Sometime God's Word exhorts us to remember. Sometimes it is equally important to

forget. It was indeed a sad day for Israel when they said "we remember the fish, which

we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions,

and the garlick . . . . . let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt" (Numb. 11: 5;

14: 4).  The insidious `remembering' and looking behind at that from which they had

been freed and redeemed, soon led to the wish to go back to the place of bondage,

although their fickle memories forgot the suffering and misery connected with it.

We need to take a lesson from this and ask the Lord to deliver us from such deceiving

memories. "Looking back" has no place for the urgent runner who is eager to obtain the

prize. Paul's one aim was that he might "finish his course with joy" (Acts 20: 24) and so

he must "run without swerving" (I Cor. 9: 26 Moffatt) for the prize of the high calling of

God in Christ Jesus.

It is remarkable how often this phrase is misquoted and the last three words omitted.

Some translate it "the upward call or summons" and while this sounds attractive it hardly

fits in with the "calling which is IN Christ Jesus", not a summons TO Christ Jesus. "In

Christ" is always positional as used by Paul, and this wondrous calling or vocation is IN

Christ and cannot have any reality apart from this glorious position.

We should not translate the genitive, prize of the high calling, as one of apposition,

meaning the prize, that is to say, the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. This would

make the wondrous calling of Ephesians and Colossians one of personal attainment,

instead of one of sheer grace as these epistles so clearly teach. It is rather the genitive of

relation, meaning the prize in relation to this high calling. We must therefore distinguish

between the "one hope" of this calling with its riches of grace, and the prize, which is

something to be striven after even as the Apostle Paul was doing in the context we are

studying. Those who are perfect (mature) must be "thus minded" said the Apostle.

Whether he was referring to some in the Philippian church who claimed to have reached

this position, it is difficult to say. It is hard to believe that any at Philippi had progressed

further than Paul himself.

However in verse 15 we have the gracious promise that God would illuminate the

minds of any who had real difficulty in understanding and in any case, each must walk

and put into practice the light they had already received (16).

The Apostle now commences a section of warning. He was indeed the Apostle of

freedom, but freedom did not mean licence or self-indulgence. "For brethren, ye have

been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, . . . . ."

(Gal. 5: 13).  Evidently there were some at Philippi or elsewhere who were doing this

very thing. Some have tried to maintain that unbelievers are referred to here but a careful

consideration of the statements made, make this impossible.