Trusting in Christ and Pressing on to Maturity
I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! 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. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. [NLT]
Phil 3:10-16
There were a few of you who picked up on the clues I gave you. I chose “prize” quotes and seeded them with running quotes or references to the Olympics and prizes. I could have inserted a few more references to the Olympics or even the Para Olympics but I didn’t want it to be that obvious. My concluding paragraph was also seeded with clues.
My gift to you: This Gem is perfect for the timing in this month and the month just past, as well as the year in the scope of history. Perfect! Not perfection; but perfect timing. Take a look at the total passage from Phil 3:10-16. Do you see further hints in the things Paul is talking about overall? Paul’s word picture here is an extensive one which is related to something you know well, which is very current and up to date. I will spend a number of Gems unpacking this, so you will have time to sort out the fullness of what Paul is telling us.
To what was I referring?
To the Olympic Games of course. The passage was a reminder for us at the very time we had just finished the Olympic Games in Tokyo in the month before and had moved on to the Para Olympics Games which concluded in the week of Gem 1971. Here are some more Paul quotes.
Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
1 Cor 9:24-25
I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
Phil 3:14
And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules.
2 Tim 2:5
And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.
2 Tim 4:8
Am I making this connection up in my own head? Is this a classic case of eisegesis and not exegesis? Take another look at the passage and pick up on the clues.
I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! 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
Phil 3:10-16perfection1 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 what’s behind 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. Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. [NLT]
1 I hope you will have also noticed the strike through text I used along with the superscripted note.
Why would I do that? Maybe Ian made a mistake and forgot to take the editing out at this point. No! It was deliberate. If you remember in the last Gem I gave you a list of how the various Bible translations handled the reference to “the prize” in Phil 3:12. I told you that Paul makes the prize at that part in the verse indefinite. In fact he makes only an elliptical connection to it. So I have taken out perfection and left you with “that for which” Christ Jesus first possessed me. Why? Because that is exactly what Paul did in the original Greek. He was creating a wonderful allusion to the Olympics. Actually he was making a wider connection, not just to the Olympics Games but to the Panhellenic Games. For background go to Gem 389 and 390. You could even move on to read Gems 391 to 393 which cover running, boxing and wrestling.
Allow me to digress and give you some more background before we move forward and see what our eyes have not yet seen. I am about to divulge a secret to you. But I ask that you keep my secret under your hat. If you are not wearing a hat, then go and buy a hat or keep it in your shoe. In preparing these Gems I work with the Greek text and with the various versions or translations of the Bible to find the way to best express what is being said in the original text. That is what I have been trained to do as a Bible translator. But my secret is this. I have at my disposal a series of reference books called Exegetical Helps. Currently I am using Exegetical Helps on Philippians. The Exegetical Helps series are volumes that enable Bible translators to work with the detail of the text and have at their disposal references to the various views of the commentaries. But how on earth does anyone afford all the commentaries needed? Commentaries are the opinions of men and women (although mostly the opinions of men – now that won’t surprise you ladies, will it?) The opinions in commentaries range from extreme left field to extreme right field. To be up with the play from commentaries you probably need to buy a left field, a middle ground and a right field commentary on each book you dare to seek to understand. Now who would do that in the first place or more to the point who could afford to do such a thing given the cost of commentaries? Ah, that’s where the Exegetical Helps series comes in. Wycliffe asked for help from the publishers of the commentaries to gather together an eclectic series of volumes which listed the valuable input from the commentaries for each verse of the New Testament. It is so useful.
Those of you who know me well, know that I advocate for us doing our work with the words Paul wrote in front of us. Don’t study books about Philippians; study what Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians. If the meaning of the text is not clear then consult the different Bible translations to see if it is made clearer. That is one of the approaches I suggest in my training course – Deeper Bible. When writing these Gems I do my work first and then if I have time or the inclination I look at the verses in the Exegetical Helps volume on the book in focus. I don’t do it for every verse, nor every issue I come up against. But for the ones that are particularly knotty or problematic I consult the Helps. When consulting the Exegetical Helps on Philippians for this passage I read the following from the Expositor’s Greek Testament reference:
It is needless to distinguish between [skopes] “goal” and [brabeion] “prize” in the Apostle’s thought. Both really point to that unbroken and complete fellowship with Christ. . . . The purified life in heaven. . .
EGT
It is that quote which set me on this course of laying out Paul’s approach in the way I have. I strongly disagree with that statement from the EGT note in the Exegetical Helps on Philippians. I believe the commentators missed the point on this one. Over the next series of Gems I intend to break open Paul’s depth of thought contained in this passage in focus at the moment. I don’t believe you will find this anywhere else. Believe me I have looked at all the resources I have at my disposal. We will investigate this passage in a way you will not have done before. My promise to you.
If you have read the Gems I recommended you read above you will understand that in Paul’s day there was not just one set of Greek Games but four:
THE PANHELLENIC GAMES
NAME | LOCATION | FREQUENCY | GARLAND |
---|---|---|---|
The Olympic Games | Olympia | Every Four Years | Olive Leaves |
The Pythian Games | Delphi | Every Four Years | Apple Leaves |
The Nemaean Games | Nemaea (Argolis) | Every Three Years | Parsley Leaves |
The Isthmian Games | Isthmia | Every Five Years | Pine Leaves |
The Standard Games included at each of these venues were:
Running | Boxing | Darts / Archery |
Sprint | Wrestling | Leaping / Throwing |
Endurance | Combat Sports | Horse Racing |
The big three were running, boxing and wrestling (see 1 Cor 9:24-27). The running races were always included but the distances varied until they became standardised. The timing of the Panhellenic Games were such that one of them if not a combination occurred in any one calendar year. Each of these Greek Games took place close to both Corinth and Athens, in the area of Peloponnesus. The Pan (All) Hellenic Games were held from 776 BC through until 393 AD and then spasmodically until at least 150 BC.
The feature events were the running races. It will come as no surprise to you that the references Paul made to running, boxing and wrestling in 1 Corinthians 9 were all in reference to the Isthmian Games held at Isthmia on the isthmus to the north of the city of Corinth. Running was the feature event at each of the four Greek venues. But the distances were not standardised until the modern Olympics began in 1896. Over those first years there were varying distances that were run but of prime importance was the sprint. The stadion (or ‘stade’) race, a short sprint, was the most ancient race and the feature race from which the Greeks crowned their fastest runner. The stadion was in fact the only running event at the first 13 Olympiads. The track was straight and measured approximately 192 metres. The shorter sprint distances were the events run at the four venues of the Panhellenic Games. Gradually other race distances were added to the programme at the Panhellenic Games. The diaulos consisted of two stadion, while the dolichos was a longer distance race consisting of 20 or 24 stadion.
The longer endurance race was not included until after the Battle of Marathon and were run only a few times in the latter years before the original Olympics ceased in 393 AD. The marathon originated from the messenger who took the news of the impending Persian attack to Athens. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, when the Athenians learned that the Persians had landed at Marathon on the way to attack Athens in 490 BC, a messenger named Pheidippides ran the 40 kilometres from Marathon to Athens with the news of the pending invasion. Legend has it that the next day, Pheidippides then ran to Sparta to request their help in the battle. It is said he covered the 260 kilometres between Athens and Sparta in less than two days after already having run from Marathon to Athens.
The greatest Olympic runner of all was Leonidas of Rhodes, who won all three events at each of the four Olympiads held between 164 and 152 BC. (i.e. the games held at Olympia). For a runner to maintain such a peak of fitness (all the running events were held on the same day) for 12 years was a remarkable feat and such was the pride of his countrymen that he became worshipped as a local deity. The marathon as we know it today was not a regular event until the modern Olympic Games began again in 1896. But even then it varied in length. The first modern Olympic marathons were around 40km (25 miles), which is approximately the distance between Marathon and Athens. The now standard length of 26 miles and 385 yards was originally run in the 1908 Games in London.
I have now given you all you need for you to begin pondering what Paul has written for the Philippians and all the churches of the New Testament as well as for our benefit, “those who will ever believe in Him through their message”. (John 17:20)
There is much to discover in this passage over the coming Gems. Stay with me; follow me if you can keep up.
I don’t run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet.
Nadia Comaneci
Part of being a champ is acting like a champ. You have to learn how to win and not run away when you lose.
Nancy Kerrigan
The only victory that counts is the one over yourself.
Jesse Owens
Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.
Dan Gable