Answer
In Philippians 3:12–14, the apostle Paul portrays himself (a follower of Christ) as a determined athlete running a race (the Christian life). In that race, Paul is resolutely reaching toward the goal of “knowing Christ Jesus” so fully and experientially (Philippians 3:8–11) that one day he will cross the finish line of perfect spiritual maturity: “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (Philippians 3:12–14, NLT).
Twice in the passage, Paul uses the expression I press on. In the original language, the verb translated as “press on” in verses 12 and 13 means “to carry out or participate in an activity, to pursue or follow after, to strive energetically for some purpose.” The apostle was actively participating in the process of knowing Christ in every facet of his life—in power and weakness (Philippians 3:10), in joy and suffering (Philippians 4:4; 2 Corinthians 4:10), in plenty or want (Philippians 4:12). The race he was running was not a passive, apathetic, or careless Christian walk. He was running to win. He urged the Corinthian believers, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24).
Paul wasn’t running aimlessly but with purpose in every step. He explained, “I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:26–27, NLT). Paul was bound and determined to live for Christ with every fiber of his being (Philippians 1:21; Galatians 2:20; Acts 20:24). He was pursuing Jesus in an all-out effort to reach the culminating moment when he would stand before Him face to face and hear Him say: “Well done, good and faithful servant. . . . Enter into the joy of your master” (Matthew 25:23, ESV).
The goal of pressing on is not salvation. Jesus Christ secures our salvation for us (John 3:16; Hebrews 9:12; 1 Peter 1:18–19). If we are saved, our citizenship is in heaven, where our Savior awaits us (Philippians 3:20; 1 Corinthians 3:11–15). But we still have miles to go in working out our salvation while on earth (Philippians 2:12–13). “A sanctified dissatisfaction,” writes Warren Wiersbe, “is the first essential to progress in the Christian race” (The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2, Victor Books, 1996, p. 88). Paul knew he had not arrived yet. Mature believers can honestly evaluate their spiritual condition and recognize their need to press on.
Peter describes the process of spiritual growth in 2 Peter 1:3–11. We come to know Jesus and become more like Him as we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. We “make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement [our] faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more [we] grow like this, the more productive and useful [we] will be in [our] knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (verses 5–8, NLT). The goal we press on to receive is the heavenly reward God has planned for us (see 1 Corinthians 3:11–15; Romans 8:17–18; Colossians 3:23–24).
With the words, “I press on,” Paul declares, “I will never give up.” He knows the Christian journey is best understood as a marathon, not a sprint. As determined followers of Jesus, we too must persevere in faith to grow toward spiritual maturity (Colossians 2:6–7; Colossians 1:23; Hebrews 6:1; 10:36–38). We long for the perfection that Christ died to provide for us, but we realize we won’t attain it until the future resurrection. In the meantime, like soldiers, we “don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life,” and like athletes, we run to “win the prize,” pleasing our heavenly Father and staying on course to receive our reward (2 Timothy 2:4–5, NLT).
