He would receive a prize when he reached that goal. Bullinger's Companion bible Notes". "Commentary on Philippians 3:14". This is emphatically ἐν χ. ἰ. For this reason it is termed ‘a heavenly calling’ (Hebrews 3:1). “God"s heavenly calling” (Con). It is possibly one of those words which must have been common in colloquial Greek (cf. Philippians 3:14 Meaning of Press on Toward the Goal Explanation and Commentary of Philippians 3:14. "Commentary on Philippians 3:14". Perhaps akin are uses like Thucyd., 6, 31, κατὰ θέαν ἥκειν; Hom., Odyss., 3, 72, κατὰ πρῆξιν (“for the sake of business,” Ameis-Hentze). And shall they be willing to abstain from what is ordinarily deemed a pleasure for the sake of a victory in wrestling, running, and the like; and our young men be incapable of a similar endurance for the sake of a much nobler victory, which is the noblest of all, as from their youth upwards we will tell them?” (Jowett’s Plato, Vol. Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers. Job 16:12-13 ; Lamentations 3:12. Greek. It is that post at the end of the race upon which the runner fixes his attention” (Hawthorne p. 154). George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, Commentary Critical and Explanatory - Unabridged, Kretzmann's Popular Commentary of the Bible. We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. § 20, 2. "Commentary on Philippians 3:14". The term “forgetting” is used with special reference to the figure here employed, for the apostle cherished the memory of former manifestations, and thanked God for the least of them. Paul"s goal (Gr. The prize is to be found only at the goal, and to that goal the racer ever strives. God will catch up (rapture) into heaven every Christian regardless of how he or she has run the race (, "Each believer is on the track; each has a special lane in which to run; and each has a goal to achieve. Salem Media Group. “Of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”: “The prize of God"s heavenward call” (Wey). The prize probably refers to the reward faithful believers will receive at the judgment seat of Christ ( 2 Corinthians 5:10). "Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable". Clearly, Paul was not perfected at the time he wrote this, and neither have we been perfected as we read it. "Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers". ], Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament. “Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown.” The prize is certainly eternal perfection and blessedness- “an incorruptible crown.” It is to be enjoyed only at the termination of the course. "Whedon's Commentary on the Bible". This was the full compensation for his losses, the glorious reward of his fidelity. Meyer calls it the genitive of subject. The prize—The object of the race is the incorruptible crown (1 Corinthians 9:25) which the apostle was called by Christ from heaven to run for and win. I press on towards the goal. Finding the new version too difficult to understand? Van Hengel insists that διώκω must have an expressed accusative; and not being used absolutely, it must govern ἕν. Philippians 3:15. Article Images Copyright © 2020 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. Philippians 3:14 “I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”. Ad destinatum, Greek: kata skopon dioko. ", "In keeping with the vivid imagery drawn from the Greek games that pervades this section there is still another explanation of the "upward call" that seems the most reasonable explanation of all. (1) "This one thing I do." Bernhardy, p. 181. It would be a most telling figure with the Gentiles, to whom the sight of such victor’s crown was familiar. ], Dictionnaire des antiqus grecques et romaines [Paris: Hachette, 1900-1963] 3 ,1 ,60-64). It is needless to distinguish between σκοπόν and βραβεῖον in the Apostle’s thought. ano, see John 8:23). It is from God-a Divine summons that pierces the spirit and ensures compliance, but it is in Christ, for it is a call which the blood of Christ consecrates, and to which His grace gives effect. "Commentary on Philippians 3:14". v., p. σταδίῳ κάτω, ἀλλʼ ἄνω καλέσας ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκεῖ στεφανοῖ, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers. For the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus; Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament, the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges, ὁ δρομεὺς οὐχ ὅσους ἤνυσεν ἀναλογίζεται διαύλους, τὰ μὲν ὀπίσω ἐπιλανθανόμενος τοῖς δὲ ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεκτεινόμενος κατὰ σκοπὸν διώκω εἰς τὸ βραβεῖον, Οὐκ οἴδατε ὅτι οἱ ἐν σταδίῳ τρέχοντες πάντες μὲν τρέχουσιν, ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν ἵνα φθαρτὸν στέφανον λάβωσιν, μήπως ἄλλοις κηρύξας αὐτὸς ἀδόκιμος γένωμαι, John Eadie's Commentary on Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Philippians, κατὰ σκοπὸν διώκω ἐπὶ τὸ βραβεῖον τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν χριστῷ ᾿ιησοῦ, τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν χριστῷ ᾿ιησοῦ, "This is a far cry from the teaching on sanctification which calls believers to "let go and let God". If we reach the goal the way God has planned, then we receive a reward. Only in connexion with Him has the κλῆσις either in itself or in its goal any meaning. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no … There was unity of action, and therefore assurance of success; his energies were not dissipated; his eye was single, and therefore his progress in the race was visible-, τὰ μὲν ὀπίσω ἐπιλανθανόμενος—“forgetting the things behind.” The use of the compound middle verb is Pauline, the preposition giving the image of “over and beyond,” and so intensifying the idea of the simple verb. College Press, Joplin, MO. This is the call to which Paul is now alluding (Collange)." Nothing is suffered to draw off the gaze from that end which is to be reached, and which, like the winning-post in a race, is kept steadily in view. App-104., but the texts rend eis (App-104.). BibliographyNicol, W. Robertson, M.A., L.L.D. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/philippians-3.html. No shout, or voice of archangel or trampet here, as in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. The prize is God's call to life above, that Isaiah, to Eternity. ; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. Please enter your email address associated with your Salem All-Pass account, then click Continue. "Commentary on Philippians 3:14". The runner in the heavenly race could make no progress in his own strength, but in Christ Jesus what was weak in him becomes strong, and instead of despair he is full of hope. ‘The high calling of God’ is that summons or invitation which had been given by God to the apostle, to be a sharer in the kingdom of heaven and its blessings. ἀλλʼ ὑπωπιάζω μου τὸ σῶμα καὶ δουλαγωγῶ, μήπως ἄλλοις κηρύξας αὐτὸς ἀδόκιμος γένωμαι. Breaking Down the Key Parts of Philippians 3:14. BibliographyIce, Rhoderick D. "Commentary on Philippians 3:14". (much as in Colossians 3:12), “the heavenly calling,”—which is “of God,” proceeding from His will, for “whom He predestinated, them He also called” (Romans 8:30); and is “in Christ Jesus” in virtue of the unity with Him, in which we are at once justified and sanctified. BibliographySchaff, Philip. 14. But it is not a call of naked Godhead, of bare Divine authority; it approaches us in Christ Jesus. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 409.). Thus, although he has said ‘this I do,’ and ‘I press on,’ he comes back in these final words to the first thought, the putting down of all trust in self, and shows that he never forgets ‘not I, but the grace of God which was with me.’. It is hard to say whether the apostle carries the figure so fully out as Grotius, Hoelemann, Am Ende, and others suppose, to wit, that he represents God as βραβευτής, summoning by heralds the runners into the course. But God in His merciful grace has judged and now "sees" us as He would see Jesus Christ in order to give us time to become perfected through being created in His image. And surely it is sufficient to stimulate ardour, and sustain energy, since it is the realization of man's highest destiny-the woe and sin of the fall not merely neutralized, but a higher glory conferred than the first man of our race originally enjoyed; not the first Adam, but the second Adam being the type as well as the author of the new life with its glory.