Philippians 3:15 - Exposition

Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded . "Perfect" here means mature, full grown, as opposed to babes or children. The word is so used (in the Greek) in 1 Corinthians 14:20 ; Ephesians 4:13 ; Hebrews 5:14 . "There is a difference," says Bengel, on Hebrews 5:12 , "between the perfect and the perfected: the first are ready for the. race; the last are close upon the prize." St. Paul exhorts all full-grown Christians to imitate his perseverance; like him, to forsake any claims to legal righteousness; to seek that righteousness which is through the faith of Christ; to know Christ, to win Christ; to press ever forwards to obtain the prize. And if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you .. If only we be in earnest, pressing onwards in the Christian race with sustained perseverance, God will, by the manifestation of his Spirit in our heart, correct any minor errors of doctrine or of practice. Comp. John 7:17 , "If any man willeth to do ( θέλῃ ποιεῖν ) his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God." "Otherwise" ( ἑτέρως ) seems here to mean otherwise thin is right, wrongly, amiss—a meaning which it has not unfrequently in classical Greek, and in our word "heterodox." Even this ; rather, this too , as well as the one thing needful, the knowledge of Christ, which he has already revealed. Mark the word "reveal." Paul may teach, but living spiritual knowledge is a revelation from God. This passage shows that the word "perfect" is used here in a restricted sense, not of consummated holiness; as it implies that some of the "perfect" may be "otherwise minded," may be involved in minor errors. Good Christians must have that righteousness which is through faith; they must persevere: they may err in less essential points. It is a lesson of charity and humility.