1.  Paul, like a runner, is pressing toward the goal of Christlikeness (spiritual maturity) to win the prize.  Some believe that the prize he is talking about is the rewards that believers will receive at the Judgment Seat of Christ for faithful life and service since becoming Christians.  Only believers will be present at this judgment where salvation is not the issue and is not in doubt, only rewards are in view.  Romans 14:10,12; I Cor 3:10-15; 9:24-27; 2 Cor 5:10

2.  Paul urges Christians to live up to the truth that they have learned.  We must live the truth we know, not just hold it as an intellectual abstraction. 

3.  Christians must live in obedience to the Word of God, not according to their appetites.

4.  Christian’s minds must be focused on heaven from which we await a Savior, not preoccupied with earthly things to the exclusion of spiritual things.  Out citizenship is in Heaven, earth is only a temporary dwelling place.  Heb 11:13; 1 Peter 2:11