Philippians 3:12-4:1

...Not that I have already obtained all this...but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me....

Read Philippians 3:12-14

These words are the vision verses for NVBC in 2025.

• How have you engaged with the vision to Pursue so far this year?

  • How are you pursuing God this year?

  • How are you 'forgetting what is behind'?

  • How are you 'straining toward what is ahead'?

• Are there any other ways you want to pursue God this year that you haven't begun yet?

• How can we help one another to put these words into practice?

Read Philippians 3:15-16

• What does Paul say a 'mature' Christian is (the Greek word means 'complete, fully developed, finished or even perfected')? What opposite view does it seem like he is disagreeing with here?

  • If you want to be a mature Christian, how then should you think/feel/live?

  • In light of this, what do you think he means when he says we should 'live up to' what we have already attained (the Greek word comes from a military term meaning 'to march in step')?

  • So then, according to these verses, what makes a mature Christian different from an immature one? And what things stay the same regardless of your maturity?

Paul continues to explain this idea...

Read Philippians 3:17-4:1

• Do you think Paul has something particular in mind when he invites his readers to follow his example? What aspects of his life do you most want to follow, and why?

• What are "enemies of the cross of Christ" (notice it's not just enemies of Christ, but enemies of the cross of Christ)? How would a so-called-Christian look if they were living as enemies of the cross? (look at the list of descriptions in verse 19 for your answers [1])

  • Are you ever tempted to go back to these habits or ways of thinking? How do we resist this temptation?

• What does it mean to you that you have your "citizenship in heaven," and "eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ"? Do you focus on God's point of view, ruling from heaven, as you live your earthly life? If so, what impact does that have on your day to day?

• How does our future transformation (v21) impact on our ongoing transformation in our day to day? What aspects of our promised eternal perfection do you most long for a taste of in your life right now?

• How can you take Paul's concluding statement in 4:1 with you into the rest of your week - with its challenges and stresses? What will 'standing firm' look like for you this week?

Spend some time encouraging and praying for one another, that we would pursue God, focused heavenward, standing firm in the Lord this week.

[1] J. Alec Motyer does a great job of exploring what each of the phrases in verse 19 mean:

"their end is destruction" - Paul looks beyond this world to the next and finds no hope at all for them there, nothing but eternal loss... Their appetites and emotions have ceased to be subject to them and have been accorded the place of lordship and worship.

"their god is the belly" - They recognize no need and no authority outside personal satisfaction. Their appetites dictate their lives...

"their glory is in their shame" - Their sense of values justifies as allowable things which it ought to condemn... First they give themselves to indulgence; next they justify themselves in doing so and say that this is a proper and allowable way of life.

"Their minds are set on earthly things" - Their whole attention, their point of view or way of looking at things, their general frame of mind, their customary objects of study—all these are earth-centred and bounded by the horizons of this world... At the very centre of their being, where their life finds its direction, where attitudes and tendencies are fashioned which subsequently influence decisions and govern likes and dislikes—at this vital centre the world and its ways are the whole object of attention. The mind is set upon earth.