Excelsior!

Stan Lee

At first, when I saw today’s devotional in my inbox, I thought, no way is there any possible connection but of course, the author of this devotional found one. It is a great joy whenever we can take something not necessarily meant to glorify God, and do just that with it.

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Excelsior!¹

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14 esv

READ Philippians 3:12-21

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LISTEN ONLINE

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Sometimes surprisingly spiritual messages turn up in unexpected places, like in a comic book, for example. Marvel Comics publisher Stan Lee passed away in 2018, leaving behind a legacy of such iconic heroes as Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, and many others…

CONTINUED @ SOURCE

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CONTEXT AND STUDY

CHAP. 3 – Paul exhorteth to rejoice in the Lord, and to beware of the false teachers of the circumcision, 1–3: showing that as a Jew he had better grounds of confidence than they, 4–6; but that he disclaimed them all, trusting only to the justification which is of God by faith, and hoping to partake of the resurrection through Christ, 7–11. He acknowledgeth his present imperfection, and that he was still anxiously striving for the prize, 12–14: exhorting others to be like-minded, 15, 16, and to follow his example, 17; for many were enemies to the gospel, being earthly-minded, 18, 19; but his conversation and views were heavenly, 20, 21.

Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible, vol. 3 (New York: Robert Carter and Brothers, 1853), 695.

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v.14 – I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
I press toward the mark; he did not look back, Luke 9:62, nor was lazy, but did follow hard, with an eager pursuit, (Matt. 11:12,) after the perfection that was in his eye; not erring from his main scope; considering what he had received was but in part, he did still press for more, upon that ground that Christ had apprehended him for more, as if he were stretching out his hands to lay hold of it. For the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus; trusting he should, through grace, be kept all along, maugre all difficulties, in the hand of Christ, till upon his account he should be fully possessed of all that was aimed at, even that which is styled the prize, or victorious palm of our high calling; and the Christians’ may well be termed a high calling, considering their heavenly birth when called, and laid hold of by Christ, John 1:13, and the purchased inheritance eternally settled upon such spiritual, high-born princes, Eph. 1:14; Rev. 1:6; who are by one oblation perfected for ever, Heb. 10:14; which will appear most glorious when they are raised up in Christ, who will then give out all the salvation he hath called us unto.

Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible, vol. 3 (New York: Robert Carter and Brothers, 1853), 698–699.

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Toward the mark (κατὰ σκοπὸν). Rev., goal. Bear down upon (κατά). Σκοπός mark, only here in the New Testament. See on look, ch. 2:4. Used in the classics of a mark for shooting at, or as a moral or intellectual end. A somewhat similar figure occurs 1 Tim. 1:6; 6:21; 2 Tim. 2:18, in the verb ἀστοχέω to miss the aim or the shot. A. V., swerved and erred.

Prize (βραβεῖον). See on 1 Cor. 9:24. Ignatius uses the word θέμα that which is deposited as a prize: a prize of money as distinct from the crown. “Be temperate as God’s athlete. The prize is incorruption and eternal life” (to Polycarp, 2). Chrysostom says: “He that runs looks not at the spectators, but at the prize. Whether they be rich or poor, if one mock them, applaud them, insult them, throw stones at them—if one plunder their house, if they see children or wife or anything whatsoever—the runner is not turned aside, but is concerned only with his running and winning the prize. He that runneth stoppeth nowhere; since, if he be a little remiss, all is lost. He that runneth relaxeth in no respect before the end, but then, most of all, stretcheth over the course.”

High calling (ἄνω κλήσεως). Lit., upward calling. A calling which is from heaven and to heaven. Κλῆσις calling, is habitually used in the New Testament of the act of calling. Compare Heb. 3:1. The prize is bound up with the calling; promised when the call is issued, and given when the call is fulfilled.

Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, vol. 3 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887), 450–451.

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1. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/excelsior ↩︎