- Benny Nalkara, CMI
Philippians 3:5–14 which is considered as the autobiographic narrative of Paul’s conversion/call narrative, offers one of the clearest biblical foundations for pilgrim theology. “Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal” (Phil 3:12). Christian life, for Paul, is not a state of completion but a journey in progress, marked by growth, struggle, and hope. Philippians 3:5–14 depicts Paul’s movement from religious self-confidence to pilgrim faith. A journey marked by knowing Christ ever more deeply through participation in his life, suffering, and resurrection. He renounces his former Jewish credentials as loss in order to gain Christ, shifting from a righteousness achieved by the Law to one received through faith. Aware that he has not yet reached the goal, Paul lives in the tension of the “already and not yet,” pressing forward in hope. The passage thus portrays Paul as a pilgrim theologian and offers the Church a model of discipleship rooted in humility, continual conversion, and forward-looking faith.
This pilgrim vision resonates strongly with the Pauline understanding of Christian life as lived in the tension between the “already” and the “not yet.” For Paul, salvation has truly begun in Christ, yet it awaits its fullness. Christian existence, therefore, is marked by movement, growth, and hope—a “straining forward to what lies ahead” (Phil 3:12–14). Faith is not possession but pursuit; not arrival but journey. Vital to the understanding of this passage is the correct interpretation of the Greek word teleios which occurs twice, often translated as Perfect in Phil 3:12 and as mature in Phil 3:15. Teleios in Greek has a variety of interrelated meanings. In by far the most of them it does not signify what we might call abstract perfection but a kind of functional perfection, adequacy for some given purpose. It is used to mean mature in mind and therefore means one who is qualified in a subject as opposed to a mere learner. When it is used of offerings, it means without blemish and fit to offer God. When it is used of Christians, it often means baptized persons who are full members of the Church, as opposed to those who are still under instruction. In the days of the early Church it is quite often used to describe martyrs. A martyr is said to be perfected by the sword, and the day of his death is said to be the day of his perfecting. The idea is that a man’s Christian maturity cannot go beyond martyrdom. So when Paul uses the word in Phil 3:12, he is saying that he is not by any means a complete Christian but is for ever pressing on.
Paul’s striking image of pressing on (dioko) conveys movement, effort, and perseverance. He understands himself as one who has been grasped by Christ yet is still moving toward fullness. This tension between divine initiative and human response captures the heart of pilgrim theology: salvation is already given in Christ, yet its fullness lies ahead. Thus, Christian existence unfolds between the “already” of redemption and the “not yet” of its consummation.
The act of forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead (Phil 3:13) reflects a pilgrim attitude of openness and freedom. Paul does not cling to past achievements, privileges, or certainties. Instead, he remains open to transformation and future possibility. Pilgrim theology, therefore, resists stagnation and triumphalism; it invites continual conversion, discernment, and renewal. Finally, the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14) situates the pilgrim journey within hope and eschatological promise. The goal is not self-perfection but communion with Christ. Paul’s theology is thus profoundly forward-looking, shaped by expectation rather than possession. In this sense, Philippians 3:12–14 calls both the Church and its theologians to embrace a pilgrim identity—faithful to what has been received, yet always moving toward deeper truth under the guidance of the Spirit.
The Church recognizes herself as a community always “on the move,” responding to changing historical, cultural, and existential contexts. As a pilgrim community, the Church encounters new situations, challenges, promises, and experiences—some life-giving, others unsettling. Such a condition demands humility, discernment, and an ongoing capacity for adaptation. Vatican II helped the Church rediscover this pilgrim character, and its documents themselves bear witness to this dynamic orientation. Among them, Gaudium et Spes stands out as a compelling expression of pilgrim theology, engaging the “joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties” of humanity and situating the Church in dialogue with the modern world rather than above it.
In the Pilgrim movement of the Church, the truth unfolds in time, through prayer, dialogue, experience, and discernment. Paul himself embodies this awareness, recognizing his own theological reflection as provisional and pilgrim in nature. Pilgrim theology expresses trust in the Spirit’s ongoing guidance and affirms that the Church, journeying between the “already” and the “not yet,” remains ever open to deeper truth, fuller communion, and renewed mission.
