Not that I have already obtained the prize , or am already perfected; but I pursue, if also I may get possession of it , seeing that also I have been taken possession of by Christ Jesus .
– Philippians 3:12
Paul was such an absolute person toward Christ. Before he was converted, he pursued the Christians even to foreign cities in his persecution of them (Acts 26:11). He sought and approved of their deaths (Acts 8:1; 9:1; 26:10). At the time Paul wrote to the Philippians, he was still pursuing or “persecuting” the Lord Jesus—now in a good way—even to the point that he didn’t care if the Lord could tolerate it
Excerpted from Philippians: That I May Gain Christ by Titus Chu, p. 209