrong doctrines to remove them from God’s rest. In this way, it may be, that the circumcision of the heart and the death of the fleshly passions and desires was more common to happen at the point of regeneration (salvation) and that may have been more reflected in the way the New Testament writers wrote. Or, it could be that for some people, initial sanctification comes to them in a lesser degree but yet even so, there is a change in one’s desires to turn away from sin and turn towards obedience to Christ and a life of surrender to Him. Though objectively they have died with Christ and their flesh was crucified on that cross with Him and God’s new life is in them, they still need to work that new life out into all areas of their heart, mind, and body until the natural man is finally crucified and put to death and the life of Christ reigns supreme without opposition.

As I have said before, because of these possible variables which could influence a believer’s degree of initial sanctification, and because of the situational aspect of the early church, we need to carefully read our Bibles and not be too quick to assume things to make doctrines of regeneration or sanctification just based upon the associations that we see on the surface in biblical texts. We know by way of experience that initial sanctification is different for everyone who makes the decision to believe in Jesus and so I am not convinced that theologians really know about this as much as they appear to know. Just because there are associations of a believer’s freedom from sin with regeneration in the Bible, that does not mean that freedom necessarily came from regeneration. It could be an initial sanctification which may be placed at the time of regeneration or at another time much later after being regenerated. If that is the case, then how we interpret biblical texts for establishing our theology will change how we see things and how we apply those passages to ourselves. However, by saying these things, I am not saying that new believers won’t have any freedom from sin. They will certainly have at least some freedom as they begin the process of yielding themselves to God and following His commands. I also see another possibility that for those who are not truly saved yet have assented to a gospel message, they can find salvation through following the principles of the faith life and the cross life and God can begin a work in their lives to change their desires and place His Spirit within them. This would fit with the Moral Exemplar model of the atonement. However, as for who is really “saved” and who is not, it is hard to say, but God knows.

Examining Ephesians

The church of Ephesus was praised for being “faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph 1:1). They were praised for their faith in the Lord and their love for all the saints (v. 15). Paul says that they “were dead” in their sins in which they “formerly walked,” (2:1-2) and Paul includes himself saying, “we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh…” (v. 3). Though “we were dead in our transgressions,” God “made us alive together with Christ” (v. 5), “raised us up with Him,” “seated us with Him” (v. 6) and saved us by grace through faith (v. 8). They were formerly gentiles in the flesh (v. 11), separate from Christ, having no hope and without God (v. 12), but then they were brought near to God and part of the covenant of promise by the blood of Christ (v. 13). They have Christ who is their peace (v. 14) and through whom we all have access to the Father by the same Spirit (v. 18). No longer strangers and aliens but fellow citizens with the saints and of God’s household (v. 19), “in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (v. 22). Through Jesus Christ, “we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him” (3:12). Then Paul prays for them that they may “be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” to be “rooted and grounded in love” (v. 16-17), to comprehend the vastness of God’s love which surpasses knowledge to “be filled up to all the fullness of God” (v. 18-19). They are implored to walk in a manner worthy of their calling (4:1), practicing virtues of excellence in love, peace, humility, and gentleness (v. 2-3). Then Paul speaks about the gracious spiritual gifts that God has given the church to build up the body of Christ for the purpose of attaining “unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there…” by deceitful doctrines (v. 13-14) but rather, “to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, Christ” (v. 15), being connected to one another and loving one another to cause “the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (v. 16).

Then Paul exhorts them to “walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,” in their darkened understanding, hardened and callous heart who have given themselves over to sensuality and impurity (v. 17-19). However, they are not to walk that way because they did not learn Christ in that way (v. 20). Therefore, “in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness and of the truth” (v. 22-24). Then Paul tells them to replace bad habits with good habits and to not sin and by this to grieve the Holy Spirit (v. 25-31). He calls them “beloved children” and exhorts them to be imitators of God, to walk in love, remembering the example of Jesus’ sacrifice (5:1-2). “But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints…” (v. 3). “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of God” (v. 5). The wrath of God comes upon those people so do not become partakers with them because you were formerly darkness but now you are Light in the Lord so walk as children of Light (v. 6-8). Walk wisely and not as unwise and do not get drunk but instead, be filled with the Spirit (v. 15-18). Give thanks and be subject to one another (v. 19-33). Instructions of children to parents, fathers to children, slaves to masters, masters to slaves (6:1-9). Put on the armor of God and pray at all times (v. 10-20).

Having examined the life of the Ephesians through the lens of Paul’s letter to them, we see at the very beginning that they were praised for their faithfulness, and their faith and love. So, it doesn’t seem like there are any major problems with those issues. So then, what we seem to have here is Paul mostly encouraging the Ephesians to continue on doing what they’re doing in living in obedience to God while he encourages them with the gospel. It seems to be more of a general sermon in that way rather than a personal word of exhortation for individual problems that the church might have been having. But Paul doesn’t address anything that he intimately knows of them but rather, he sends this message to them based upon the good reports that he has heard from others about them (1:15). Therefore, we might see the book of Ephesians as Paul’s general understanding of the gospel’s effect upon the average person along with whatever information was communicated to him about the Ephesians. He mentions that they were in the process of being built up into a dwelling of God’s Spirit and Christ’s body through their love and use of spiritual gifts (1:22; 4:13-16). The goal of these things is for unity in faith, knowledge of God, and spiritual maturity to grow up into Christ to no longer be as children. Since the nature of Christ is perfect and the standards of living for the entire church are to have perfection in all things, spiritual growth is a constant thing for every church in which we are never finished growing into the image of Christ on this earth. There is always more we can do for God. However, churches can come out of their infancy and into maturity through sound doctrine, love, and operating by the Spirit in all the gifts.

The old life before being saved is characterized by the lusts of the flesh, darkness, not having peace with God or people, having a corrupted mind and hard heart, practicing immorality, covetousness, and idolatry. People won’t be saved if they practice those things (future tense). However, there is a sense in which Paul doesn’t say that if they do some of those things, then they aren’t saved (present tense). Because in 5:3 he mentions that immorality, impurity, and greed must not even be named among them, as is proper among saints. So, he leaves the possibility that these things can be done but doing them is not a reflection of their new nature in Christ. This is sort of the middle road that many people can find themselves in, working to lay aside the old self. Which, to be clear, the old self isn’t actually part of them—it isn’t part of their nature. Rather, the old self is in reference to the old way of life and the sinful practices that are part of that old way.

What does he mean when he says that the old self “is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit”? First, there is this idea that the lusts of the flesh/body are deceitful. They promise pleasure and fulfillment but leave us empty and more broken. Sin can be tempting like bait on a hook for a fish or like a shiny object to birds. But it doesn’t deliver anything good. Sin is empty promises and empty fulfillment. It appears good as if it will bring us life but instead it brings death and darkness to our hearts. The old self here is really just the evil desires that make use of the flesh, the body, the human nature to fulfill its lusts. When the lusts are allowed to prevail and choose sinful things, it corrupts the body, increasing its desire for what is forbidden and what gives itself momentary pleasure. Fulfilled lusts train the body and reward the body for doing evil. That is why we need to lay aside those old practices of sin from our former way of life by renewing our minds by changing our mindset, and having faith in the truth of God, and getting rid of old thought patterns that work to program our minds for evil. And then, we are to put on the new self, the new humanity, the new nature that is Christ’s nature in us. We are to work His nature out of us from our spirits and into every part of our being, into our mind, heart, and body. For the body, we do that by laying aside old habits and replacing them with good habits. For example, if you steal, then you give. If you lie and bear false witness, then speak truth. If you speak unwholesome words, then speak edifying words. And replace the whole list of sins in 4:31 with the list of virtues in 4:32. For the mind, we bring Christ’s light in by the renewing of our minds. For the heart, we believe in the love and goodness of God and all His promises through faith and also live in a loving and peaceful community and love others and live in peace. But faith is also relevant for the mind as well, faith and hope.

This is what Athanasius had to say about this passage of the old man when also interpreting David when he said, “create in me a clean heart,” and Eph 2:15; Jer 31:22. He says:

“For neither David spoke of any people created in essence, nor prayed to have another heart than that he had, but meant renovation according to God and renewal; nor did Paul signify two persons created in essence in the Lord, nor again did he counsel us to put on any other man; but he called the life according to virtue the ‘man after God,’ and by the ‘created’ in Christ he meant the two people who are renewed in Him.”
Philip Schaff: NPNF2-04. Athanasius: Select Works and Letters - Christian Classics Ethereal Library

Athanasius’ view harmonizes with what I have been saying, that the new man is the path of renewal in the virtues of Christ and the old man is the vices of the old way of life, which path should be forsaken. This is to say that these are directions to go in life rather than some substantive nature that we have of our own. Even the new nature is not an ontological change to our nature to make our substance into another substance but rather, the new nature is the nature of Christ living in us and spiritually transforming us. The effect of the new birth in God is really that the corruption of our nature begins to reverse into that spiritual nature of Adam before the Fall and also into the image of Christ. The Spirit of Christ begins to dwell within us to give us new life.

“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph 3:17). What does this mean? It cannot mean that they are not saved because that fact has already established so it’s not talking about the saving kind of faith. Perhaps this is a particular kind of faith or rather, the strength of faith being in their hearts to such a degree that this faith is in the love of God and that faith brings the manifest presence of Christ into their hearts so that they will overwhelmingly feel God’s love for them. That seems to be the interpretation according to the context.

After having examined what the early church fathers had to say about the armor and also understanding this armor in light of the whole context of the letter to the Ephesians, here is my interpretation of the armor pieces. It is the armor of God for all Christians. First, we must note that the first three armors are in the past tense, that they should already have been put on whereas the last three armors are those commanded to now take up and put on. It must also be noted that these armor pieces are God’s armor, God’s strength and strategies which we put on and do not originate from ourselves. The main emphasis is also on standing firm against evil spiritual forces. It is also “full” armor, not lacking in what we need.

The first armor is the belt of truth. This is first and foremost, holding on to the gospel of truth that Paul has taught them and then it is standing firm on correct doctrines as Paul has also previously mentioned that they not be carried along by every wind of doctrine and by doing become deceived and led astray. We must all grow into maturity in the knowledge of God. We must know the Word of God well to protect our minds from error and it would help also to know what the teachings of the early church fathers were so that we do not drift too far away from that.

The Breastplate of righteousness is Christ’s righteousness in us living through us. This is practical righteousness which is living day by day in obedience to God, an obedience propelled by faith, practicing all the virtues that Paul has previously admonished the Ephesians to do and putting off all the vices of the old self while putting on the virtues of the new self. It is when we submit to God and resist the devil that he flees, even as Jesus submitted to His Father while being tempted by the devil in the wilderness and the devil left Him (James 4:7; Mt 4).

The shoes of peace are evangelical teaching and doing our best to live among everyone in peace rather than strife, living out the gospel message we have heard effectually, proving we believe what we teach by our actions. The gospel is peace and love in word and deed which first came through Christ and now lives through us. It is a defense against the enemy because when the church lives in unity as Paul has previously exhorted them to, then the enemy cannot gain a foothold, causing divisions and fracturing the church. Therefore, the shoes of peace are living out the gospel of peace. If we do so, we will not stumble, our feet will not be impaled, and we will not be hindered from advancing the kingdom of God in full speed. If we don’t spend all our energy fighting amongst ourselves, then we can use that energy to fight against the kingdom of darkness through the gospel. Additionally, Christ’s presence will be pleased to dwell within that kind of church so that overall, the entire body is strengthened. If you have disagreements among Christians, you can learn to agree to disagree and also choose your battles wisely. Not everything is worth making a big deal over. At the end of the day, despite our disagreements, we should be able to get along with each other. But if a church becomes divisive and develops a critical spirit over little things and over every single thing, then God’s presence might leave that church. Take that as a legitimate warning because Jesus isn’t in every church as we see an example in the book of Revelation where He stands outside the church and knocks on the door to be let in (Rev 3:20).

The shield of faith is plainly said to be about extinguishing the flaming arrows of the evil one. These arrows are the lies of the enemy which will impale our hearts if we do not constantly keep our guard up. Once you have been struck by an arrow, it can be very difficult and painful to get it out and may take some time and delicate precision so don’t let it even come to that. Hold up the shield at all times. Speak the truth of God’s Word over every lie of the enemy, over every doubt, over every thought or feeling that does not align with the truth. Read the Word, sing faith building songs, and surround yourself with the encouragement of believers.

The helmet of salvation could be keeping one’s salvation, having faith that one is already saved, or having hope in one’s future salvation and inheritance in heaven. I lean towards the last one that the helmet is the hope of salvation. Hope is a very powerful purifying and sanctifying thing. Without hope, there is depression and the slipping away of faith. However, according to the book of Ephesians, we might say that the helmet of salvation is the renewing of the mind, recognizing and coming into alignment with one’s new identity in Christ to live in accordance with the new self, believing you have been set free and are dead indeed unto sin.

The sword of the Spirit is to be soaked in the truth of God’s Word so that we give thanks and honor to God, singing praises to His name, and by those praises, the enemy flees and strongholds break. It is also this word of truth that Jesus fought against the deceitfulness of the devil in the wilderness, combating lies with the Word of God. The sword of the Spirit is also speaking the truth to each other, even if that truth hurts, even if it may cause people to hate us and despise us because Jesus said He did not come to bring peace but a sword. We are not to practice evil but as Paul says, we are to expose it. Jesus was a warrior for truth in both word and deed to bring salvation to the world. So also should we be. Though the truth can be painful because it convicts people of sin and exposes the darkness within, it is necessary for healing and for conquering the darkness both within us and within others. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Prayer is also very important and must not be forgotten, to pray at all times and put on the armor of God with prayer. We could summarize all the armor of God in these words: faith, hope, love, truth, and prayer.

Examining Philippians

Paul thanks God for the Philippians (1:3) with joy (v. 4) because of their participation in the gospel (v. 5). What Paul knows of them makes him feel confident about them that they will continue in the faith unto the end and that what good work God began in them, will be perfected or will be made mature until the day of Christ Jesus (v. 6). Paul considers them partakers of grace with him (v. 7) and has great affection for them with the affection of Jesus (v. 8). He prays that their love may abound in knowledge and discernment (v. 9) so that they may approve the things that are excellent, “in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ” (v. 10). They were “filled with the fruit of righteousness” from Jesus (v. 11). Paul says that to him, “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (v. 21). Paul desired to persevere in living on in this world for the Philippians “progress and joy in the faith” (v. 25). He exhorts them to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel so that he will later hear about how well they are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel (v. 27). Paul exhorts them to make his joy complete “by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose” (2:2), to do nothing from selfishness but to be humble in serving others rather than themselves and to emulate the example of Christ (v. 3-5). They “have always obeyed” and are encouraged to work out their salvation with fear and trembling (v. 12) by God who works in them (v. 13). They are encouraged to not grumble or dispute in everything so that they will prove themselves to be blameless and innocent to shine God’s light (v. 14-15) and to hold fast the word of life (v. 16). Paul was going to send Timothy over to them so that he may learn of their condition and be encouraged and he wants to send Epaphroditus as well so that they may be encouraged and rejoice (v. 19-30). Paul says that this man risked “his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me” (v. 30). He tells them as brethren to “rejoice in the Lord” and the things Paul wrote, he considered it to be “a safeguard” for them (3:1). He tells them to “beware” of evil people. Paul considers himself with the Philippians to be the “true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (v. 3).

“In order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ” (1:10). What does that mean? “The day of Christ” is when Jesus returns or when they meet Jesus when they die. Paul prayed for them and believed that if their love were to abound in knowledge and discernment then they would know what the best way is to be loving and by doing so, they would be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ. Meaning, they would be sincere and blameless until the very end of their lives (1:10). In the next chapter, Paul encourages them to not complain about life or argue against people, which, he probably has the workplace in mind, since he desires that they shine as lights unto the world to display Christ amidst all the darkness. He wants them to live “above reproach,” meaning that they hold themselves to a higher standard than the world, that they hold themselves to the standard of Christ’s example in His humility and selflessness, having an upright character in the workplace. If they do this, no one would be able to say anything bad about them and if they are ever falsely accused, none of those accusations will be justified or will stick to them because people will know that they’re not that kind of person since that’s not their character. Paul says that if they do these things of not grumbling or disputing, they will prove themselves to be “blameless and innocent,” and “children of God,” and “lights” in the world (2:14-15). Before, Paul said, “sincere and blameless,” and now he says, “blameless and innocent.” According to the interpretation, here it is possible to live this way as blameless. Paul himself said that he always did his best to live this way, “to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men” (Ac 24:16). Elsewhere, he says, “I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day” (Ac 23:1). This doesn’t mean that Paul was morally perfect, only that he lived in a way that no one could accuse him of wrongdoing and that his conscience was clear of any sins against himself. If he did any wrong, he made things right. He lived an upright life and did not live with a guilty conscience. He believed that the Philippians could live this way as well, if they had not already been doing so.

Paul speaks of himself saying whatever was considered to be gain, a great accomplishment, he counts it as loss and counts all things as loss for the sake of Christ and the value of knowing Him. Paul considers that all he has lost during his pursuit of Christ and all that he has suffered is as nothing and of no value to him in order that he may gain Christ. Doing this, he may be found in Christ to be righteous by faith rather than by the Jewish laws and their law of circumcision. By this righteousness which is by faith, Paul may know Christ, know the power of His resurrection (spiritual life now and into eternity), know the fellowship of His sufferings (sympathizing with the sufferings of Jesus to know Him intimately and walk worthy of His Lord), and to this end of both the power of God working in him and carrying his cross after Jesus to be conformed to the death of Jesus so that he may obtain the resurrection from the dead. It is a life Paul pursues that starts with a righteousness by faith and ends in his body being raised to life at the final resurrection to be immortal. But this, he says, is not something he has obtained already. I take that to mean, he hasn’t obtained the resurrection from the dead yet, since that is the last thing he said. However, it could also possibly mean the whole string of things he mentioned, including the being conformed to Christ’s death. Paul also says that he hasn’t become perfect (yet?) (mature?). Nonetheless, he presses on forward to “lay hold of” the thing that Christ had already laid hold of him. This thing he has not laid hold of yet but he strives for it by not looking back but fixing his eyes ahead, forgetting all that lies behind to reach for the goal, the prize, “of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (3:7-14).

What was the thing that Paul had not laid hold of yet but Christ had laid hold of him? Perhaps it is the resurrection of life of Jesus within Paul by which he obtained through faith and that began in bringing life to his soul and would culminate in bringing fullness of life to his body. That would fit the description of the already but not yet and fits well with the overall context of the faith he previously spoke about which brought to him life. So, we could see Paul as saying that Christ had given him life but that this life had not reached its full maturity yet and that maturity is what he was seeking to obtain in his perseverance. By maturity or the word “perfect” in this verse, it would mean completion or perfection. This completion then, includes the full indwelling and permeation of Christ’s Spirit throughout the whole heart, mind, body, and soul. It also includes full Christ-likeness, and the closest intimate knowledge of Christ, to which Paul had not yet fully obtained and to which there is always more of God’s fullness to experience (3:19). However, he kept running the race and fighting the good fight of faith so that he would reach the end and not lose his reward (1 Tim 6:12). It is those whose faith endures to the end who shall be saved (2 Tim 2:12; Heb 3:14).

We might be able to say that Paul was laid hold of Christ, meaning, Christ knew him before he was born and now Paul might be saying that “I want to know Him the way He knows me,” and in this way, he will lay hold of Christ, that is, to know Him. Or, he may be speaking of the encounter he had with Jesus on the road to Damascus where Jesus appeared to him in a vision and through that experience, imparted faith to him, laid hold of his heart, his faith. And now, Paul is saying that he wants to hold onto that faith that Jesus gave him all the way to the end.

I believe what Paul is most clearly saying here is that he diligently pursues Christ so that he may “know Christ,” “gain Christ,” and “be found” in Christ, that is, to be found righteous through faith rather than through the law in order that he may know Christ and attain to the resurrection of the dead. But this he says, he has not yet obtained and has not yet laid hold of, he has not yet obtained the goal for the prize. This prize is the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, their citizenship in heaven, meeting their Savior, Jesus, and having their bodies transformed and glorified like Jesus’ body, and to truly know Christ (v. 17-21). So then, we see that for Paul to be found in Christ is for him to be found keeping his faith because without faith, there is no righteousness, and without righteousness, there is no salvation or any of these rewards (see verses 18-19). I believe that interpretation fits best with the whole list of everything Paul has said here and with the broader context of the whole chapter. The thing he just spoke about from verse 12 to 11 is that he may attain to the resurrection of the dead and so this is the most obvious thing he has not yet laid hold of and which he strives in persevering faith to the end so that he will obtain it. The resurrection of the dead was the last antecedent thing he mentioned before the word “attain.” Therefore, this would be the most reasonable interpretation as it goes with the flow of thought and the order of language. This resurrection of the dead is also what Christ laid hold of him with as he believed Jesus was dead and persecuted the Christians until Jesus showed him His resurrected and glorified body which conquered death, and convinced him into the faith. So for Paul, it’s reaching to that end to the finish line to attain all those things that he previously listed. But of course, without the resurrection of the dead to receive a glorified body, none of those other things would be relevant. And so, that’s where the focus is and it is reaffirmed by verse 14 as the “upward call” being the reward.

For those who have read the church fathers, they will see a constant theme that’s repeated over and over again everywhere that we must endure to the end to be saved, to receive immortality. I would argue that this theme comes mainly from Philippians 3 and 1 Timothy 6:12 and by word of mouth from the apostles themselves.

Note: the “righteousness” spoken of here is not some imaginary perfect righteousness of how God sees us from heaven, a legal fiction, or what is called imputed righteousness. No, this righteousness is from faith. Faith in God’s love and goodness enables a right relationship with God, dispels the darkness within the heart, and produces real righteousness, real good works. This is why those in verses 18-19 will not inherit eternal life because “their end is destruction” because of their evil practices which results from not having faith.

In Philippians 3:15, Paul now includes the Philippians with himself, saying, “Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained” (v. 15-16). The attitude he speaks of is the attitude he just exemplified for them, to be diligent in persevering unto the end to receive the prize. Those who were “perfect,” in this case, is more accurately to be mature unless there is a sense in which Paul was being sarcastic but that wouldn’t fit well with the overall feeling of this letter to them. So, those who were mature, could only deem themselves to be if they had a similar attitude as Paul’s. Otherwise, their attitude would not be mature and they are in need of more growth. This prize is called “the upward call” which is synonymous with “the resurrection from the dead” since in the end, the bodies will be raised upward from the tombs by Jesus calling them out and they will appear with Him in glory (Jn 5:25; 6:40; 11:25-26; Ro 6:5; 8:11; 1 Cor 15; 1 Thess 4:14). From these passages, it is an established fact that those who are united to Jesus by faith will receive immortality.

If the Phillipians by chance do not have the same attitude Paul has, then he is confident that the Holy Spirit will show them what correct attitude they should have. Nonetheless, Paul urges himself along with the Philippians to keep living by the same standard to which they have attained. What is the standard? And what have they attained? Perhaps it is the standard of attitude towards this prize that they should not live by any standard below where they are already at. But if anything, they can raise the standard of their attitude and be more fervent in pursuing the faith life, the cross life, and the hope of the prize at the end. Paul then calls them brethren and urges them to follow his example and the example of other spiritual leaders or those who live exemplary lives, to observe them carefully and do as they do (v. 17). Then Paul expresses his grief for those who live worldly lives, having no faith and hope for eternal things (v. 18-19). Paul contrasts that kind of short-sighted living with what he and the Philippians were looking towards—their citizenship in heaven from which they also eagerly wait for seeing their Savior, Jesus, who will transform their bodies to be like His when they see Him face to face (v. 20-21).

Even though Paul says all these things about himself regarding his laying hold of or tightly grasping onto faith and persevering unto the end, and encouraging the Philippians to do the same, he is personally confident that they will make it to the end that the good work God began in them will “perfect it,” that is, it will mature and grow over time until that very day when Jesus returns where their faith will be perfected completely and they will no longer be in need of faith since that faith will turn into sight (1:6-7; Heb 11:1).

When Paul says that he hasn’t become perfect (mature), this does not deny the Wesleyan understanding of Christian perfection, it only denies that we are not yet at this state of entire completion in our heart, mind, soul, and body for the total plan of salvation that God has for us. That’s what Paul was really saying. However, Paul also mentions that being conformed to the death of Jesus was still a process for him to which he had not arrived at yet. By this conformity to the death of Jesus, he could mean living the cross life of self-denial to crucify the flesh. Or, he could mean that he had not yet reached the point of becoming a martyr for his faith yet and that there were still more things for him to suffer before he got there to the end of his life. Neither interpretation would disprove the Wesleyan doctrine, though one could argue that the former argument might make such a doctrine less likely. In either case, for all believers, growing in Christ-likeness is a continuing process and journey. Also, in either case, the cross life is a spiritual journey as well as a physical journey. There is self-denial for the Christian and there is often much physical suffering from persecution, as Paul himself knew that one very well (2 Cor 11:21-33). Therefore, it is more likely this physical aspect was on the forefront of his mind when he spoke of death since he just previously spoke of suffering and right after spoke of the resurrection of the dead. Martyrdom then, seems to be the best fit within this sandwich.

Overall conclusion of the church at Phillipi

Having examined the book of Philippians, we can see that they were a very healthy church. There’s a theme of joy, rejoicing, warm affection, prayers, and Paul looking out for their best interest. Paul very often includes himself when he addresses them as he identifies with them very much. He’s happy that they are participating in the gospel and earnestly wants them to know how much Jesus loves them. They are said to have been filled with the fruit of righteousness (1:11) and “have always obeyed” (2:12). They seemed to be more than model citizens. Because of this information, when Paul exhorts them to do something, it’s most probably by way of encouragement to tell them to keep doing what they’re doing and to continue growing in love, knowledge, discernment, and to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. Paul is also confident that their faith and good works through Jesus will endure to the very end, that God will finish in them what He started. The Philippians had not “arrived” yet, as Paul makes that clear through telling them to work out their salvation and praying for them to be filled up to all the fullness of God and his desire to continue living for the sake of the Philippians for their “progress and joy in the faith” (1:25). He says that writing this letter to them was “a safeguard” (3:1) to them, considering the evil people that they need to be “beware” of who might lead them astray into being bound under the Jewish system of laws and their requirements of circumcision who would in effect, lead them away from their firm faith in Christ and their good virtues.

Paul really wanted to keep whatever good thing that they had going because it is very precious and lovely for a church to be like that and this excellence is not something Paul saw everywhere. That’s why Paul was being very watchful of them by sending two of his guys over to them, writing his letter, and doing whatever he could to keep himself alive, to not put himself in danger. He did not want to lose the healthiness of this church to the devil. They were as an ark of purity in this dark world, a shining beacon of light, love, and hope. Their spiritual vitality made Paul’s joy full and he communicated well to them how much they meant to him and how great his love was towards them. He called them “beloved children,” and said that he “longed to see” them and that they were his “joy and crown” (4:1). He encourages them to stand firm in their radiance.

If there were any harsh rebuke he had for them, it would have been when he spoke of his guy, Epaphroditus, who risked his life to complete what was deficient in their service to Paul (2:30). However, I think the emphasis is more on how Epaphroditus risked his life for the sake of the Philippians so that the praise rightfully goes to him. That being said, I don’t think Paul was bashing the Philippians here. I think what Paul was saying was that instead of the Philippians suffering, Epaphroditus suffered instead kind of on their behalf and for the sake of them and for the sake of Paul so now the Philippians can see Epaphroditus as an example to suffer for the sake of the gospel for Paul’s sake to sort of make up for what Epaphroditus endured. But they wouldn’t have seen this as a put-down or a competition but rather, a privilege to suffer for the sake of the gospel (1:29-30). They would have wanted to make up for the suffering that Epaphroditus endured to conduct themselves “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (1:27). Paul gives them that exhortation to walk in a way that is worthy of the gospel so that next time he comes to them or hears about them, he wants to hear that they are “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (1:27). Paul wanted Christian unity for gospel advancement.

Philippians Chapter 4

There were two people Paul called out by name, Euodia and Syntyche, who didn’t seem to get along, and so he instructs them “to live in harmony in the Lord (4:2). Paul tells his “true companion,” his guy that he has stationed at that church, to help these two women work it out and see that it’s done. Maybe when this letter was read aloud in the church, everyone would have looked at them and would have given them a look, like, “yeah guys, he’s talking about the both of yas…” Or maybe they wouldn’t have looked at them and in so doing, covered their shame. But either way, God’s method is to expose sin so that it gets dealt with, not to hide it. But of course, follow the Matthew 18 protocol. However, when Paul called these two ladies out, he did it very gently. He followed his reproof with a compliment about them that they had struggled with him for the cause of the gospel, reaffirming the value he sees in them and how he appreciates their service to the Lord.

Paul then instructs everyone to have a “gentle spirit” (4:5) and in every circumstance to “rejoice,” to give praise to God in the strength of the Lord and in the salvation that they have in the Lord (4:4) because Paul eagerly anticipated the return of Jesus to the earth (v. 5). This expectation and hope could purify their hearts to rejoice and provide them with a sense of accountability to live right.

Paul instructed them to not be anxious for any reason but to instead pray (4:6-7). Give over your anxieties to the Lord. Place them in His hands. Pray for yourself and for others and give thankful prayers and praises to God. “Let” your requests be made known to God. Pray instead of worrying. Hand over control to God. Give it up. Cultivate thankfulness and gratitude and praise rather than a heart and mind set on worry. And if you practice prayer, trust, and thankfulness, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will bring peace to your heart and minds and in this way, you will be guarded from anxieties. Access the power of prayer and renew your minds in the truth so that your hearts can be calmed in the power of Jesus and by focusing on His love and greatness.

Paul continues to tell them to renew their minds in the truth, to program the thoughts of their minds for good things rather than for evil or worthless things so that they can overcome their anxieties (4:8-9). Stop negative thought patterns. Stop consuming entertainment that corrupts your mind and trains your mind in the ways of the world. Are you fearful? Stop watching horror movies. Do you struggle with lust? Stop reading romance novels, watching raunchy films, scrolling endlessly on social media, listening to dirty jokes and innuendos, and listening to music that glorifies sexual conduct or exhibits sexual orgasmic-like inflections in their tone of voice. Are you depressed? Stop listening to that toxic self-depreciating music. Are you struggling with anxiety? Just don’t allow your mind to go there. Instead, dwell on the truth of God’s Word or the truth in general, whatever is true and right, whatever is pure, honorable, lovely, admirable, excellent, or worthy of praise, think about those things. Secondly, “practice,” that is, do the good virtues that Paul has exemplified and other godly men and women have exemplified in their lives. Align your mind with heaven and align your body with heaven. Doing this, the heart will take care of itself as long as you practice faith, hope, and trust. Usually, it is in the most trying times of our lives that we tend to feel God’s peace the most. But in most situations, it can be there without our full realization of it. It may not always be a felt experience—but it can always be a present objective reality if we practice these things. Paul’s express desire for the Philippians is that they would always remain in God’s peace that surpasses all comprehension (4:7) but his desire for the Ephesians was that they would know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge (Eph 3:19).

The peace that Paul speaks of in Philippians 4:7 is a peace to calm anxiety through prayer, thanksgiving, and the renewing of the mind with practical obedience. It is a peace we can always have and abide in when we pursue those things. However, I would distinguish this peace from the peace of God’s rest of Christian perfection/maturity which comes through a life of spiritual growth in faith and by crucifying the old man. However, that is not to say that the Philippians had not entered into God’s rest. I think that Paul was mostly giving a sermon to them, so to speak, to encourage them in anyway that they may have been lacking in obedience to God, also knowing that this letter and his other letters to the churches would be distributed elsewhere to be read and for believers to be edified. A general admonition to a whole body of believers cannot be rationally conceived to apply to every single person in the congregation. It would apply to whoever needed the instruction.

However, at this point, some might think that it is impossible to keep our minds pure, that we sin every single second of the day or in the next five minutes, we might think an evil thought. But that is the life of pietism and excess self-introspection which has no place in biblical Christianity. It is a life propagated by trying to perfect obedience by the works of the flesh through focusing on the law and rule-keeping rather than by faith in focusing on God’s love, goodness, greatness, and everything that is true and honorable. It’s not about the willpower of the mind to have victory. It’s about faith. What kind of evil thought are you going to think about in the next five minutes? Give me an example because I’m not sure what you mean. Is it a lustful thought? An envious thought? A hateful thought? A prideful thought? A greedful thought? A selfish thought? Well, you can be delivered from that. You don’t have to think those things. They don’t have to be your natural inclination. They don’t have to pop up out of nowhere and ruin your day. But I’m not advocating unending sinlessness here. I’m advocating continual sustained victory of faith and walking the path of Jesus to crucify those things so that they will be dead and not tug at your heart or corrupt your mind. I’m not saying that Jesus had sin but He was tempted and His nature was as our nature was in its weakness and hedonistic tendencies to which Jesus had to deny Himself daily, put on obedient virtues, and overcome through faith, hope, love, and trust in His Father. This is the path He tells us to follow as His disciples. He showed us the way that we should walk in it.

In my experience in the place of God’s rest, I could be sitting on the beach watching a sunset and that sunset is “lovely” and so I am fulfilling this instruction by Paul to think about whatever is lovely. Or, I may be enjoying myself with some paddle-boarding and having fun doing that, enjoying God’s nature, appreciating the outdoors and that is a good thing to think about. I could be driving on the road, not letting traffic bother me, even though it’s the worst and even when people cut me off or give me the finger, I have peace and it doesn’t ruin my day. I might be slightly disturbed by such a thing in the moment, as one would expect, but it doesn’t get under my skin because I don’t focus on it and have chosen to forgive and to forget, to give a blessing instead of a curse. I have no inclination to curse at them or to call them “idiot.” When I’m at the beach and see beautiful women, I could be thinking random thoughts of no great significance completely unrelated to these attractive women and my mind is okay. Lust has been crucified and so it’s not a struggle for me. I still have to make a conscious choice to not purposefully and willfully seek out pleasure in those things but it’s easy. I’m not pulling teeth. I’m not conjuring up the willpower of my brain to be disciplined because I have crucified my flesh. Lust isn’t there anymore. It was burned away from my heart through living the cross life and through faith in God’s love which purged those evil inclinations away.

All this is something that needs to be cultivated. God isn’t just going to zap you with obedience because you prayed for it. You need to choose obedience and choose to think differently, to put on the new self of Christ’s nature already within you. But we don’t need to always think that if we’re not praying or reading the Bible or singing praise songs to God or helping someone in need that we’re necessarily sinning in that moment. As I have just explained, you can think good thoughts even while having fun doing your hobbies. So, you need to stop torturing yourself with the condemnation of the law and guilt which you have imposed on yourself. Stop making life so complicated for yourself by focusing on law-keeping. Focus on Jesus and you will find yourself obeying Him and walking in a way pleasing to God by faith. Which, faith is the only way to be pleasing to God according to Hebrews 11:6 and then Romans 14:23 solidifies this fact, saying, “whatever is not of faith is sin.” So, if you think about it, you might be sinning by keeping some law you found in your Bible because you thought by keeping that law, you could please God. But only faith produced obedience is what God really wants. It all must start there. It all starts with God’s love for you and believing His goodness and promises in all things and that’s what produces Holy Spirit fruits of obedience.

The whole purpose of Paul’s exhortation to think thoughts that are true, lovely, and good, etc., is not meant to be this man-made law where if you don’t think of one of those specific definitions, or that if you aren’t thinking anything at all for the moment, that this is somehow sinning. No. Paul is giving this method here for our benefit, not for our condemnation—not so that we can beat ourselves up about the fact that we didn’t have 100 or more positive thoughts for the day to meet some quota for some vague standard of goodness. That’s pietism. You need to stop that kind of overthinking. This method on the other hand, which is not a law, is a tool given to us by the grace of God to show us the way to renew our minds—to transform our minds—to transform our hearts—to conform us into the image of Christ. It is not about a list of rules to keep. Don’t look at it that way. It’s there to help you, not to oppress you.

But at this point you might be thinking about what Jesus said that lust is like adultery and anger is like murder and so you may be thinking that Jesus labels these things as sin and He examines the motives of the heart, sees our every evil intention and wicked thought. Yes, surely, He does, and those things are sinful. But if you are in Christ, then you are a new creation, and you have a new heart to desire the things of God. You might do those things but those things are not who you are. They are not your identity. The Bible says that if you are in Christ, you are no longer under the condemnation of the law (Ro 8:1-2). Have you come to realize that yet? Have you believed it yet so that you stop condemning yourself? The law doesn’t condemn you anymore. Christ doesn’t condemn you. And so, if God is the one in charge and He doesn’t condemn you, who is left to condemn you? So then why do you condemn yourself as if to punish yourself with guilt and shame? You are seeking to enslave yourself to the law that Christ has set you free from, but you must realize that you are actually free, so be free. Of course, I’m not advocating you go on sinning so that grace may abound (see Romans 6). So then, what is necessary is that you become overwhelmingly a conqueror through faith in God’s love (Ro 8:37). His love is not going anywhere and He will leave the ninety-nine sheep to go after the one to seek you out (Lk 15:4). If you stray from Him and turn away from Him, He will still love you and seek to draw you back to Himself. Abide then in His love and no not fear. Have faith. God is for you, not against you.

The next thing Paul speaks of in Philippians 4:10-14 is the secret of contentment. He has experienced both extremes in life—being wealthy and being poor, going hungry and being filled. In any and every circumstance, he has learned how to be content. And this is his secret: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (v. 13). The “all things” is in reference to being content in every circumstance. Verse 19 may also be connected to Paul’s strength, in which he says, “my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” He believed that God’s riches in heaven were superabundant and sufficient to supply any need that he or the Philippians might have. God is lacking in nothing and we can trust Him to provide for our needs because of His love and goodness and because we are “in Christ,” and so the riches that belong to Christ also belong to us because we are heirs of Christ. We are also sons of God the Father who will not withhold anything that is good for us. So that, we entrust ourselves to Him in all things, whether we are poor or rich, He always has our best interests at heart and will ultimately take care of what we need. Of course, we must appropriate this promise accurately. There are many things today that people think that they need, that they must have, but aren’t actually necessities. Nonetheless, God is willing to bless as well. But what is most important to Him is where our heart is at not where our wealth is at. God does want us to be happy but He also wants us to be holy. Ultimately, He wants us to be happy in holiness because in holiness there is true blessedness. Paul’s secret to happiness, then, was his focus on Jesus Christ, trusting Him in all things, setting His hope on Jesus’ return and the glorification of his body to be as Christ’s, praying, renewing his mind, and having put to death sin and wrong ways of thinking through faith and practice all by the power of God. We must all truly believe that we can do this as well along with Paul, that we can be content because we can do it through Christ’s strength. Put your faith in that verse. Believe it.

Here are some other related articles to check out:

Piety or Pietism?

Romans 7 is Not What You Think

How to Walk by Faith