From Apprehension to Action: Following God’s Will

In this episode of the Confidence in God podcast, host Julie McGhghy explores the profound message behind the Apostle Paul’s words in Philippians 3:12—what it means to be “apprehended by Christ” and how we can pursue God’s unique purpose for our lives. Julie unpacks Paul’s journey from being apprehended by God to actively seeking and fulfilling his divine calling, and she encourages listeners to reflect on their own motivations for serving God. Through practical insights and personal stories, you’ll discover how to confidently walk in faith, embrace God’s will, and press toward the high calling in Christ Jesus. Tune in for inspiration, biblical wisdom, and actionable steps to deepen your relationship with God and live out your purpose with confidence.

https://confidenceingod.com/resources/

Reference: Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest (Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Company, Inc., 1963). 

Timeline

0:00 – Introduction & Welcome
 12:30 – The Question: What Does Paul Mean?
 27:55 – Paul’s Proclamation: Apprehended by Christ
 49:40 – Resource Mention: Five Steps to Experience More Confidence in God
 77:20 – Philippians 3:12 Explained
 108:25 – Paul’s Transformation: From Apprehended to Active
 179:40 – Working Out Salvation: Philippians 2:12-13
 202:20 – Faith vs. Works: Clarification
 214:25 – The Role of Faith in Salvation
 256:20 – Gratitude for God’s Gift of Faith
 283:30 – A Warning from Oswald Chambers
 303:10 – Personal Story: Motivations for Service
 318:45 – Example 1: Service from Love 

Transcript

0:01

Hello and welcome to the Confidence in God podcast. I am your host, Julie McGhghy, and our goal today is to help you walk with confidence in God. Do you sometimes read scripture and wonder what a particular verse really means? When developing a podcast episode, I don't often focus on one particular verse, but recently, something the Apostle Paul said really got me wondering what he meant. So today I'm going to share with you Paul's proclamation, that he seeks to apprehend that for which he was apprehended of Christ to help us apply it to our lives. Then we will determine if we also strive to apprehend that for which we were apprehended of Christ. But before we get started, I invite you to check out a resource titled, Five Steps to Experience More Confidence in God. You can have instant access to it by going to confidenceingod.com/resources. In this resource, you'll learn more from the Apostle Paul, particularly how we can confidently live a life that is victorious over sin. I'll drop the link to the resource in the show notes for your convenience. In Philippians 3:12, the Apostle Paul explains,"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ." If we're going to follow the Apostle Paul as he follows Christ according to 1 Corinthians 11:1, then we need to understand what it means to apprehend that for which we are apprehended. In Philippians 3:12, Paul acknowledged that our Lord Jesus Christ had apprehended him. Paul was passive in that situation. God laid hold of Paul. Paul was merely going his way to Damascus and the Lord blinded him, questioned him, and gave him instructions. All Paul had to do to be apprehended by God was to have faith to receive what God offered. After Paul was apprehended by God and had spent some number of days with the disciples in Damascus, Paul then became very active in following after God. Apparently by spending time with the disciples, Paul learned God's purpose for laying hold of him, and he straightway preached Christ in the synagogues. Paul knew the risks of preaching Christ in the synagogues, yet he went straightway to accomplish God's purpose in his life. He immediately, actively began following after Christ so he could grab hold and accomplish God's purpose. Before explaining to the church in Philippi that he sought after Christ to apprehend or lay hold of his purpose, Paul instructed them in Philippians 2:12-13 to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, letting God work in them to give them the will and desire to do his good pleasure, meaning his purpose. Please don't misunderstand me. I am not promoting works to earn salvation. As James wrote in James 2:18, I will show you my faith by my works. To receive the benefits of salvation, which include forgiveness, acceptance, becoming a child of God, receiving God's favor and reconciling with Him, Paul didn't need to do anything. He merely had to have the measure of faith needed to believe God and take Him at His word. By that faith, God got ahold of Paul in a mighty way. As Paul understood God's purpose for his life and because of Paul's gratitude and love for God, Paul accepted the salvation offered to him and became very active to pursue and accomplish that purpose. Aren't you glad God gave you the measure of faith needed for Him to grab hold of you, to make you His child and grant you salvation, forgiveness, and acceptance? Aren't you glad God gives you the will and desire as well as the opportunities to actively live the Christian life, participating in His purpose for your life, and reaching the world with His love? However, there is a warning. Oswald Chambers was an early 20th Century Holiness evangelist and teacher. In his devotional, My Utmost For His Highest, he warned,"Never choose to be a worker by[work]... because God has apprehended us. This brings to mind when my children were teenagers. It was not uncommon for my daughter to clean the house for me while I was at work. She may have done so for a couple of different reasons, which would become obvious shortly after I got home. Sometimes I came home to a clean house and a loving, grateful daughter who asked for nothing in return. She cleaned the house for me purely because she loved me and appreciated all her father and I did for her, which is reason number one. Sometimes I came home to a clean house and a daughter who would soon ask me for something, possibly something she wanted me to buy for her, or permission to go somewhere. She was endeavoring to earn my favor, which is reason number two. Which of these children are we? Do we choose to do something for God to earn His favor? Or do we do things for God, working for Him because He has apprehended us so completely that we want to do the things He has purposed for our lives and given us the will and desire to do? Truth be told, we are human and likely vacillate between these two approaches. But, oh how I want to be like Paul and put my past behind me and diligently follow after Christ to live the life He has purposed for me to live. So why is it so important to understand, what Paul meant about seeking to apprehend that for which he was apprehended? Because like Paul, when we understand how completely God has gotten ahold of us, we can confidently seek after His purpose for us and work toward accomplishing that purpose no matter the risk involved, and we do so purely out of love for God and appreciation for all He has done for us. Let me summarize this information quickly. Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God offers each of us salvation, forgiveness, favor and reconciliation with Him, and He gives us the measure of faith we need to accept this salvation, allowing Him to apprehend us or lay hold of us, and give us the will and desire to do His good pleasure, His purpose. If we follow the Apostle Paul's example, we can learn God's purpose for our lives and diligently, confidently pursue that purpose. I encourage you to allow God to give you the energy and desire to do His good purpose and delight, and to do like Paul, as he explained in Philippians 3:13-14."This one thing I do. Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Let's confidently press toward all that God has for us and apprehend it. I would love to hear from you. Let me know how you are pressing toward the things God has for you to receive and to do. Now, as I mentioned earlier, I invite you to check out a resource titled Five Steps to Experience More Confidence in God. Just click on the link in the show notes and click on the resource. That's it for today. Please take a second to subscribe to our show so you'll be notified when future episodes come out. Also, it would be great if you would rate or review our show, that way more people can find out about it. Until next time, let's be confident in this, that he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.