‘Brothers, I count not myself yet to have laid hold, but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.'
In contrast with the false teachers Paul does not see himself as having laid hold of the totality of salvation. But what he does see himself as having done, and as continuing to do, having put out of his mind what is in the past, ‘the things that are behind', is to stretch forward to the things which are before. He is putting in every effort to achieve his goal. He is pressing on toward the goal, to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
The language is that of the athlete in the marathon. The hard and arduous miles that have been achieved with all their pain are now put out of his mind, for he does not look back but is concentrating his effort on what lies ahead. He sees the stadium ahead in the distance. And he is putting every effort into those last few miles. For his eye is on the prize that lies before him, and that prize is the one that the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (His effectual calling) has called him to, as described in Philippians 3:21, when total salvation will have been accomplished and he will know Christ in all His fullness (we will see Him as He is - 1 John 3:2) and is presented before God, holy, unblameable and unreproveable in His sight (Colossians 1:22). But it is a future prize and not one that he has already accomplished. For the race is not yet over.
‘Forgetting the things which are behind.' The thought is not one of total forgetfulness of what is behind. Foolish is the runner who ignores or forgets the rivals who are just behind him (many a runner has failed to qualify because he slowed down as he approached the tape). But they are to spur him on towards the finish, not act as an obstacle to the successful completion of his race. He must not be taken up by what is behind in such a way that it hinders his total commitment to winning. He must not allow the past to be a burden. He must not allow past sufferings to hinder him. He must not allow past failures to weigh on his mind (once of course they have been forgiven). On the other hand foolish is the person who does not learn from the past (including the runner), for that very memory might well enable him to stretch forward towards the finish with even greater concentration. What are to be forgotten are any of the things that might hinder his forward impetus.
Some see ‘the high calling of God', not as looking back to the ‘high call' to attain to higher things, but as signifying the receiving of the prize by mounting the steps to where the judges will bestow his prize. In this interpretation it signifies the receiving of the eternal glory. Both are, of course true representations of the situation, although only one can be correct as an interpretation here. On the other hand the original call of God is certainly what finally leads to the call to receive the prize, so that either view has a lesson to teach us.