An Exposition of Philippians 3:12

08.15.10
J.A. Matteson

“…I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
Philippians 3:12

διώκω δὲ εἰ καὶ καταλάβω, ἐφ’ ᾧ καὶ κατελήμφθην ὑπὸ Χριστοῦ [Ἰησοῦ].

With certainty the pilgrim advances in sanctification, eagerly anticipating the promise fully realized. During the intervening times and seasons of wanderings on the earth the saint is ever mindful of the occasion when by grace the Lord revealed Himself, quickening the living dead to life, forever altering the focus of personal ambitions and affections, “And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting” (Acts 9:5).

How newness of life from the Lord arrives is in itself glorious, but of greater magnificence and wonder is that it comes at all when a sober accounting of fallen humanities dreadful standing before a holy God is considered, “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Gen. 6:5-6).

Misplaced religious zeal—all that is opposed to Christ—is evil before the eyes of the Lord and an abomination to Him. That which is anti-Christ denies that the Son of God has come in the flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist….” (1 Jn. 4:1-3). And to man made religious systems which suppress and distort the truth as to the person and work of the Son of God the wrath of God is revealed (Rom. 1:18).

Therefore, evil in the eyes of the Lord is Islam, Mormonism, Judaism, Christian Science, Buddhism, Hinduism, Pantheism, Atheism, Secular Humanism, Baha’i Faith, Confucianism, Shinto, Sikhism, Taoism, Native American Spirituality, Scientology, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the New Age, Animism, Witchcraft, Voodoo, Horoscopes, Divination, Wicca, and every other form of misplaced worship that depraved human minds manufacture. The zeal of adherents to these various false religions has been and can be intense. The spiritual war between the children of light and darkness knows no cessation, and only the grace of God can release the captives, opening blind eyes, unstopping deaf ears, indeed, quickening the dead.

Agents of Satan are slaves to unrighteousness, hell bent on opposing the Seed of righteousness. Once quickened to life the pilgrim’s response of devotion is to forget what lies behind and to press forward, “…to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” As a new born babe instinctively cries in order to be fed its mothers milk, the new born child of God craves the pure milk of the Word. It is the child’s zeal to know Him whose Person is beyond the capacity of flesh and blood to be fully known. And yet the child is undaunted and in reckless abandon pursues Him without regret, forsaking all things and all others in order that he might be found in Him on that Day.

The Apostle states his aim, that “I might seize” (καταλάβω) or take hold of Christ. The aorist tense verb indicts a simple occurrence yet to be fully realized, and it is in the subjunctive mood to denote a certain outcome; viz., the fulfillment of the promise of salvation revealed in him. The Greek construction of the verb expresses his hope as an absolute certainty yet to be realized, and not merely wishful thinking. This outcome of salvation finds its origin and governance in Christ who is the author and finisher of faith, for earlier in this letter the Apostle stated, “for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Phil. 2:13). And to what is the Apostle referring when he makes this claim?, is he not clear in this text, “for which Christ took hold of me.” At one time he was at enmity Christ, a persecutor of the Way, hating its leader and labeling Him as a blasphemer, glutton, and drunkard, one who shares His company with vile sinners and tax collectors.

Once regenerated the Spirit of God continues to perform His work in the child of God, new affections come, passions for righteousness are aroused, and as it is the nature of a moth to be drawn toward light in the evening darkness, so too the regenerated man has been given a new nature, one instinctively drawn toward the Light of the Son of God in a dark and perverse world, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17). The new disposition of the Apostle of love toward Christ, his earnest desire to pursue Christ, is the outward evidence of the miracle of regeneration, for where a passion and love for Christ is absent regeneration has not occurred, “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ” Abba! Father!” (Gal. 4:6).

The transformation within some, as with the Apostle, comes as a thunderclap in a moment. For others it takes the form of a slower dawning or awakening to the truth of Christ through the ministry of the Word. However it comes it does so with a certainty and inward calling difficult to articulate to the living dead. For they neither understand the things of the Spirit of God, nor indeed can they, for all such talk is foolishness to them, “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God’” (Jn 3:3). As a dog can only view the world in black and white it cannot comprehend the brilliance of a red rose, deep green grass, or the beauty of a sunset at the beach. Similarly, the natural man cannot fathom the realities of things unseen, those only known through revelation by the Holy Spirit, his world is in black and white, while the saints is in glorious color.

The Apostle next states the basis for his new found insight and love for the Savior, declaring that his affections are the end result of God’s predicate action upon him, “…Christ Jesus took hold of me”, no doubt recalling his Damascus road encounter with the risen Savior. The aorist verb “took hold of me” (κατελήμφθην) means God seized him forcefully at a specific time in the past; it is in the passive tense and indicative mood as a statement of fact. The sense is that the Apostle was the passive recipient of divine initiative resulting in regeneration. It is for this reason that John states, “We love, because He first loved us” (1 Jn. 4:19), and that Jesus said, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain….” (Jn. 15:16).

With regard to this choosing and effectual calling toward the elect the Lord declared, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day” (Jn. 6:44). Often Armenians cite this verse in the hopes of proving mans “free will”, whereby they claim the Spirit “woos” sinners, but does not compel them to respond to the Gospel. To the Armenian fallen sinners have the innate ability in themselves to come to Christ. Needless to say that premise does not find biblical support as even the Lord Himself stated.

Curious is the translation of the Greek word “elkusē” (ἑλκύσῃ) as “draw.” While certainly that is one rendering of the word, it is also translated quite differently in other New Testament passages. The same word is given a decidedly forceful compulsion in Acts 16:19 and 21:30. In 16:19 we read of the arrest of Paul and Silas in Philippi, “But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged (εἵλκυσαν) them into the market place before the authorities.” In this passage “dragged” comes from the same word as “draw” in John 6:44. In Acts 21:30 the disruption regarding Paul in Ephesus is described, “The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged (εἷλκον) him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut.” Again, the same Greek word used by Jesus in John 6:44 is used in these texts as a forceful compulsion. The Greek rendering by the translators in John 6:44 is curious.

The question, then, is this: which rendering best harmonizes with the whole council of God in regards to the divine initiative in salvation relative to the inability of fallen sinners to come to Christ in their own stead? Therefore, returning to the Apostles statement, “..I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” informs the pilgrim that his ability and passion to lay hold of Christ is the direct result of Christ first laying hold (ἑλκύσῃ) of him, regenerating him, and irresistibly compelling him to desire Christ and come to Him. Soli Deo gloria!

Copyright (c) 2010 Immutable Word Ministries (“…the word of our God stands forever.” Isa. 40:8).

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