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"I do not count myself to have apprehended..."

Text: Philippians 3:13

GREAT HUMILITY

The apostle Paul displayed great humility as he assessed himself in his quest for deep and profound knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Arguably, Paul was the apostle who possessed the most profound knowledge of the mystery of Christ. Yet, he has this to say as he reflected on his knowledge of Christ.

“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended;
but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind
and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.”

Philippians 3:13

1. “Brethren”

a) This was an affectionate term of reference.

b) Paul was writing and sharing with people he considered “brethren”.

c) Hence there was plain speaking in this text.

2. “I do not count myself to have apprehended”

a) The word “apprehended” is the same word translated “lay hold of”.

b) Paul had not fully laid hold of all the knowledge of Christ.

i) The amount of knowledge was too vast.

ii) The depth of knowledge was too profound.

iii) Though years had been devoted to studying the Scriptures there was still so much to discover and learn.

iv) Thus he humbly confessed that he did not count himself as one who had fully laid hold of all that God had revealed to him.

3. “But one thing I do”

a) Paul was very practical in his approach to faith and life.

b) He knew that he could not do everything.

c) He chose to focus on doing one thing at a time.

4. The Past

These must be laid aside. Paul did not live in the past, no matter how glorious that may have been.

a) Failure

b) Success

5. The future

a) He will just keep pressing forward.

b) He will keep reaching out to making further progress in his quest for the knowledge of Christ.