“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,”
My Notes
What Does Philippians 3:13 Mean?
Paul — apostle, church planter, author of most of the New Testament — says: I haven't arrived yet. "I count not myself to have apprehended." He doesn't consider himself to have reached the goal. This from a man who encountered the risen Christ, performed miracles, and endured more for the gospel than almost anyone alive.
His strategy for living in that unfinished state is twofold: forget what's behind and reach for what's ahead. "Forgetting" here doesn't mean amnesia — Paul references his past often. It means not letting the past determine his present trajectory. His previous achievements don't make him coast. His previous failures don't make him quit.
"This one thing I do" is the key phrase. Paul's life is focused like a laser. Not ten things. Not a balanced portfolio. One thing — pressing toward the goal. Everything else is organized around that singular pursuit.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What's harder for you to 'forget' — past successes that make you want to coast, or past failures that make you want to quit?
- 2.What is the 'one thing' you're pressing toward in this season of your life?
- 3.How does it free you to know that Paul — the greatest apostle — said he hadn't arrived yet?
- 4.What would it look like to let go of something behind you that's been shaping your present more than it should?
Devotional
If Paul hadn't arrived, you haven't either. And that's not bad news — it's the most freeing thing you'll hear today.
The pressure to "have it together" spiritually — to feel like you've reached some plateau of maturity where faith is easy and doubt is gone — isn't from God. It's from a culture that rewards arrival over journey. Paul, at the peak of his ministry, said: I'm not there yet. I'm still pressing.
And his method for pressing forward is beautifully simple: forget what's behind, reach for what's ahead. Don't let yesterday's victory make you lazy. Don't let yesterday's failure make you stop. Both are behind you. Neither defines the direction you're headed.
There's something about "this one thing I do" that simplifies everything. You don't need to manage a hundred spiritual goals. You need one direction. One focus. One thing you're pressing toward — knowing Christ, becoming like Him, finishing what He started in you. Everything else organizes itself around that.
What's your one thing? And what would it look like to actually let go of the things behind you — good and bad — and focus on it?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
I press toward the mark,.... The allusion is to the white line, or mark, which the runners in the Olympic games made up…
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended - That is, to have obtained that for which I have been called into the…
I count not myself to have apprehended - Whatever gifts, graces, or honors I may have received from Jesus Christ, I…
We now heard what the apostle renounced; let us now see what he laid hold on, and resolved to cleave to, namely, Christ…
Brethren A direct loving appeal, to restate and enforce what he has just said.
I count not myself "I" and "myself" are…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture