Here is a paper I wrote for fun after some students in my Exegesis in Philippians class liked an idea I had and told me to write it up and present it to the professor. The endnotes were originally footnotes, but were converted to endnotes when I copied the word document to here. Enjoy.
τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως AS “RESURRECTION CALL”
IN PHILIPPIANS 3:14
INTRODUCTION
Philippians 3:14 contains the semi ambiguous phrase τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως. This phrase has been argued from
a few different directions: 1) it refers to a judge’s call at a race for the
runner to come up and receive a prize, 2) it refers to a generalized call toward
heaven and is used by Paul to combat overly realized eschatology, and the most widely accepted position: 3) it refers to the
effectual call of believers. This essay will argue a different
position than those listed above: considering the context of Philippians 3 and drawing
comparisons from Acts 9, τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως refers to the resurrection call of believers on the
Day of the Lord.
CONTEXT OF PHILIPPIANS 3:14
First, let us examine the context. Philippians 3:14 is set near the
end of a fairly large inclusio stretching from 2:5 to 3:15, being bookended by
the phrase “Have this attitude” (τοῦτο φρονεῖτε and τοῦτο φρονῶμεν). The
attitude listed is that of the commands in 2:2-4
and is the attitude which Jesus had (v. 5) throughout his life, death, and
resurrection (vv. 5-11).
Following this (vv. 12-18) Paul gives additional commands to the Philippians.
He then, in discussing what is happening with Timothy (vv. 19-24) and
Epaphroditus (2:25-30), presents them as examples of those who imitate the
attitude which Jesus had.
Paul then
presents himself as an example of one who imitates Christ (3:1-14). He
then gives an exhortation to follow the examples of the previously listed
people (vv. 15-16). Next he contrasts them with those who are enemies of the
cross of Christ (vv. 17-19) finally ending with a statement about the heavenly
citizenship of believers and their guaranteed future glorious transformation
(vv. 20-21).
Now, the immediate context of v. 14
is the example of Paul’s imitation of Christ (3:1-14). Paul, at the end of
reflection on his former life (vv. 4-7), turns to look to the future (vv. 8-14):
he no longer counts on his former achievements (vv. 5-6) but instead counts
them as loss, as dung. Instead he looks to the surpassing value of knowing
Christ. He seeks to gain Christ. This gaining of Christ is accomplished by two
ways: 1) being found in him and 2) knowing him. Paul seeks to know two specific
things about Christ, though: 1) the power of his resurrection and 2) the
fellowship of his sufferings. These two things are accomplished by Paul through
being conformed to the death of Jesus. Finally, he desires these things so that
he might attain to the resurrection from the dead. Paul thus desires the
resurrection not because it means continued existence but because it is the
final aspect by which he will know Christ.
ACTS
9 AND PHILIPPIANS 3
Acts 9 is a hotly examined passage,
but for different reasons than those concerning this essay. The
passage, however, does offer are some clear parallels with Philippians 3. Saul
is on the road to Damascus carrying letters from Jerusalem giving him
permission to hunt followers of the Way (vv. 1-2) when
suddenly a
light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a
voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said,
“Who are you, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get
up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do” (vv. 3b-6).
There
are four aspects of this account that stand out as parallel with the context of
Philippians 3:1-14: 1) the use of διώκω,
2) the use of the preposition ἀν, 3) the speakers, and 4) the movement imagery.
In
Acts 9:4-5, the word διώκω is used twice by Jesus in his address of Saul.
First, upon appearing to Saul, he asks, “τί με διώκεις” (“why are you persecuting me?”). Second, in
response to Paul’s question of Jesus’ identity, he replies, “Ἐγώ εἰμι Ἰησοῦς ὃν σὺ διώκεις” (“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting”).
There seems to be a clear parallel between this and Philippians 3:6. In the
midst of chronicling his achievements and glories (his own Hebraic cursus
honorum), one of those achievements he lists is that he
persecuted the church (κατὰ ζῆλος διώκων τὴν ἐκκλησίαν). Paul then turns διώκω on
its head in vv. 12 and 14. There it means “I pursue” or “I press on.” With Acts 9 in mind, one gets the sense that Paul is
answering for himself the question which Jesus posed to him, τί με διώκεις? Paul’s answer is thus that he pursues
Christ for the same reason that Christ laid hold of him: εἰς τὸ βραβεῖον τῆς ἄνω
κλήσεως τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ (“to the prize of the upward call of God
in Christ Jesus”).
The
second parallel between these two passages is the presence of ἄν. In Acts 9:6,
Jesus speaks to Saul, commanding him, “ἀλλὰ ἀνάστηθι” (“but get up”). In Philippians the noun form
is used in verses 10 (τὴν δύναμιν τῆς ἀναστάσεως αὐτοῦ) and 11 (καταντήσω εἰς τὴν ἐξανάστασιν τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν). “The power of his resurrection” is something
that Paul desires to experience and has not yet fully experienced. While Paul
could experience part of that power while he was alive, he knew that the last
and final aspect of that power was “the resurrection from the dead.” Finally,
for the phrase in question, τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως, Paul is looking forwards to the goal to which
he is running and has not yet arrived at.
The
third and fourth parallels are admitted weaker, but presented for the sake of
completeness. In Acts 9, the source of the call to Saul was an initially
unidentified voice from heaven who later declared himself to be Jesus. In Philippians
the source of the call is God, in Christ Jesus. The last (possible) parallel is
the attendant travel imagery located in both Acts (traveling from Jerusalem to
Damascus) and Philippians (running a race).
Summary
There
are some clear parallels between Acts 9 and Philippians 3 in both themes and
repeated words and events. διώκω is used in Acts in a negative sense
(persecute) and again in Phil 3:6 in has the same meaning. However, when vv. 12
and 14 come along Paul has taken this persecution and changed its meaning to
pursue or “press on” to reflect the positive light he now has toward Christ.
Additionally, there are some striking parallels between Jesus’ vocal command to
Saul to get up (“ἀνάστηθι”) and Paul’s use of the same word group (τῆς ἀναστάσεως and εἰς τὴν ἐξανάστασιν) and the adverb (τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως) in Philippians. Along with the speakers being
identified as from heaven/God in Jesus/Christ Jesus and the attendant travel
imagery, there is compelling evidence to see that Paul is considering his
future in light of his past. However, the question remains: what do these
observations point to?
Problems with τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως referring to Paul’s initial call
As was noted previously, one of the options for the understanding
of τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως is that it refers to the effectual
call of believers. However, there are some significant problems with this
theory. While Philippians 3 clearly looks back at the past, it does so such
that it may nullify what was observed. It would seem strange then that Paul
would be setting his sights on the beginning of his conversion when he
specifically says that part of his race is “forgetting what lies behind and
reaching forward to what lies ahead” (3:13b). Indeed, Acts 9 marks the start of
the race for Paul, not its conclusion. His initial call thus
cannot be the goal, the prize toward which Paul is running. His effectual call
by Jesus is something he already has, but in the race in Philippians he strains
towards a prize that he does not yet possess. Indeed, the ἀν words (ἀναστάσεως, ἐξανάστασιν, and ἄνω) in
Philippians 3 all point to something which Paul does not yet have, some in part
and some in full. It would be difficult in this
consideration to then say that τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως refers to Paul’s past, to his
birth as a believer.
An additionally helpful point is to see the uniqueness
of the phrase τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως. This is the only occurrence in the NT of a word
separating the article from κλήσεως (or its other forms). In arguing that τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως be interpreted
uniquely, this is an important point: that τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως is a unique
grammatical construction for κλήσεως. It ought to be treated and interpreted as
one word, not two separate words as some commentaries seem to do. Thus, τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως is not a calling which has an
upward sense or is an effectual call that stretches throughout the life of the
believer, but is an “up” calling. Paul, remembering Jesus’ command to him (“ἀνάστηθι”)
again hopes to attain to another call to “Get/rise up.”
τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως AS “RESURRECTION CALL”
Having
already examined Acts 9 in depth, this section will turn to look at τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως
as “resurrection call” in other significant NT passages. Paul, in reflecting on
the past and looking to the future, is attempting to again attain to the
heavenly command “ἀνάστηθι.” Paul understands that if his initial pursuit of
Christ as his enemy resulted in the command “get up,” the future command cannot
help but result in the resurrection from the dead (“εἰς τὴν ἐξανάστασιν τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν”).
Indeed this is the picture that is given by Paul in 1
Thessalonians 4:16-17:
For the Lord Himself will descend with a shout (ἐν κελεύσματι), with the voice of the archangel (ἐν φωνῇ ἀρχαγγέλου) and with the trumpet of God (ἐν σάλπιγγι θεοῦ),
and the dead in Christ will rise first (ἀναστήσονται). Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with
the Lord.
In this passage Paul is comforting believers who have
experienced the death of loved ones. He comforts them with the knowledge that
when the Lord comes back, he will come with a shout, a voice, a trumpet that
will cause the dead to rise up and then all believers will be caught up together (the
believers were concerned about their loved ones not being with them) to be with
the Lord forever. Of note for Philippians 3 is that a vocalized shout (or
“shout of command”) causes the dead to rise up (ἀναστήσονται). This loud noise is
described as both from the Lord (ἐν κελεύσματι) and from God (ἐν σάλπιγγι θεοῦ).
The second highly relevant passage is Revelation 11:11-12. Here the two witnesses have been killed and their
bodies dishonored by not giving them a burial: “But after the three and a half
days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood (ἔστησαν) on their feet…And they heard
a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here’” (Ἀνάβατε ὧδε.). Of
note here is the vocalized command with the prefix ἀν, “Ἀνάβατε ὧδε.” This fits well with the sense presented above of τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως as a call to
“rise up.” Thus τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως does not merely have the sense of coming back from the dead,
but has the addition of traveling to the location of the command, upwards.
A Better Contextual Fit
τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως as “resurrection call” is the best reading of
Philippians 3:14 from a contextual standpoint. Paul’s focus in the race is on
the prize at the end of the race. The call to resurrection is that prize. But
this leaves the question, isn’t Paul’s focus and desire Christ? How can the
call to resurrection be the prize when Christ has always been Paul’s focus and
desire? The answer to this question is found in Philippians 1:21. There Paul
makes the intriguing statement, “death is gain” (τὸ ἀποθανεῖν κέρδος). From context it is clear to see that it is not
death itself that is gain, but what death means for Paul: “to
depart and be with Christ” (v. 23). For Paul, this is better than remaining
alive. In the same way that Paul can say “death is gain” he is able to say that
the prize of his pursuit is τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως, not because the call itself is valuable, but
because of what it means: Paul is able to be with Christ. Resurrection, then,
is the final aspect of Paul’s knowing Christ (3:10) and being conformed
(3:10-11) to his image (2:5-11 [especially 8-9]), whose model he follows in
3:3-14 (in self abandonment and humiliation leading to death and then resurrection
and glory). Paul thus eagerly waits for the return of Jesus from heaven
(3:20-21) and Paul’s subsequent glorious transformation into
conformity with Jesus (3:21). τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως , the “resurrection call,” is
thus something that Paul has not yet attained to, but very much wants to.
“PRACTICAL” SIGNIFCANCE OF τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως
For
Paul to be able to have joy in the midst of suffering, he knew to look not
toward the past but toward the future. His focus was on the coming of Christ and attaining to
that coming, whether alive or dead when it happened. He knew that his, and our,
citizenship is in heaven (3:20), where our Savior is. Thus when Paul says that,
in his pursuit of Christ, he forgets the past and strains toward the future, it
must be remembered that he had a lot to forget. When he said that he was the
least of all saints (Eph 3:8) he was not being facetious. He had persecuted the
church, persecuted Jesus himself. He could not forget by looking at the past,
but by gazing toward the future, to the prize of Jesus’ return and call to him.
Paul’s great desire was to be with Jesus (1:23; 3:8-9) and to be finally
conformed (through death and resurrection [3:10]) to his image (2:5-11; 3:21).
Suffering for Paul, then, was merely another means by which he was conformed to
the image of Christ. It is for this reason that Paul willingly suffered (as
Jesus told Ananias that Paul would [9:15-16]).
Thus,
in every aspect of our lives, our gaze needs to be set on the finish line of
our faith, on the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. In order to
have joy in the midst of suffering, whether it be outright persecution or the
simple aches and pains of living in a fallen world, the only way is to look to
the future of fellowship with Christ and conformity to him.
SUMMARY
While a good argument might be made that τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως refers to Paul’s initial call, it is even
better understood as “resurrection call” on the Day of the Lord. This best fits
the argument of the passage (being future focused) and fits well with NT resurrection
imagery. The race of the Christian life is thus focused on the finish line, at
the coming of Jesus in the clouds who will raise us up from the dead and bring
us up to meet him in the air where we will then never leave his side.
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