Phil. 3:12 Not that I have already obtained or am already perfected, but I pursue, if even I may lay hold of that for which I also have been laid hold of by Christ Jesus. (13) Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, (14) I pursue toward the goal for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus has called me upward. (15) Let us therefore, as many as are full-grown, have this mind; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, this also God will reveal to you. (16) Nevertheless whereunto we have attained, by the same rule let us walk.
As we have pointed out, in verse 16 Paul speaks of walking by the same rule. We have also seen that the Greek word for walk in this verse means to walk according to the elementary principles. The governing principle of our Christian life should be the pursuing after the enjoyment of Christ and the experience of Christ. This principle will preserve us in the proper oneness. ...we need something inward to govern us and preserve us in the oneness. This inward matter is what Paul describes as "this mind"; it is also the unique path for our Christian walk. Both the unique mind and the unique path are related to pursuing Christ. Pursuing Christ in order to experience Him and enjoy Him should be the basic and elementary principle of our Christian life. How wonderful it would be if all Christians had this mind and walked in this path! The reason for the confusion and the divisions among Christians today is that so few are willing to walk according to this basic principle. As Christians, we need to walk in a particular lane--the lane, the path, of pursuing Christ. We should care for "only this," this "one thing," not so many different doctrines and practices. But today believers are distracted by things such as prophecy, head covering, foot washing, the mode of baptism and the kind of water used, the type of bread used at the Lord's table, and even the size of the cup used to contain the wine or grape juice. How poor is such a situation! If we would all set our mind on pursuing Christ, there would be no problems. Only Christ can enable believers of different nationalities and cultures to be truly one. May the Lord have mercy on us that we would have a mind to pursue Christ to the uttermost and to walk according to the elementary principle of the Christian life! This principle is that we pursue Christ, forgetting the things behind and stretching forward to the goal established by God that we may obtain the prize He has prepared for us.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Philippians, pp. 204-206. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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