"That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead."

Strange and mysterious theories have been built upon the above passage. As they do not harmonize with Scripture teaching, they cannot be accepted. Another effort to ascertain their true meaning might therefore not be out of place, so much more as the apostle wants us all to be "thus minded."

At his conversion the apostle had given up, or, in his own words, had suffered the loss of, all things that were gain to him before. These things were his natural advantages, in which he had trusted and gloried, and on which his own righteousness was built. He had given them up that he might have that righteousness which is of God, by faith in Christ, for both cannot go together.

After his conversion the same mind continued in him; he still counted all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, in order that he might win Christ, and finally be found in Him, righteous in Christ, not in himself.

Was he not yet in Christ at that time ? Certainly he was, from the moment of his conversion and on. But the position in Christ was not all that he wanted. He wanted to be found in Him on the day of Christ, when he would appear before God, before men and angels, in the beauty of that righteousness which is Christ Himself, and not be seen there in the filthy rags of his own. And this is what we all are looking for, while we are in Christ even now.

"That I may win Christ." How was this to be accomplished, and what end had he in view? To possess Christ in glory ? Not exactly. For this it did not need an extraordinary zeal and self-sacrifice. The most faithful and the less faithful, they all will at last possess Christ in glory. God takes care of that. The apostle couples the winning of Christ with the excellency of the knowledge of Christ (verse 8). To know Christ and to know Him better is to win Him. The better knowledge leads to deeper fellowship and enjoyment; and what has been gained here will not be lost hereafter. So, then, what the apostle was aiming at was this, to have the greatest possible enjoyment and benefit of the presence of Christ in heaven when, after this, he should be associated with Him in glory and see Him face to face. To know Him was the ambition of his life, and it is the key-note of his present discussion, which he strikes in verses 10 and n, when he says, "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection," etc.

What is " the power of His resurrection ?" It is the power of God which is working in our behalf in order to conform us inwardly and outwardly to the image of the risen Christ (see Eph. i:17-20 and Phil. 3:21), in consequence of the believer's identification with Christ in resurrection. But this involves the destruction, or dissolution, of flesh and blood; for flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; and as the believer is identified with Christ in His resurrection, so is he also in His death. Some day he has to be made conformable to His death.

This can be brought about in different ways. One way is the changing of this vile body, or body of humiliation-the being clothed upon at the coming of the Lord. Another way is the putting off of this tabernacle at the hour of death; that is, dying in good old age. But there are some other possibilities. Taking up Paul's case again, in the course he pursued, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus and his outward man perishing, that is, decaying little by little, he was liable to have all his strength used up in a short while, so that an early death would have been the natural consequence. But in the way he pursued he might also have died a martyr's death. It is as if somebody had said to him:"You run a great risk, Paul, the way you go on; such things may happen to you if you do not stop, and you will not be alive at the Lord's coming." His answer is, as it were, " I care little about these things; there is a glorious resurrection ahead of me, and I am determined to pursue this course to the end, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead." This phrase, "by any means," can easily be misunderstood, as if it meant " at all events "-" at all cost;" I must see that I get there:sure of success I am not, but I try hard, and do what I can. This is not the meaning at all. F. W. G. translates:" If in any way I arrive at the resurrection from among the dead." This gives us the true meaning. It means, Some way or the other; to the clothing upon I would give the preference (2 Cor. 5:2); but if this should not be, any other way and manner will suit me; my zeal shall not abate on that account; and besides that, there is an advantage in having fellowship with Christ in His sufferings, and being persecuted for His sake.

Or does the apostle, perhaps, by these words mean to indicate (as some think) that there was a special resurrection for him in view, and consequently for all those who distinguished themselves from other believers by extraordinary zeal and self- sacrifice ? How could he mean this without upsetting all that he had taught on that subject before ? In Thessalonians 4 the apostle identifies himself completely with all the rest who either are alive or asleep at the Lord's coming, and have their share in the first resurrection ; and that in regard to fact as well as to time. He does the same in i Cor. 15, and other places (see especially i Cor. 15:51, 52).

"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect:but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus."

What was it that he had not attained, or apprehended ? Was it the resurrection from among the dead? Or what had he reference to when speaking of not being already perfect ? Was it that state of perfection that we shall enter into when we shall possess Christ in glory, and our bodies shall be fashioned like His own ? Not at all. This was self-evident, and did not need to be mentioned, much less to be emphasized as he emphasized it. A following, or striving, after this would have availed him nothing; for this he had to wait patiently (Rom. 8:25) till all the rest are ready; and, indeed, he is waiting yet. What he means was that moral perfection, or Christlikeness, which is attained to, or apprehended, by means of the increasing knowledge of Jesus Christ his Lord. Nor is there material here for perfectionists; for if the apostle had lived a hundred years longer, he still would have said, " Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended it." His brethren, indeed, were liable to think that the most excellent apostle, who had seen the glorified Christ, to whom the whole counsel of God was revealed, and who already once had been caught up into the third heaven, could not improve any more, and was already perfect. But he assures them that this was not so. It could not be. We have here the same paradox as in Eph. 3:19:" And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge … to be filled with all the fulness of God." Here in Philippians it is, To apprehend what in its fulness cannot be apprehended now.
But the following, or striving after it, or the pressing forward, is not in vain; there is progress, increase, attainment (verse 16) and a getting nearer to the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, with conformity to Christ, or Christlikeness. The inward conformity comes first; then, at last, outwardly, He shall "change our body of humiliation, that it may be fashioned like unto His body of glory, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself."

"Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded," is the apostle's exhortation.

J. Kofal