Press On!
Sermon Series: Philippians
Message By Eddie DSouza on September 6, 2026
Passage: Philippians 3:12–16
In the previous passage, Paul expressed his passionate desire to know Christ. We saw that he desires to know Christ through suffering and resurrection. However, Paul knows that his passionate desire to know Christ is not sufficient. Good intentions are not the same as good works. A passionate desire does not make one perfect. One commentator says, “Paul’s decision to consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ was only the beginning of a daily discipline to press on toward the goal.”[1] Here’s what’s behind Paul’s practice: the genuineness of one’s faith in Christ cannot be measured by the intensity of or the drama involved in one’s initial experience of becoming a believer.
The aim of my sermon is to exhort you to press on. Christian, press on! To which one must ask a few questions, such as “Press on toward what?” “Why should I press on?” “How long should I press on?” “Will I be rewarded for pressing on, or perhaps will I be protected from some evil if I press on?” What does press on mean?” “What if I do not think I should press on?” and so on and so forth. Asking questions like this can come from a spirit of rebellion or a spirit of inquiry. Rebellion does not like to obey. Inquiry desires to know how to proceed in obedience. I hope as Christians we have an inquiring mind that enables us to obey.
The Christian ought to press on in working out their salvation with fear and trembling. Remember, Paul says he is repeating himself in Phil 3:1. He has the same theme in mind, expressed in different words. Press on is another way to say work out your salvation.
Paul gives us three certainties that govern and motivate why we press on. He shows us, by his actions and attitude, how we are to press on. Finally, he urges us to press on. That is the outline of my sermon. Why press on? How to press on? Press on! Another way to say it is, “Why should I do it?” “How should I do it?” What should I do?” Although there are three sections, the why is always foundational, so I plan to spend most of our time on it. Timewise, the sermon will be like a funnel: I will spend most of the time on the first point, less on the second, and the least on the third. I am telling you this in advance lest you panic when you discover he is still on point one.
Three Certainties
Let us look at the three certainties that govern and motivate why we press on. This is the basis, the foundation of our actions and attitude. A good foundation holds a massive building up. Foundations are important. Paul is certain about these foundations. Hence, it governs and motivates his actions and attitude.
Certainty # 1
The first certainty is the very rock-bottom, deepest foundation upon which the others are stacked. This one holds everything else. You can find it in v. 12—“because Christ Jesus has made me his own.” The rock-bottom certainty is not found in Paul’s doing but in Jesus’s doing. Jesus has got hold of Paul. He is very emphatic here. For reasons not known to me, the ESV or NIV do not attempt to show Paul’s emphatic tone. Consider how some other translations attempt to convey the tone. CSB: “because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus.” NASB: “for which I was even taken hold of by Christ Jesus.” The NET Bible: “for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me.” Here is how I would translate it: “in view of the fact that I have indeed been laid hold of by Christ Jesus.”
That is the number-one reason Paul presses on. He says Jesus has certainly got hold of me. Here’s a quick quiz. When did Jesus get hold of Paul? Options: (a) On the road to Damascus; (b) In his mother’s womb; (c) At Calvary; (d) Before the foundation of the world. Paul’s answer for each of these options will be “yes.” Acts 9 tells the story of how Jesus met Paul on the road to Damascus, and how Paul converted from being a persecutor of the church to an apostle of the faith. Acts 9:15 records Jesus saying, “He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.” Jesus hand-picked Paul. In Gal 1:15 (CSB), Paul, reflecting on the same incident, says, “…who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace…” Rom 6 teaches us that we, being united with Christ, have died with Christ. Eph 1:4 says we are chosen before the foundation of the world. Each of these references is Pauline works or Paul’s story. Paul sees no contradiction in the fact that there are at least four answers to the question, “When did Jesus get hold of him?”
But moving on from the four moments that represent different facets of Jesus getting hold of Paul in particular, and of each Christian in a certain way, we must pause briefly to reflect on Jesus getting hold of Paul. This word appears three times in the span of two verses (vv.12–13). The ESV translates all three as “made one’s own.” I press on to make it my own. I do not consider that I have made it my own. Jesus has made me his own. The NASB, NIV, and CSB translate it as “take hold of.” I like that image better. The ESV translates this same word, depending on the context, as “to seize” (Mark 9:18), “to overcome” (John 1:5), “to attain” (Rom 9:30), “to obtain” (1 Cor 9:24). So, of course, there is not just one way to translate it. But the sense behind the word is not intellectual, so as to translate it as to comprehend or understand, as it is rightly translated in Eph 3:18 or Acts 10:34. The sense has to do with capture, grasp, lay hold of, make one’s own—capture. Jesus has gotten me. Jesus pursued me and caught me. He chased the devil away; he snatched me. He laid hold of me. He got me. He came, he died, he conquered. I am his. That is the rock-bottom, foundation of my perseverance as a Christian.
I may not be satisfied nor led to inaction because I was chosen before the foundation of the world. On the contrary, it motivates me to press on.
Certainty # 2
The second certainty is as follows: In Christ, a Christian has an upward call of God, a prize to win. I call it second because it requires first that one has been taken hold of by Christ. Look at v. 14: the call of God in Christ Jesus. One needs to be in Christ to have this call. Those who are in Christ receive a call from God. The call to Christ is followed by another call: a call to heaven. The Greek says the upward call (so also the NET Bible). The NASB, NIV, CSB say the heavenward call. Thus, I say the second certainty: In Christ, a Christian has an upward call of God, a prize to win.
Before I say anything else about this second certainty, I need to address its corollary. You cannot get heaven without getting Jesus. If the goal is heaven, then it cannot be attained without Jesus. You cannot get around Jesus and get to heaven. He is the way. He is the door. He is the darling of heaven. If you do not like Jesus, you will not like heaven. If you do not have Jesus, you cannot have heaven. If Jesus has not got hold of you, you do not have a call to heaven. In all your getting, get Jesus.
Consider the descriptions in v. 14. Paul presses on (a) toward the goal, (b) to the prize, (c) the upward Call of God. In 1 Cor 9:24, Paul says, “Do you now know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.” Here’s something that should grab your attention. The word ‘prize’ in both passages is the same. The word translated ‘obtain’ in Corinthians is the same word in this passage translated ‘to make one’s own’ or, as I suggest, to ‘take hold of.’ There is a goal to the Christian life, a prize to be won in the end. God has called us in Christ to run this race. We are to run in such a manner as to win the prize. Paul says that he presses on. The goal is in his view. The prize is on his mind. The call is in his ear.
Now we must ask, “What is the prize?” See v. 14. It says the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. The language in this text is similar to that in 1 Cor 9. Moreover, commentators suggest that the imagery in this text is athletic. The goal, better understood as a goal-marker, is the end-of-race ribbon or equivalent from the Roman era. The winner of the race would be called up to the stands where the dignitaries are seated to receive their prize: a laurel or a crown. Last year, Vinesh Phogat, wrestler and sitting Haryana MLA, was the guest at the Dasara games in Mysore. Athletes were proud to receive their awards from an accomplished sportsperson. How much grander is the honor and prestige to win the prize, the upward call of God.
There is much debate as to what the call represents.[2] Some suggest that it is the high calling that Paul received. Others suggest that it is the life to live in God’s presence. Still others suggest that it is to know Christ fully and be in him as fully as possible. Here is what I think it refers to. Paul says that he presses on toward the goal maker, to the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I think we can rule out that this is the special call on Paul’s like for two reasons. First, he claims in v. 12 that he has not yet got hold of it or isn’t yet perfected and hence he is pressing on. Second, he exhorts others to follow his example in vv. 15 and 17. So it cannot be unique to Paul, nor something Paul is growing into. We can also rule out the possibility that the prize is knowing Jesus fully from a grammar perspective. Such a reading can only be done theologically and not the way one ordinarily reads. So, then the option is that this is an upward call to receive the prize. The prize then may be eternal life—the resurrected life. The previous passage ends in Paul’s desire to attain the resurrection. This passage begins by saying Paul has not yet obtained this. Therefore, he is pressing on to it. Hence, he wants the prize—the resurrection.
I think this is a better reading for another reason. Paul says work out your salvation with fear and trembling in Phil 2:12. I preached that passage on August 16. The Bible teaches three aspects of our salvation: past, present, and future. The future salvation is final. We are glorified; that is, we receive our resurrected bodies. So we can read the prize as the resurrection.
Then, if this is indeed how one must live out their Christian life, striving to attain the resurrection, as Paul himself does, then there is a correlation between working out our salvation and our glorification. A Christian cannot be assured of their glorification if they are not striving to attain to it—if they are not working out their salvation. This does not mean that one can earn their final salvation. But the path to final salvation excludes passivity, complacency, and disregard for God’s commandments. Obedience is required for glorification. John Piper provocatively says that justification is unconditional; glorification is conditional. While that does not mean one can earn glorification, it does mean one cannot be simultaneously complacent and assured of it. At least, that is foreign to Paul’s teaching and practice.
Certainty # 3
Let us turn our attention to the third certainty. Paul has not yet attained the resurrection. He has not been perfected yet. He has not yet laid hold of it—the prize. In every generation there are those who will say that the resurrection is done. We are raised in Christ to the newness of life, they say, based on Col 3:12, forgetting that it does not talk about the final resurrection. Moreover, Paul calls the claim that the resurrection is already past false teaching (2 Thess 2:1-2; 2 Tim 2:18). Further, there are those who suggest that there is a shortcut, a quick fix to perfection. The Judaizers required external adherence to the Mosaic law through circumcision and dietary restrictions. However, Paul argues against these and teaches that Christ is the only ground of confidence for a Christian. He claims that he is not perfected yet. For him, this will happen at the same time when he arrives at the goal and gets his prize. Complete perfection happens when Jesus comes.
Because Paul is certain that he is living between his conversion and death or glorification, whichever is earlier, he is certain that he needs to press on.
These are the three certainties that govern and motivate Paul’s actions and attitude as a Christian. Jesus has taken hold of him; God has an upward call for him in Christ; He is still not resurrected.
Paul’s Actions and Attitude
We now turn to the second part: Paul’s actions and attitude. Paul does one thing: He presses on. He presses on to get hold of what he has not yet achieved. He presses on toward the goal, to the prize. He presses on because he considers he has not yet laid hold of it.
The word translated as “press on” has hunting imagery. The exact same word is translated as “persecute” depending on the context. Look a few verses up. Paul says, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church. If we are to be wooden in translating this word, then we could say, “as to zeal, one who pressurized the church.” That would not be off the mark, but it would not give us the same sense of how we understand “persecute.” Paul grabbed hold of believers and jailed them. He hunted them down. He successfully got hold of them. The imagery is the same here.
Imagine a game of tag or chase… or as is more familiar in Kannada: [ಕಳ್ಳ-ಪೊಲೀಸ್]. Paul was chasing down the believers to tag them, or more so, grab them. Jesus gets in the game and tags Paul. Now Paul wants to grab Jesus. No one else matters; he wants to grab Jesus. Like most illustrations, this has its limits. None of it is a game.
Paul wants to take hold of the prize because he is a transformed man. Earlier he wanted to earn his righteousness. Now he wants the righteousness that is from God by faith. Earlier he hated those who loved Jesus. Now he loves Jesus and is calling others to do so.
From pressurizing believers, he is pressing on the take hold of Jesus.
But look at his attitude. He says, on the one hand I forget what lies behind. On the other hand, I strain toward what lies ahead. Behind him are achievements, possessions, worldly joy. He has a simple attitude: do not dwell on past failures or losses. Those who have their eyes on the past struggle to keep on running. They struggle to run the race or drop out altogether. Paul strains with his eyes fixed on the goal marker.
What would your Christian walk look like, if you did not dwell on your past but simply strained forward looking toward the day we will be raised from the dead? Can you imagine the risks you would take for God? Can you imagine the time you would gain by not weeping our the past, battling despair and unbelief? Can you think about your past and see that it is super insignificant compared to what lies ahead of you?
Remember Paul’s words: So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Cor 4:16–18).
Our Responsibility
We are called to think like Paul does (vv. 15–16). He says to the extent that you have achieved, to that you hold. Have you achieved your resurrection yet? No. Have you received forgiveness in Christ? Yes. Then hold on to it. If you have not, then seek it. Hold on to what you have achieved. Then work on what you yet have to attain. Friend, if you are not a Christian, I invite you to believe in Jesus. If you are in Christ, I invite you to press on in the faith.
Hansen, G. Walter. The Letter to the Philippians. PNTC. Eerdmans, 2009.
Hawthorne, Gerald F. Philippians. WBT. Zondervan Academic, 1987.
[1] G. Walter Hansen, The Letter to the Philippians, PNTC (Eerdmans, 2009), 249.
[2] Gerald F. Hawthorne, Philippians, WBT (Zondervan Academic, 1987), 210–11.
Discussion Material: press-on-discussion-guide.pdf