Christian Life as Pilgrimage (Phil 3:10-16)
Philippians 3:10–16
The Pilgrim’s Knowledge
Paul writes, “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil. 3:10–11).
Paul is not saying that he needs more information about Jesus. He was highly educated. There is another kind of knowing that comes through experience. A pilgrim walking the Camino de Santiago learns things that cannot be learned by reading about it. A person who visits a place marked by suffering or history experiences something different from the person who only studies it. The point of pilgrimage is not simply to arrive somewhere. It is to discover something along the way that can only be learned by walking the path.
Paul seems to understand the Christian life in this way. He looks at his own experiences through the story of Jesus. Paul is arrested, and he remembers that Jesus was arrested. He is mistreated by Roman authorities, and he remembers that Jesus experienced the same. He suffers because of his commitment to the Gospel, and suddenly the story of Jesus is no longer simply something he believes. He is living inside of it.
His life has become a pilgrimage into the life of Christ.
The Word Still Becomes Flesh
The Gospel of John begins with, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” Christian theology calls this the incarnation. God did not remain distant from humanity, instead God entered into it; experienced suffering, walked alongside people, and became acquainted with what it means to be human. And if that is what God is like, then following Jesus cannot remain an exercise in ideas. If the Word became flesh, then the teachings of Jesus (who is the word) must eventually become flesh in us.
There are things about love, forgiveness, peace, suffering, and solidarity that cannot be fully understood from a distance. You can study enemy love, but at some point you have to try loving an enemy. You can study generosity, but eventually you have to give something away. You can read about standing with people who suffer, but eventually you have to walk beside someone who is suffering.
In this sense, the doctrine of incarnation turns the Christian life into a pilgrimage into the lives of other people. We move toward them, listen to them, learn from them, and become familiar with what they carry. There are people who know a great deal about God and spend their energy enforcing those ideas. There are others who embody what they believe about God.
Paul is interested in the second kind.
Thinking Differently
Of course, if we are moving toward something we have not yet fully seen, we will not always agree about what the road ahead looks like.
Paul writes, “All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained” (Phil. 3:15–16).
Maturity, for Paul, does not mean everyone thinking exactly the same way. It means remaining faithful to what we have already learned while trusting that God is still teaching us.
The Philippian church already knew some important things. Jesus alone is Lord. God is understood through Jesus. Worship looks like humility, joy, faithfulness, and a willingness to suffer for what is good. Christian hope means trusting that the way of Jesus leads toward resurrection and restoration.
Paul is asking them to keep walking whether or not they’ve got it all figured out. Some of it will have to be learned along the way.
House Church Discussion Questions
When you think about the difference between learning something and experiencing it, what is something in your own life that you could never have understood until you lived through it?
Paul says he wants to “know Christ” by actually walking the path of Jesus. Is there a teaching of Jesus that you understood differently after trying to live it?
The idea of incarnation means moving toward people and becoming familiar with their experiences. Who has helped you understand something simply by letting you into their life or story?
Paul makes room for people who “think differently” while still walking together. What helps you stay connected to someone when you disagree about something important?