What prize does Paul tell Christians to run for?
Paul tells believers to run to win the prize, which is not salvation, since they already possess that, but the reward that accompanies salvation. The context ties this to working for reward, a concept present from day one, and illustrates it with Abraham, who as a believer was promised an inheritance.
The teaching explains that even believers can become so tied to this world and blind to the glory out there that their priorities get mixed up. So Paul says to run to win the prize. That prize is not salvation, because believers already have salvation; it is the reward that will go with salvation. This concept of working for reward runs all the way through Scripture. The teacher goes back to Genesis 15, where God deals with Abraham, who was already a believer when he left Ur of the Chaldees. God promises him a territory of land and says, I am the Lord that brought thee out of the Ur of the Chaldees, and I am going to give you this land to inherit it. Abraham asks, How shall I know that I shall inherit it? God had promised he would be rewarded with the deed to that land, now called Palestine. Thus the whole concept of working for reward has been on believers' minds from day one.
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What is the prize Paul says Christians should run to win?
The prize Paul tells believers to run to win is not salvation, which they already possess, but the reward that goes with salvation.