Philippians 3:13 Meaning of Forgetting What Is Behind

Philippians 3:13
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,”

Explanation and Commentary of Philippians 3:13

Paul is writing about his goal of attaining the resurrection from the dead and having a righteousness that is in Christ alone. Paul does not mean that he doesn’t know if he will be saved, but that he is not yet completely transformed into the image of the Son of God by whom he is saved, and has not yet completely identified with his sufferings, that he could fully identify with him in his resurrection.

In order to grow to the extent that Paul aspires to, he must move forward, and not backward. Whatever is in the past is in the past. It is important because it has gotten him to the present moment where everything he once valued in Judaism and religiousness he now considers worthless compared to knowing Christ. But to go forward he must look ahead to keep his eyes focused on God and what is next on his journey to the “upward call of God in Christ” (Phil 3:14).

If Paul has not considered himself to have taken hold of what he seeks, then we should not be surprised if there is still some gap between ourselves and the example of Christ. To spend the rest of our lives in this age closing that gap requires a certain joyful “strain” toward what is yet to come.

Breaking Down the Key Parts of Philippians 3:13

#1 “Brothers and sisters,”
A common way for the authors of the New Testament to start a section, the Greek is “brothers,” but the meaning of brothers in the context is everyone, brothers and sisters. The church is a family.

#2 “I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.”
As mature as Paul is, as much as God has poured out the grace of his presence on him, Paul sees that there is room for him to grow. His words are that he will have “taken hold of it” when he finally arrives. It is likely he means that he will lay hold of it when he goes to be with Jesus, whether through death, or the return of Christ.

#3 “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,”
But the fact that he won’t arrive until he sees Christ does not preclude him from straining forward, committed to growing in Christ until his last breath. The past is gone and has served the purpose to get him to today, where he must continue onward and upward in God.

Bible Study on Philippians 3:13

Expert Overview of Philippians

Biblical Translations of Philippians 3:13

NIV
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.

NLT
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.

ESV
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.

KJV
Brethren, 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.

NKJV
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.