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,
Parallel translations
- WEB Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do. Forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before,
- KJV Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
- BSB Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
- NASB Brothers and sisters, I do not regard myself as having taken hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
- NLT No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul refuses to dwell on past attainments or failures and focuses on the one thing that matters: pursuing Christ. Single-minded forgetting frees him to strain forward.
Overview
Echoing an athlete in a race, Paul lets go of what lies behind, whether former religious credentials (3:4-8) or past sin and progress, so nothing distracts from the goal. 'One thing I do' captures a holy concentration. For the believer, both pride in achievement and paralysis over failure are left behind in the forward reach toward Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Luke 9:62But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for God’s Kingdom.”
- Heb 12:1–2Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us,
- Phil 3:12Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, if it is so that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ Jesus.
- 1 Cor 9:24–27Don’t you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win.
- Ps 27:4One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in Yahweh’s house all the days of my life, to see Yahweh’s beauty, and to inquire in his temple.
- Phil 3:8Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ
- Heb 6:1Therefore leaving the teaching of the first principles of Christ, let us press on to perfection — not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith toward God,
- Phil 4:11–13Not that I speak in respect to lack, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content in it.
- Luke 10:42but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
- Phil 2:12So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
- 2 Pet 3:8But don’t forget this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
- Phil 1:18–21What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. I rejoice in this, yes, and will rejoice.
- 2 Cor 5:16Therefore we know no one after the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more.
- Ps 45:10Listen, daughter, consider, and turn your ear. Forget your own people, and also your father’s house.
- Rom 15:23–29but now, no longer having any place in these regions, and having these many years a longing to come to you,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The one who, being in the form of God, emptied himself to the point of death on a cross and was exalted to the name above every name — the joy and prize of the believer.
How Philippians 3:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.