Let us turn again to the Word
of God in the chapter that we read, Philippians chapter 3.
I'll read again at verses 13 and 14. Philippians 3 and reading
verses 13 and 14. Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended But this one thing I do, for getting those
things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which
are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus. And in particular, the words
that we have at the end of verse 13, This one thing I do, says Paul,
this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before." This
is an explanation of what the Apostle means when he speaks
of apprehending. Now he speaks of that in verse
12 if I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of
Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended." And then he says, but this one thing I
do. He's explaining then something
of what it means to apprehend. And the theme that I want to
take up is that of apprehending or laying hold of salvation in
the Lord Jesus Christ, the laying hold of salvation in the Lord
Jesus Christ. You will gather then that the
words that we have here, the verb to apprehend literally means
to lay hold of a thing or to seize a thing. Now, we can say
that the Lord Jesus Christ himself as laid hold of his people in
a three-fold sense. They have been laid hold of in
eternity, in the eternal covenant of grace. It was there that the
Lord God laid hold of them as he made choice of them. according
as He has chosen us in Him that is in the Lord Jesus Christ before
the foundation of the world. Now the Father having set His
love upon them apprehending them in that fashion has committed
them into the hands of His eternal Son in terms of that covenant
wherein the Lord Jesus is able to speak of the children which
God has given me. And remember, when we read of
Christ's prayer there in the 17th chapter of John, he refers
to them as those who were God's, thine they were, he says. And
thou gavest them to me. Oh, they were laid hold of then
from all eternity in that great covenant of grace. But then,
when we think of time, when we think of the outworking of the
eternal purpose of God, we see that there was a time when the
Lord Jesus Christ Himself came to take hold of them. He takes
hold of them in terms of the incarnation. As we read in Hebrews
chapter 2, for as much then as the children were partakers of
flesh and blood, He likewise took part of the same. He doesn't
take upon Him the nature of angels. No, He is made a little lower
than the angels for the suffering of death. He comes and He identifies
with those people that the Father gave to Him in the Eternal Covenant. He comes just where they are
as have fallen in Adam he identifies with fallen sinners. Again there
the language of Paul in Hebrews chapter 2 at verse 16. Verily
he took not upon him the nature of angels but he took upon him
the seed of Abraham. But how in the margin the strength
of the of the language that is being employed is really brought
out. The literal rendering is given there in the margin. He
take us not hold of angels but of the seed of Abraham. He take
us whole. How he has apprehended his people
then in terms of the incarnation. He comes as that one who is bone
of their bone and flesh of their flesh. He is made in the likeness
of sinful flesh and for sin, although there is no sin in Him.
Yet it is sinners that He comes to save, because these are the
ones that were committed to Him in that eternal covenant. Or
they laid hold of them, they are apprehended in eternity,
they've been apprehended in time in terms of the incarnation. And then thirdly, they come to experience these
things and how do they experience these things in effectual calling
and that's what Paul is speaking of here in the context look at
what he says back in verse 12 I am apprehended of Christ Jesus
if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended
of Christ Jesus it's the Lord who lays hold of Paul before
ever Paul is able to lay hold of the Lord none can be beforehand
with him it isn't that the Lord will lay hold of this man because
he has first laid hold of the Lord no that's not the way of
grace or this man Saul was a man dead in trespasses and in sin.
He thought he was a religious man, he thought he was a righteous
man. But he was a man alienated from God, an enemy of God. But
now he was one of those chosen from all eternity, apprehended
in eternity. He was one of those that Christ
was incarnate for And so in the appointed time, as he says to
the Galatians, when he pleased God, who separated me from my
mother's womb and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in
me. How this man was apprehended
of Christ Jesus. And when that happened, how he
had such an awareness of his sin, he was arrested. he was
arrested as we have it there in in Acts chapter 9 it was at
the very gates of Damascus that the Lord laid hold upon him and
how he becomes so conscious so much aware of his sinnership remember how he speaks somewhat
of his experience there in in Romans 7 What shall we say then? He asks
in verse 7. Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay,
I have not known sin, but by the law. For I have not known
last, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin,
taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead,
for I was alive. without the law once. But when
the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment
which was ordained to life I found to be unto death. For sin taking
occasion by the commandment deceived me and by it slew me." How he
is arrested in his mad career. He was one concerning zeal, persecuting
the church, an enemy of Christ. All but there the Lord showed
him the spiritual truth of that holy law of God. All whatsoever
things the Lord said, it said to them who are under the law
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty
before God. That was his experience. By the
deeds of the law no flesh could be justified in the sight of
God. or we sang it just now in the
hymn, Thus the eternal counsel ran, Almighty love arrest that
man. And so Saul of Tarsus was apprehended
there at the very gates of Damascus. I am apprehended of Christ Jesus,
but not only arrested, when he comes to that effectual calling
he's not just stopped short in his mad career it's not simply
that his mouth is stopped now and he can say nothing in order
to commend himself to God now having been brought to the end
of self he then finds that God in his grace will acquit him
of all his sins Well, what does the Lord say to him there at
the very gate of Damascus? The Lord said unto him, Arise. Awake thou that sleepest. Arise
from the dead. Christ shall give thee life. By the grace of God, he comes
to that experience of salvation. The Savior is revealed in his
soul. And then he sees all the uselessness
of his own righteousness. And this is what he says here
in this chapter. Verse 4, Though I might also have confidence
in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof
he might trust in the flesh, I more. Circumcise the eighth
day of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew
of the Hebrews, as touching the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal,
persecuting the church, touching the righteousness which is in
the law, blameless. This is how he considers himself.
But... Oh, what a word is that at the
beginning of verse 7. But what things were gained to
me, those I counted lost for Christ. And then his great desire. verse 9, to be found in him,
not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, all his
self-righteousness is gone, but that which is through the faith
of Christ, the righteousness which is of God's by faith. And so Paul has known what it
is to be apprehended, but what is he saying here? If that I may apprehend he says
in verse 12 and this apprehending as we have it explained here
in the words of our text this one thing I do though I cannot myself to apprehend
it he's been apprehended himself but what of what of his own experience
now what will this mean to him this one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those
things which are before. And these are the words that
I really want to consider under this simple twofold division.
First of all, the forgetting the things behind, and then secondly,
considering what it is to reach forth unto those things which
are before. Oh first of all then forgetting
those things which are behind there what is to be forgotten?
when God comes and lies hold upon us to save us there is to
be that forgetting of sins what is the great promise of the new
covenant? God says there in Jeremiah 31
Not only that he will give his people a new heart and put a
right spirit within them, but he says, I will remember their
sin no more. These are the things that are
now behind. The sinner, so conscious of his
sin, having such a sense of his desert really, he only deserves
the wrath of God. And he feels it, he ought to
be punished for his sins, he's transgressed God's holy law. He's fallen short of God's glory,
he's guilty of a multitude of sins. We were reminded at Hedge
End this afternoon of those words of Bishop Bishop Osham. He says that if a man lives to
the allotted span of 70 years and sins every 3 minutes throughout
his life by the end of his days he will have committed I think
it was 3 billion sins. the multitude of our sins and
yet what does the Lord say I will remember their sin no more as
far as the east is from the west so far as He removed our transgression
from us that's an infinite distance as you know not north and south
those fixed points on the compass but no as far as the east is
from the west which can never be measured. That's where God
has removed all the sins of His people. The great promises then
of the New Covenant. Those whom the Lord has reserved,
those whom the Lord has laid hold upon in all eternity. What
does He say concerning such characters as these? In those days and in
that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought
for and there shall be none. and the sins of Judah and they
shall not be found for I will pardon them whom I reserve."
All those that the Lord has apprehended they are a people who are forgiven.
This is the assurance we have then when we come to God and
make our confessions or we feel our sin if the Lord has apprehended
us. Certainly this man who is the human author of the epistle
to the Philippians He knew what it was to be a sinner, he had
a sense of his sinnership. But he also now, as I said just
now, what it was to be acquitted, to be forgiven. And John the
sign, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves
and the truth is not in us, if we confess our sin. He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned
we make him a liar and his word is not in us. Oh if God's words,
if God's truth is in us tonight we are those who will feel our
sin and yet we have this assurance forgetting forgetting the things
that are behind our sins of God have gone forever. I will remember
their sin no more." But not only the sins forgotten,
but the righteousnesses, that legality, that legality also,
that's all gone. And this was certainly the experience
of the Apostle. He was circumcised the 8th day
He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. And so what does he say in verse
4? Though I might also have confidence in the flesh, if any other man
thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh,
I more. But what is all his fleshly righteousness? What is all his legality? What
is all his own works? Oh, he thinks as a Pharisee,
you see, touching the righteousness which is in the Lord, he's blameless.
How did he reason? He was no adultery, he was no
thief, he was no murderer. He kept the letter of the Lord
of God. That's what the legalist does. But then the Lord showed
him the spirituality of the Lord. For the Lord is not just concerned
with the man's actions, it's concerned with all that the man
is. His thoughts, his feelings, his motives. And when that law was revealed
to him, then he saw the truth. We're all as an unclean thing.
All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. We fade like the
leaf, our iniquities like the wind, they carry us away. But he forgets those things.
forgetting those things that are behind, be it sins, be it
any legal righteousness that he might once have been trusting
in. But then also, when he experienced
the grace of God, when he knew the blessings of salvation, when
he was truly converted to the Lord Jesus Christ, how he served
the Lord. But what of all those labours
all his many labors in the gospel all that he cost him he was called
to be the apostle to the Gentiles and because he sought faithfully
to execute that ministry he was hated and despised by the Jews
all what oppositions he had to endure what trials, what troubles
he cost him but what of all these labors well remember the words
of the Lord when he comes to the end and he sits as that one
who is truly the great judge of all when the Lord makes the
final separation between the sheep and the goats there in
Matthew 25 Matthew 25 and verse 37, the righteous, the justified sinner. Then shall the righteous answer
him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee and hungered and fed thee,
or thirsty and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger and
took thee in, or naked and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick
or in prison and came unto thee? and the king shall answer and
say unto them, verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done
it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto
me. They've done all these things and yet it didn't mean anything
to them in the sense of righteousness. That's nothing to do with their
righteousness. No, that righteousness of the saints that linen, clean
and white, that's the righteousness of Christ. That's all their hope,
all their trust. They forget all their labours,
you see. They complete ignorance. When saw we do, hungered, and
fed thee, thirsted, gave thee drink, the stranger took thee
in naked, clothed, sick, or in prison, and came unto them. Oh,
they'd done it many times, but they'd forgotten all of those
things. Those were the things that were behind. when you shall
have done all these things which I commanded you the Lord says
say we are unprofitable servants we have done that which was our
duty to do Paul isn't trusting in any of his labours in the
gospel and you know I've heard people in evangelical circles
who love to tell you all the time what they do for the Lord
what they do for the Lord what they do for the Lord but nothing very much about what
the Lord has done for them. Here is the mark, you see, of
the gracious man, he forgets those things which are behind. And how we see it in the life
of this man who is a pattern to them which would hereafter
believe. He refers to himself when writing to those Corinthians
who so despised him their hearts had been stolen by the false
teachers and they despised Paul and he has to rise and he has
to defend himself and he does speak in the Corinthian epistle
of all that his ministry had cost him but he also says this
to them that he is the least of the apostles he is the least of the apostles
not worthy to be called an apostle He says even more when he writes
to the Ephesians, he says that he is less than the least of
all saints. In a sense he is coining his
own word because he calls himself the leaster. You cannot really
get below the least. And yet, that's where Paul puts
himself, he is less than the least. less than the list. You make a list of the children
of God, and where will you find the name of the Apostle Paul? Right at the bottom of the list.
Just about on the list. That's how Paul views the situation. But on the other hand, if you
make a list of the sinners, where will his name appear there? what
he says there in 1st Timothy 1 of sinners of whom I am the
chief oh he is the chief of all the sinners, he is at the top
of that list but he is at the bottom of the list of the saints
he has done nothing you see he is not trusting in any sense
in anything of himself though he so labored in the gospel above
all the apostles he labored but that's not where his confidence
is he forgets he's forgetting all those things that were behind but then on the other hand we
see how he speaks also of reaching forth onto the things that are
before this one thing I do forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forth onto those
things which are before now what are the things that are before?
well he Says in verse 14, as he continues, I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus. What is the thing that is before?
It's the prize. It's the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus. What is His prize? It's the gift
of the grace of God. It's the gift of the free and
sovereign grace of God. It's that that centers in the
person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The high calling of God
in Christ Jesus, he says. And remember again, I'll ask
where he says that. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable
gift. His unmentionable gift. And what
is that? It's the gift of the Lord Jesus
Christ, that God did not withhold his Son, even his only begotten
Son, or that one eternally begotten of the Father, the Son of his
love. God so loves the world that he
gives his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish but have everlasting life." And we see here Paul's desire
all together bound up with the Lord Jesus Christ. Back at verse
4 he says that he wants to win Christ I count all things but
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do
count them but dung that I may win Christ." Well this is the
prize to win the Lord Jesus Christ and then he goes on in verse
9 to say that what he longs and yearns for is to be found in
Christ to be found in Him Not having mine own righteousness,
no. He wants that righteousness which is through the faith of
Christ. He always wants to know Christ, the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. To be found in Christ and
to know Christ. As he says in verse 10, that
I may know Him. and the power of His resurrection
and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His
death. What do we see here? With regards
to the Apostle Paul, it is so clear that the substance of his religion,
the sum, the substance of his religion is nothing less than
the Lord Jesus Christ. and to have such a knowledge
of him, and not just an intellectual understanding of the truth as
it is in Christ. When he prays for the Ephesians,
look at the content of his praying there at the end of chapter 3. He says at verse 17 that Christ
may dwell in your heart by faith that ye being rooted and grounded
in love may be able to comprehend with all signs what is the breadth
and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ
which passeth knowledge ye might be filled with all the fullness
of God. All he wants to apprehend he wants to apprehend the Lord
Jesus he prays for these Ephesians that they may comprehend and
yet really comprehend something that is incomprehensible because
he speaks of that love of Christ which passeth none he is praying for impossible things
but you see all together his desire is in Christ he wants
Christ and so Besides speaking of the
prize in terms of those things that are before him, he also
speaks of the need to be pressing forward, or reaching forth. Again here at the end of verse
13, reaching forth he says, reaching forth unto those things which
are before. The word is an interesting word.
It literally means to extend oneself, to stretch oneself forward. We have a similar word, we might
say a synonym, in Romans 8.19, the earnest expectation
of the creature. The earnest expectation. Now
that word has the idea of stretching out the neck, earnestly, expecting,
looking, watching. And it's a similar idea, it's
reaching forth. It's a thing, surely, in terms
of the runner who is running the race, and he is so eager
to be the first one to break the tape, he stretches forth,
He reaches forth. The mark, you see, that's spoken
of in verse 14, I press toward the mark. Oh, he wants to win
the race, he wants to obtain the prize. Interestingly, the
word that we have here, mark, literally it's the word skopos.
And I suppose it's from which our word scope is derived. or what is the scope of all God's
thoughts and purposes, all centers in the Lord Jesus Christ. He
pleased the Father, that in Him should all fullness dwell. And so here is Paul, you see,
stretching forth that he might apprehend all that is in the
Lord Jesus Christ, all that fullness of grace, all the riches of the
mercy of God. And isn't that the calling of
all those whom the Lord has laid hold upon? All those whom God
has apprehended? Are we not those who are running
the race? Let us run with patience, he says to the Hebrews. Let us
run with endurance the race that he set before us, looking on
to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame
and he sat down on the right hand of God well this is how the Apostle
is pressing forward and we can think of the pressing then in
terms of the athlete who is running his race and reaching forth he
wants to be the first one to to break that tape he wants to
win the race but then also we can take up another figure,
not just the athlete running a race, but how about the fighter? Here in verse 14, it says, I
press. I press. But interestingly, if
we go back to verse 12, I follow after it's the same
word that is used there really but I press after if that I may
apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus
and it's the same word that is also used previously at verse
6 But there, it's translated, persecuting, concerning zeal. Persecuting the church, pressing
after the church, pursuing the church. Now you will see from
these various renderings of the word, we have it in verse 12,
I follow after, We have it in verse 14, I press
towards. We have it in verse 6, as persecuting. Now, you might say, why do the
translators not use the same translation in each of the verses
well the word obviously is a word very rich and pregnant in meaning
and they are trying to bring out the significance of the word
as he choose each time in a certain circumstance they are translating
it in terms of the context but the word is a word that is pregnant
it means to follow with vigor to pursue and when Paul was pursuing those
early Christian believers he was really persecuting them we
go back to Acts chapter 9 he is bringing out threatenings
and slaughter against believers in the Lord Jesus Christ but
is there not something to learn from this word and what it is
to be those who are reaching forth unto the things that are
before or we should be as active and as aggressive we might say
as the Apostle Paul was in pursuing the Lord Jesus Christ in seeking
after him in our desires to know him and to experience more and
more of his grace All we are to fight the good fight of faith
and to lay hold on eternal life. But if a man strive for masteries,
Paul says he is to strive lawfully. And what is that lawful strife?
Well that lawful strife is faith. Fight the good fight of faith.
Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. How do we reach forth unto
those things that are before? It's all a matter of faith. We're
pursuing that God that we cannot see with the natural eye. We're
to walk by faith, we're to live by faith, we're to fight by faith.
It's all faith. And that faith that centers only
in the Lord Jesus Christ. All Paul, you see, knew what
it was he had been apprehended. Apprehended of Christ Jesus.
The Lord had laid hold of him. And here is his great desire
now, forgetting everything that is behind, always, constantly,
reaching forth, pressing forward to those things that are before
him. The life of faith. and that life
of faith so often bound up with the prayer of faith again we
think of Jacob who becomes Israel and who are the true Israel of
God are those who will know the experience of that man as we
have it recorded back in Genesis 32 when the angel wrestles with
him when the Lord lays hold of him That's what Jacob's experience
said at Peniel, that angel was none other than the Lord Jesus
Christ himself. And what does Jacob say? I will not let thee go. I will
not let thee go, except thou bless me. Well, this is what
we are called to, friends. How the bride speaks there in
the Song of Solomon, I held him, she says. and I would not let
him go, or with those who do desire truly to lay hold, even
as we see the Apostle here, I count not myself to have apprehended. He had in a sense already laid
hold of Christ by faith, but That's not the end of the matter.
It's a continual experience of the grace of God. I count not
myself to have apprehended. But this one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those
things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Oh the Lord help
us and bless us with that same grace of faith that we see demonstrated
in the life and the experience of the Apostle, the Apostle to
the Gentiles. The Lord bless his word to us.