3:12 Paul had said that he had not already grasped the intimate knowledge of His Savior that he sought to obtain (v. 10). He did not want his readers to understand him as saying that his conversion brought him into the intimate personal relationship with Christ that he desired. At conversion his views about what is important in life changed drastically, however. He did not believe he was perfect. There are some Christians who believe that after conversion they do not sin (cf. 1 John 1:6-10).
Paul realized his responsibility to pursue greater personal experiential knowledge of Christ, intimacy with Christ, conformity to Christ, and holiness. One of the reasons that God has saved us is that we might enjoy fellowship with Christ (John 15; 1 John 1:1-3). Practical sanctification does not come automatically by faith as justification and glorification do. We must pursue it diligently by following the Lord (vv. 13-15; cf. Gal. 5:16; 2 Pet. 1:5-11).
"To know the incomprehensible greatness of Christ demands a lifetime of arduous inquiry."128
"A divine dissatisfaction is essential for spiritual progress."129
3:13 Again Paul disclaimed having attained conformity to Christ. He viewed his experience as similar to a runner's. He did not look back. The apostle did not mean that he refused to remember things that had happened to him in the past. He had just reviewed some of those things. He meant that he did not rest in his heritage (vv. 5-7) or in his past attainments (vv. 9-12). He had abandoned the unworthy goal that he had pursued in the past. Now he had a new goal toward which he was looking and running.
"Forget those wrongs done, e.g. the persecution of the church (v 6), and so on, whose memory could paralyze one with guilt and despair. Forget, too, those attainments so far achieved as a Christian, the recollection of which might cause one to put life into neutral and to say, I have arrived.' Forget in such a way that the past, good or bad, will have no negative bearing on one's present spiritual growth or conduct."130
3:14 Paul's goal (Gr. skopos, lit. goal marker, the post at the end of the course on which the runner fixes his gaze) was complete knowledge of Christ. He would receive a prize when he reached that goal. He would only reach that goal when he entered the Lord's presence and saw Him face to face (1 John 3:2-3). Nevertheless he pursued the goal while living on the earth because he wanted to get to know the Lord as well as possible before dying.
The prize would come at the end of the race, when he had attained the goal, but not before then. Therefore "the prize of the upward call"probably does not refer to the Rapture. There is another reason this is not a proper identification. The Rapture is not a reward. God will catch up (rapture) into heaven every living Christian regardless of how he or she has run the race (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:15-17). The prize probably refers to the reward faithful believers will receive at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). God has called every believer to salvation so we mayobtain that prize. However only those who run the race as Paul did, namely to gain an ever increasing experiential knowledge of Christ, willobtain it (1 Cor. 9:24).
"Each believer is on the track; each has a special lane in which to run; and each has a goal to achieve. If we reach the goal the way God has planned, then we receive a reward. If we fail, we lose the reward, but we do not lose our citizenship."131
"In keeping with the vivid imagery drawn from the Greek games that pervades this section there is still another explanation of the upward call' that seems the most reasonable explanation of all. It sees in the expression tes ano kleseos["the upward call"] an allusion to the fact that the Olympian games, which included foot-races, where organized and presided over by agonothetes, highly respected officers called Hellenodikai. After each event they had a herald announce the name of the victor, his father's name and his country, and the athlete or charioteer would come and receive a palm branch at their hands' (G. Glotz, Hellenodikai,' in C. Daremberg and E. Saglio [eds.], Dictionnaire des antiqus grecques et romaines[Paris: Hachette, 1900-1963] 3,1, 60-64). This is the call to which Paul is now alluding (Collange)."132
