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“Brethren I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do, forgetting those things that are behold and reaching forth to those things that are bef o re I press d own u pon the Mark for the price of the high callzag in Christ Jesus." Phil. 3:13, 14

We are glad-that, by the grace of God, we have been delivered from the terrible nightmare of eternal torment which for so many of us for years darkened our understanding of the Divine purposes set before us in the Bible. We are glad, not merely for our own sakes, but for the world of mankind, that we now see that the wilful rejectors of Divine Love and its provision will die the Second Death, perish, "Be as though they had not been." We are glad that the Apostle so explicitly stated this, saying, "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction" -a destruction from which there shall be no redemption, no recovery, no resurrection. 2 Thess. 1:9

But it is not enough for us to know that our Creator has no fiendish intentions towards us. Rather this knowledge of the mercy and love of God should draw our hearts to him and incline us to love him in return, and to seek to do those things which would please God, and which incidentally would bring to us, according to his arrangement, the highest amount of favor and blessing. This also is the Apostle's suggestion, saying, "Not that we first loved God, but that he first loved us, and sent his Son to be a satisfaction for our sins." (1 John 4:10) And again, "The love of Christ constraineth us, for we thus judge that we henceforth live not unto ourselves, but unto him who died for us." 2 Cor. 5:14, 15

Our text addresses those who have responded to God's love, and who have become "followers of God, as dear children," followers of the Redeemer, "walking in torment which for so many of us for years darkened his footsteps," as he hath set us an example. Notice the statement, "I count not myself to have apprehended"-to have grasped or taken possession of. In the preceding verse the Apostle tells us that the Lord apprehended him-laid hold upon him, when he was in a hopeless condition. He laid hold upon Saul because he was honest-hearted, even while wrong headed. He opened Saul's eyes and gave him a helping hand out of his condition as a wanderer from God and a member of the fallen race. He offered to keep hold of him and to lead him, if he were willing, to exceeding glory and the divine nature, though the way would be a narrow and difficult and self-sacrificing one-impossible for all except those who at heart love the Lord and desire to avail themselves of the Lord's assisting grace. Note that the Apostle had not laid hold upon our Lord, but reversely the Lord had laid hold upon him, and had opened his eyes of understanding to discern the prize of the high calling, promising everything in the way of assistance and grace, if he continued sincerely earnest in his endeavor to grasp that prize, to lay hold upon it, to apprehend it.

FOLLOW US WHO FOLLOW JESUS

It is a mistake to suppose that the Apostles and the early Church were called with any different calling or privilege from that which appertains to the entire Gospel Age. It is a mistake to suppose that the Scriptures recognize a clerical class and laity in the Church, and that the terms and conditions and narrow way and sacrifices and crown of glory at the end were intended only for the clergy. On the contrary the Scriptures assure us that the Church as a whole is a Royal Priesthood and that each faithful one is to be a sharer in the work of sacrificing, as well as in the coming glory of the Millennial Kingdom.

In order to understand what the Apostle meant by forgetting the things behind, let us note the context preceding and apply it individually, each to himself. St. Paul had been accused of disrespect to the Jewish Law of Circumcision, because he pointed out that it was not intended for nor necessary to the Gentiles-because he pointed out that it was merely a type of the cutting off or putting away of the filth of the flesh from our minds and hearts. But "circumcision of the heart" has in the Church taken the place of circumcision of the flesh commanded to the Jewish Church, whose day passed with Pentecost. The Apostle proceeds to show that if he chose to boast of his zeal for the Law, he would have as much to say for himself as could any Jew. But he declares that those things which he had before counted as gain, as something to be boastful of, as something to glory in, he now counted as loss and dross for the privilege of having a share with Christ in the sufferings of this present time, and by and by a share in his glorious Millennial Kingdom. He was willing to count everything of his previous hopes and ambitions as "loss and dross," as unworthy of the slightest notice, because of the knowledge he had gained of Jesus as the Messiah, and because of the privilege that had come to him of being a follower of Jesus, in his footsteps of suffering in the present life and in joint-heirship with him in the glories of the future. These earthly things behind he was daily losing sight of, and hoped might never again have a place in his heart and ambitions, which were now turned in another direction entirely. And so, dear friends should it be with us.

THAT I MAY KNOW HIM

The Apostle, at the time he wrote these words, was far from ignorant of his Saviour, but intimates that the more he knew, the more he realized the length and breadth and height and depth of the love of God, "manifested in Jesus." He wanted to know him more and more. He wanted that intimate heart communion and fellowship which would enable him to take the Lord's view of every incident and experience of life, that thus he might be the partaker of the sufferings of Christ, and bearer of the cross of Christ daily. Nor was this the end of his ambitions. Beyond this, having heard of the Father's intention that all believers who would become "copies of his Son" should be sharers with him in his glorious nature and Kingdom, the Apostle was anxious to know the Lord to the full and to enter with him into the heavenly glory. That was the prize set before him in the Gospel of Messiah, which had changed his whole life current, so that those whom he once despised and persecuted he now loved and served; so that the things he used to enjoy were now repulsive, and the things he once disdained now filled his heart and enthused him and occupied his time and energy. The things before him were so glorious that the things behind, which once seemed grand, now seemed puny, insignificant, dross.

What he saw before him he tells us. He calls it the "prize" and says that it is to be attained only by believers-and then only through consecration unto death. More than this, they would need a resurrection before they could enter into those glories; not such a resurrection as will be made possible to the remainder of Adam's race, but a special resurrection, called elsewhere the "First (chief) Resurrection." The Apostle here speaks of this resurrection, in which himself and all the faithful of the elect Church shall share as being a part of "His (Christ's) Resurrection." What can he mean? Was the resurrection of our Lord different from that which will come to mankind in general? Yes, indeedl Mankind in general will be privileged to be resurrected, raised up, not only out of the tomb to such a condition as is now enjoyed, but beyond this, gradually, during the Millennium, to be raised up, up, up to human perfection-to all that was lost in Adam and redeemed by Christ through his obedience even unto death, the death of the cross. But Christ's resurrection was different from that of the world. And the resurrection of the Church, "Which is his Body," will be like his, different from that provided for the world in general. (Eph. 1:23) This resurrection of "The Christ Jesus the Head and the Church, his Body]" the Apostle describes minutely in 1 Cor. 15:42-49.

He here speaks of the "First Resurrection," "His Resurrection," as"The Resurrection" of the special and peculiar class of the dead-"The dead in Christ"-those who lay down their lives in sacrificial service, as members of Christ. Note the Apostle's words, "If by any means I might attain unto THE resurrection of THE dead." (Phil. 3:11) To attain this glorious resurrection, provided only for the spiritbegotten members of the Anointed, he was glad to have fellowship in the sufferings of Christ and to conform to his experiences so as to have share in his death. Is it so with us, dear brethren and sisters? Are we thus in earnest? Does the prize of the Divine calling thus shine before the eyes of our understanding, making every other ambition insignificant dross in comparison?"

"THIS ONE THING I DO"

Ahl this was the secret of the Apostle's great success-"This one thing I do." He concentrated his time, his thought, his energy, upon this one object or goal, which proved the brighter and more valuable to his appreciation every hour. True, there were ordinary things of life, such as eating and drinking and resting and, at one time, tent-making, which occupied some of his hours. But these were not paramount, were not dominating. He aspired, not to be known as the greatest or most expert tent-maker. He aspired not to amass great wealth in that or any other labor or business. He lived not for his belly, nor did he, as a sluggard, waste valuable time in sleep. Every hour, every energy, had been devoted to God and his service-and was so applied, not of compulsion, nor of slavish fear, but out of a faithful heart, appreciating the privileges and anxious to show to the Lord his loving devotion. Is it so with us? If it has not been so with all of us in the past, shall it not be so with us now-our vow to the Lord renewed? Shall we not cast aside and forget the earthly aims and projects which occupied us and devote our time and energy and strength and thought to the Lord? Shall we not lay aside every weight, and whatever may be our besetting sin, and resolve or vow to the Lord today "To run with patience the race that is set before us?" Heb. 12:1

Whoever divides his heart, whoever attempts to serve the interests of several equally, will surely fail. Not only does such a half-way course fail to meet with the Divine approval as worthy of joint heirship in the Kingdom with Christ, but it fails also to meet the world's approval and to gain the advantages of this present life. Each of us, therefore, should sit down and count the cost, and reap the benefits accruing. If we believe that it would pay us best to serve mammon, then we should serve mammon with all our hearts. But if experience and the Word of God bring us to the conclusion that only the service of God can bring us truest happiness in the present and the future life, and if we hear the Master's words to us, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon," then let us determine to serve the Lord and not serve mammon, but merely use mammon and advantages of life as special assistances leading on to God, to righteousness, to self-sacrifices for joint-heirship in the Kingdom with our Lord and all the faithful.

SOME THINGS TO BE REMEMBERED

The Apostle surely never meant that everything behind should be forgotten; for, in that event, all the valuable lessons of life, which we have learned in the School of Christ, would be lost to us. We want to remember life's experiences. We want to profit by them. We desire that every failure shall be discerned, and its cause, that, by remembering the same, we shall not from similar weaknesses of the flesh, fall again into the same snare of the Adversary. We desire that all the lessons of life, which have cost us so much in the School of Christ, shall be cherished and grow more valuable to us every day. Let this also be our endeavor to see to it that no valuable lesson is lost, and that those lessons of the past are clearly and firmly held.

But, on the other hand, there are certain things connected with the experiences of God's children in the past that they are invited to forget, and to remember that God has forgotten them and blotted them out, in so far as there was a record against us.

But all this is faith; God's dealing with the Elect Church during this Gospel Age is on that basis. "We walk by faith, and not by sight." Whoever cannot exercise faith cannot have the blessings now proffered to the believer, but must wait for the next Dispensation, in which sight will be granted and works will be required. And there are different degrees of faith; those standing the severest tests thereby evidence their preparation for God's favors of the future life beyond the vail. Let us, then, learn to exercise faith in all the glorious promises of God's Word, but not credulity in the words of man. One of the most beneficent uses of faith is in connection with the realization of the "forgiveness of our sins that are past, by the forbearance of God." In proportion as we can realize this and act upon it, it gives us confidence and joy and peace and preparation for further Divine leadings and blessings.

We have heretofore suggested what we now wish to further, if possible, emphasize; namely, the fact that there is a Divine standard of holiness, of righteousness, which, if it be not attained, will mean our nonacceptance by the Lord as members of his Elect Church; and, more than this, our unfitness for eternal life upon any plane. This standard of character, or mark of perfection, as we have pointed out, is not a standard or mark of fleshly perfection, because the Lord accepts amongst his consecrated disciples those of various degrees of mental, moral and physical degeneracy. The justification which he provides makes up for the blemishes of each, for the more blemished as well as for the less blemished.

We are to bear in mind that there is no development in heaven, and hence perfection of character must be attained by the saints before they die. And, similarly, the world during the Millennium must attain this perfect development before the close of the age in order to be fit for eternal life, according to the Divine promise and standards.

PRESSING TOWARD THE MARK

Is it asked to what extent will this standard of perfect love in the heart manifest itself in the flesh? We answer, that during the Millennial Age it will manifest itself perfectly in the flesh, for the world then will be judged according to the actual attainments in their flesh, and perfection by restitution will be not only possible, but required. But as for us of the Gospel Age, we who are being judged not according to the flesh but according to the spirit, to what extent will the new mind, the new nature, when at the Mark of Perfect Love, be able to govern and control the flesh? Our answer is, that the degrees of control will vary much according to the degrees of imperfection with which the mortal body is afflicted.

The only standard which we can set forth is that the new nature, new mind, new will, would be very regretful, very sorrowful, in respect to any [aches, or errors, of its mortal body. The Lord would know (and perhaps the brethren also to some extent) of the New Creature's endeavor to control the mortal body by the degree of its grief in connection with every error, and its continually renewed effort to bring every power of the body, and even every thought, into complete subjection to the will of God in Christ. Any sympathy with sin is an evidence that the New Creature is not at the Mark. And no sympathy with sin, but constant endeavor for righteousness, is evidence that it is at the Mark.

Some may be at this Mark for a longer and some for a shorter period. Our Lord was surely at it from the beginning of his ministry. He was tested there, while at the Mark of perfect love. All the besetments of the Adversary and of the world failed to move him from that position of perfect love. He laid down his life at this Mark. St. Paul was surely at this Mark for many years before his actual death. He was continually laying down his life for the brethren, continually serving his enemies and praying for them; and surely he was continually loving and serving the Lord with his every power and talent.

No Christian should be satisfied with a long delay in reaching the Mark. The milk of the Word should be received, its strength should be appropriated, spiritual sight and spiritual energy should quickly follow, and strong meat of Divine Truth should speedily bring to full maturity the Christian character. And once attained, it should be held at any cost through all the trials and difficulties which the Adversary, and the world, and the flesh, might be permitted to bring against us. The severest temptations come after we have reached the Mark-temptations to slackness in service of God; temptations to withhold parts of our sacrifice; temptations to deal unkindly, uncharitably, unlovingly with the brethren, or unjustly with our neighbor, or ungenerously with our enemies. All of these must be resisted as we prize our eternal life, as we prize the promise of joint-heirship and fellowship with our Redeemer in His Kingdom.

Whoever sees this subject clearly must realize that as a Christian he has to do with a great proposition which will thoroughly test his loyalty, his courage, his zeal, his love. He will need to remember the Lord's comforting assurances of grace to help in every time of need if he would come off a victor and not be dismayed, nor have his courage beaten down by the Adversary's attacks.

So then, let us, with the Apostle, remember all of God's favors of the past, as well as of the present, and remember the lessons learned through our experiences, including our stumblings and failures. But let us put away every feeling of condemnation as respects the sins which God has freely forgiven, that "We may assure our hearts before him in love," and let us forget our worldly greatness, if we had any, our worldly prospects and aims and ambitions and triumphs and flatteries, and let us set our affections, aims, purposes, zeal, on the things that are before, and make haste towards them, with full assurance of faith in him who promised them. Thus may we come off conquerors and have most profitable years-by his grace!

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