Yes I did notice that - he said as many as be perfect, be THUS minded... to be of the same mind as Paul.....to not consider that they had already attained. That is an attitude of humility, and also that we are to continue growing and running that race for the mark of the prize of the high calling until the end of our lives. We'll always be pressing on for what lies ahead.
I have to say that you understand exactly half the truth. Most people understand a lot less than that. But you are forcing what goes on in the morning into the afternoon...not distinguishing between the two.
It's like you are always reliving the same 12 hours (I'll say AM as in
ante mortem...or before being dead in Christ). You don't realize there is a whole other 12 hours PM (as in
post mortem...or after you are dead and raised into the higher resurrection walk).
And that forces on you an understanding that is blind to deeper truth.
I'll use your above comments as an example. It says Paul was
not perfect and that he had not attained....but he also says as many who are INDEED
perfect...IOW greater than Paul...
at least at that time. So you are missing Paul distinguishing between his own lack of perfection with
the perfection of others. And you miss that fully and completely. Some HAD indeed attained. But to understand spiritual things one must be living in the afternoon or PM not speculating what people are doing in the PM by remaining in the AM.
So then you are reading a PM exhortation and trying to apply that to an AM understanding. But you are
twisting the meaning of scripture to arrive there.
It's much better to not try lowering the PM walk into just more of an AM experience.
I don't know whether holiness and spiritual experience are sometimes being conflated.
Holiness IS experiencing the spiritual fellowship with God. I think you are conflating
a quick spiritual experience with a spiritual realm that we walk in by
the keeping power of God. Holiness is found in the kingdom realm by a continung spiritual walk in expereincing the resurrection of life Christ. We remain there until the POWER of grace is overcome by sin and the cares of this world.
I've explained this many times using my "fridge magnet" analogy.
Spiritual maturity and holiness is not a spiritual experience per se, which we can go in and out of according to the will of God and for His purposes, but maturity and holiness are permanent changes that are being wrought WITHIN the believer, one's heart and character.
Here you are conflating
purity.....always a gift of God
by grace through faith....with the
maturity it takes to remain there.
(Permanent, because nobody can be young again once they have become old....not something a person goes in and out of)
That's maturity. However, one can easily go in and out of purity.
And this is through suffering, not through spiritual experiences, since suffering is the Way that God has chosen, the Way of the cross....the Captain of our salvation who was perfected through suffering is our example to follow.
Yes. On the lower level we suffer for
our own sins. On the upper level we suffer for
the sins of others...as Jesus did. The blessing of suffering for His name sake is on the upper floor. And that is ALWAYS at the hands of the religious crowd. They crucified Jesus and persecuted the disciples. And still do
I want to caution in general against seeking spiritual experiences, since that can open the door to the devil to deceive us. All we need to do is seek God Himself and His righteousness, and then whatever spiritual experiences we may have or not have are according to HIS will, not ours. Usually to strengthen and encourage I think, to give us a taste of heaven, to know that our suffering here in this life is not in vain. "Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross." But always it's so important to test the spirits, because the devil counterfeits things of God.

Very true....and a good warning to the AM crowd. That's where you live..and you have it right here.
But you somehow need to pit the AM against the PM for whatever reason. You want to deny an upper floor to affirm that there's a first floor. Why can't you affirm....then move on? Instead you are doing a "groundhog day" repeat of the same 12 hour period over and over..thinking you are progressing that way...
revisiting the same lessons over and over...and never getting at the truth. Always learning and NEVER coming into the knowledge of the truth. Having a form of godliness (AM) but denying the power thereof (made available in the PM)
There is time after the AM. There is a higher walk IN the Promised land. But just as Abram had to shoo away the crows that were attracted to the sacrifice meant for God...you will have to decide if you are part of that sacrifice or continue to hover over the sacrifice as a crow to be shooed away by the one offering the sacrifice. (Gen 15:11)