Finer Grounds Bible Study
Philippians
Lesson 11: Philippians 3:12-19
Paul once again uses himself as an the verses people think of when they
example of the mindset we ought to have. characterize the way I lived my life.
Remember that he has just finished the
discussion about putting confidence in the The word Paul uses for perfect in verse
flesh. This next section flows directly from 12 is TELEIOO. This isn’t perfection in the
that. Now would be a good time to go back sense that we often think of it. TELEIOO
and read the whole book, or at the very least carries with it the idea of becoming fully
all of chapter 3. mature or completely fulfilling one’s
purpose. This verb is in the perfect tense
Read Philippians 3:12-14 meaning it is something that happened with
permanent results. Paul is emphasizing the
How does Paul describe his Christian point that he has not reached the point of
walk in these verses? complete and total maturity. Sometimes he
___________________________ still falters, but he still presses on.
___________________________
___________________________ Here in verse 13 Paul mentions that he
forgets what is behind and looks toward the
What is the prize Paul is striving for? ultimate goal. Not only does this idea apply
___________________________ to dwelling on his past successes that puff
___________________________ up, it also applies to the failures and
___________________________ mistakes he has made along the way. It is so
How does this attitude stand in stark easy to get caught up in our faults and
contrast to some of the selfish pride failures and forget that the Christian walk is
they were dealing with? one where we are constantly growing and
___________________________ learning. None of us are fully mature, not
___________________________ even Paul himself. The important thing is to
___________________________ keep striving.
This passage is one of my favorites in all I absolutely love the word for “press on”
of Scripture, it was read at my in verse 14. It is the word DIOKO and it
grandmother’s funeral because it means to relentlessly pursue or chase after
encapsulated who she was so entirely. I something. No matter what has happened
pray that at the end of my life this is one of in Paul’s life before, he is relentless in his
focus on the goal of heaven. A focus he is
By: Kristy Huntsman [Link]
Fall 2022
Finer Grounds Bible Study
hoping to exemplify for the Philippian What does Paul say God will reveal to
brethren, and all of us as well. them?
___________________________
Do you struggle with getting caught ___________________________
up in your past? How does it hinder ___________________________
your spiritual growth?
___________________________ In verse 16, how does Paul ask them
___________________________ to live?
___________________________ ___________________________
___________________________
How would the church change if ___________________________
entire congregations embodied this
mindset? At first glance, verse 15 seems to
___________________________ contradict verse 12. Paul just finished
___________________________ saying he wasn’t perfect and now all of the
___________________________ sudden he turns around and says let us who
are perfect have this attitude. This word for
What are some practical ways that perfect is the noun form of the same word
you can forget what is behind and used in verse 12 (TELEIOS). Remember it
press on this week? carries the idea with it of maturity and
___________________________ completeness. If you remember though, the
___________________________ word in verse 12 is a verb in the perfect
___________________________ tense, implying this was an action
Read Philippians 3:15-16 completed once and the results were
permanent. This doesn’t mean that Paul
How does Paul describe those he is was never mature, it only means that he did
addressing in verse 15? not exist in a permanently perfectly mature
___________________________ state. So when he addresses those who are
___________________________ mature, these are those striving like him for
___________________________ that maturity.
What attitude is Paul referring to If we look in the context, the attitude he
when he says “have this attitude”? is asking them to have is the one where they
___________________________ continually press on toward a common goal
___________________________ while forgetting what was before. Here is
___________________________ the great part, Paul makes it clear this isn’t
a guessing game. God will make it clear
when we aren’t sharing in that attitude. If
we truly live lives steeped in God’s word,
By: Kristy Huntsman [Link]
Fall 2022
Finer Grounds Bible Study
and are continually applying scripture to their primary focus firmly fixed on Christ.
our lives, we will be confronted with all of The company we keep has a greater
the ways we can improve our attitude and influence on our hearts and minds than we
our lives in general. This is great news for would like to believe, and this isn’t the only
us because we can know exactly what God time in his letters that Paul warns us to
expects, but it does require work and effort protect that company.
on our part to be willing to conform to
God’s will. The reason Paul puts so much emphasis
on the type of examples that they should
Read Philippians 3:17-19 focus on is because there were plenty of
people surrounding them that are not
What is the example that Paul tells adhering to these standards. It is so easy to
them to follow in verse 17? get caught up in the selfishness and gossip
___________________________ of the world around us. This is absolutely
___________________________ detrimental to the church.
___________________________
Paul describes these people as those
What reason does Paul give for them “whose god is their appetite.” Whatever
to follow his pattern in verse 18? they desire they seek after, these people are
___________________________ completely engulfed in selfishness. Another
___________________________ phrase he uses is “whose glory is their
___________________________ shame.” This is the person that seeks to
What emotional response does Paul glorify themselves and exalt themself
have to those he mentions in verse among their peers. If you think back to the
18? Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was very clear
___________________________ that if you are doing things for the glory of
___________________________ men you will have no reward with God
___________________________ (Matthew 6:1). The final way Paul describes
these people is that they are those “who set
What description does Paul give their minds on earthly things.” Think about
about these people in verse 19? how big of a contrast this is to the rest of the
___________________________ book, the entire Philippian letter is focused
___________________________ on setting your mind in a godly direction
___________________________ and here these people are described in the
exact opposite way.
Once again, Paul emphasizes the
importance of following the example of The end for these people is complete
those that are exemplifying godliness in and utter destruction. Paul calls them
their lives. It is so incredibly important that enemies of the cross of Christ. Those are
we surround ourselves with those that have
By: Kristy Huntsman [Link]
Fall 2022
Finer Grounds Bible Study
some pretty harsh sentiments. It is How can surrounding ourselves with
important when we read passages like this spiritually mature people help us in
that we don’t simply skim past them dealing with these attitudes?
thinking of all of the people we know that ___________________________
need to hear that and do better. To really ___________________________
maintain the type of attitude Paul is ___________________________
describing throughout this letter, we have to
truly examine these traits and make sure we Who are some of those spiritually
aren’t guilty of some. If we do see ourselves minded people that you know? How
reflected, even in the slightest, we don’t can you make sure that you are
need to beat ourselves up and turn on the spending more time with them this
pity party; it’s simply time like Paul says to week?
“press on” and forget what is behind. ___________________________
___________________________
Which of these areas do you struggle ___________________________
in the most?
___________________________ Next week Paul will get to the heart of
___________________________ the specific problem that the church in
___________________________ Philippi was having. Some of the most well-
known (and often misused) passages in all
What is one way that you can work to of Scripture come from Philippians 4, so
be more selfless this week and put off before we dive into that chapter, it is a great
that type of behavior? time to read through Philippians several
___________________________ times. By now you should be able to trace
___________________________ the main ideas and keywords throughout
___________________________ the book. This will help enormously when
we tackle some of those familiar verses.
Have you ever seen or been a part of a Knowing the context will help us
situation in the church where bad understand what Paul was really saying.
attitudes of some were infectious to
those around?
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
How can this cause harm to the
church?
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
By: Kristy Huntsman [Link]
Fall 2022
