Paul begins by emphasising something he hasn’t got and something he tries to do.
- What has Paul not yet attained? Why does he repeat this three times?
- How does Paul describe his goal in life now?
- What does Paul ‘forget’? What does this mean for us?
- What does Paul means by ‘press on’ and ‘straining’? What prevents us doing this?
Verses 17-4:1
Paul compares two groups here – those who follow his pattern and those who are opposed to it.
- Make a list of how Paul describes the two groups below:
- What mistakes do you think the opposition group were making?
- What difference does it make to us now to know that our citizenship is in heaven?
- Why should we ‘eagerly’ wait for Jesus from these verses? What stops us looking forward to this?
- Paul says he’s been telling the Philippians how they should stand firm (4:1) – how would you summarise what standing firm involves?
Alternative Bible Study
Verses 12-16: Draw a picture of a runner in a race (no artistic merit required!). On the picture fill in details from the passage about this race. E.g. where is it going, how is it being run, etc.
Verses 3:17-4:1: Draw two identical ‘stick figures’ side by side. Now look through the verses and try to illustrate the differences between the two groups on these figures.
