Philippians 3:12-16: The Mature Man of God

"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you." Phil. 3:12-21

Today, we turn to a great question: what does it mean to be a mature man or woman of God? Often, we talk about spiritual maturity, but what is spiritual maturity? Paul's words in Philippians 3:12-21 help us answer this question. Let us look at them today.

In the context of this latter half of Philippians 3, Paul is speaking about the idea of becoming like Christ (see 3:10). He has just described how he has counted all of the things of this world as trash in order that he might know the Lord and become like him. In our passage for today, he continues this idea, giving us three attributes of the mature man of God, that is, the man who is becoming like Christ.

Firstly, the mature man of God realizes his imperfections. Many regard Paul to be the holiest man who ever lived besides Jesus. However, he himself said that he had not fully attained Christlikeness, and that he was not perfect (3:12). Phew! I don't know about you, but knowing that the great biblical figure of Paul admitted that he wasn't perfect surely frees me up to do the same. If Paul wasn't perfect, surely I'll never be either, and we must realize this, not thinking that we have attained the goal of Christlikeness. If we ever think we have arrived at perfection, this is a great sign that we have not. To be spiritually mature is to realize our room for growth.

Secondly, the mature man of God runs towards Christlikeness. Paul says that he presses on to make Christlikeness his own. In order to become like Christ, we must strive towards Christlikeness. Spiritual maturity does not happen overnight, but over a long period of time with much groaning and straining. However, we continue in this path even though it is hard because we are motivated by the fact that that Lord will someday make us fully like him (3:14). To be spiritually mature is to persevere in order that we might become like Christ.

Thirdly, the mature man of God remembers not what is behind him. Paul says in verse 13 that there is "one thing" that he does: "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead." Paul was not defined by his past, but motivated by his future. He considered not past failures or victories to rule over him, but he put them aside so that he might be fully focused on what was ahead. Likewise, if we are spiritually mature, we will forget the past and remember the future. We will let go of our failures, not take pride in our successes (knowing that they were all because of the Lord anyway), and simply run the race. To be spiritually mature is to be focused on what's important.

So, do these qualifications fit you today? Are you a man or woman who realizes their imperfections, runs toward Christlikeness, and remembers not their past? Man or woman of God, let me encourage you: run. This race that God has given us has a great and glorious prize at the end: full Christlikeness. However, we must run in order to win the prize. Don't be idle. Run. Mature men and women of God run towards the goal, they don't sit back and wait for it to happen to them; they seek to obtain it. Let it be so with you. Amen.