Philippians 3:11,12To: Philippians Main MenuTo: Grace Notes Home Page Philippians 3:11If, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.In the English, this verse Paul appears to doubt that he will rise from the dead. Does he doubt the assurance of his salvation? Verse eleven is a continuation of Paul's personal testimony about his spiritual aspirations. IF, BY ANY MEANS The Bible was originally written in Greek. There are four ways of saying "if" in the Greek. One of these "ifs" is to assume the statement as true. This is brought out by spelling, not interpretation. The "if" in this phrase is something Paul is assuming true. Paul is not doubting something; he is asserting a fact. The word "if" can be translated "since." "Since I will attain to the resurrection from the dead" is the idea. He has confidence in his eternal state. Paul assumed that he might be raptured. This did not happen. He died and his soul went to heaven. His body will be raptured later when Jesus comes again. At minimum, he was assured of the destiny of his body. I MAY ATTAIN TO THE RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD In verse ten Paul wanted to know the power of the resurrection and be conformed to the death of Christ. Whatever the cost, he was willing to die like Christ died. Whatever the future holds he knows he will be resurrected. His confidence is independent of circumstances. The word for "resurrection" in this phrase is used no where else in the Greek New Testament. The idea is a resurrection out from among the dead. There are two resurrections but one is out from among the dead. The one is for Christians and the other for non-Christians (John 5:28). There is a resurrection of the dead and there is a resurrection from the dead. The resurrection from the dead is the first resurrection of believers to be with their God. The resurrection of the dead is the resurrection of non-Christians to face judgment. Everyone will surface in one resurrection or the other. The resurrection of his passage is a partial resurrection out from among the corpses of non-Christians. Literally, this word means "out-resurrection." Why did Paul say that he wanted to "attain" the out-resurrection from among the dead? Again, did he doubt he would be at this out-resurrection? Perhaps he was using the word "attain" for the rapture that has no predicted time frame for Christ's return. In any case, the words "attain" means to cross the goal line. The idea is to arrive. Paul did not know if he would die before the rapture or whether the rapture would occur before his death. Paul knows that he is going to arrive in heaven. He does not know by what means. Either his body will be raptured up from among other dead bodies or his soul will go to heaven at the point of his physical death. PRINCIPLE: We have assurance that we will arrive at the out-resurrection from among the dead ones. Therefore, we have confidence both about time and eternity. APPLICATION: The believer who is assured of eternity looks at eternity positively. He sees eternity with confidence. When he dies, he knows that he will "arrive" home. Assurance is based on the work of Christ not on whether we deserve it. God provides eternity for us. If this is true, we should have no concern about the future in time or eternity. Many people worry about the future. Some people worry so much that it has become an occupational hazard. If people do not worry about themselves they worry about their children or grandchildren. Some say that "Everything is going down the drain." That may be true. What difference does it make if our future is assured? Worry always muddies the waters. Worry blinds us to solutions. We do not see issues clearly. Do we ever solve family issues by worry? If the family sits down and "shares" their worries, they are now twice as worried because they have shared their worries. Now the only apparent option is to swallow some pills to blunt the pain. We never get anywhere by worry. Confidence in eternity shows us that God is sovereign. He is in control of all things both in time and eternity. Why should we fall apart by every jolt in the road? Our confidence is in the one who provides for us, not in circumstances or self. If God can provide for my eternal inheritance, he can provide for me in time. Philippians 3:12Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected, but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.No Christian is perfect, not even the apostle Paul. He had not "attained" his life ambition set forth in verse ten. He was still actively pursuing the knowledge of Christ. He had grown over the twenty five years but he still had some distance to go to reach his goal. The Christian life is a process, not an event. NOT THAT I HAVE ALREADY ATTAINED The word "attained" means to receive, grasp, appropriate, lay hold. We use the word "arrived" today. Paul did not want to give the impression that he had arrived in his pursuit of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. Most of us want to give the impression that we are a "super-saint." We want to make the impression that we have arrived. When we do this, we are in trouble for we delude ourselves into believing we do not need to grow any more. As long as Paul is alive God has a purpose for him. For whatever purpose Paul remains on the earth, it is not completed yet. Since he knows this, he is not shaken by the dire events swirling around him. God will keep him on earth until he is finished with him. OR AM ALREADY PERFECTED There are three levels of sanctification of the saint. First, the saint is sanctified positionally. He/she holds the same status that Jesus holds before the Father. This sanctification can never improve. It was given to us fully at the point of salvation. We stand perfect in our status, not in our experience. In experience we sin. Our status in God's eyes is perfect because of Christ's work on the cross. The second level of sanctification is progressive, experiential sanctification. If all things are equal, every day we grow more like the Lord Jesus (II Co. 3:18). When we stop growing we become static. When we are static we become stagnate. When we stagnate we become rancid--our Christian life smells!! Our life should be a beautiful aroma but instead, we give out a stench. Some of us have not grown much in the last ten years. We have little appetite for the Bible. We are temporally dead in our spiritual life. We are in a spiritual rut. A rut is a grave with the ends knocked out. The third level of sanctification is ultimate sanctification. In eternity we will be free from sin and the sin capacity. This is the level Paul is talking about in the phrase "am already perfected." This is the perfection God gives the believer upon his arrival in heaven. PRINCIPLE: Our Christian life must remain vital. We need to grow every day (II Pet. 2:2;3:18). We never arrive. APPLICATION: A stalemate in chess is when the game can go no further because both players have reached an impasse. The Christian can never reach that stalemate in time. Nothing can so daunt the Christian that he/she cannot continue to grow. On the other hand, we cannot "arrive" spiritually in this life on earth. There is always room to grow more like the Lord Jesus and be conformed into his image. Every Christian can say that we are not what we once were. We can also say that we are not what we shall be. Are you different today than you were a year ago? Are you going on with the Lord Jesus? There are many pursuits in life. Some pursue fame. Others chase after sex. Yet others strive for money and success. Paul's personal pursuit was clear. He wanted to represent his Lord in time. BUT I PRESS ON The words "press on" means pursue. What is Paul pursuing? He is after the "prize" of verse fourteen. Some of us do not seem to realize that there is a prize at the end of the day. Heaven is not that prize. We do not earn or deserve heaven. Heaven was given to us by what Christ earned and deserved. Paul is after the smile of Christ on his life at the end of his days. Paul has not completed his stint in time. God still has a purpose for him. Nothing can remove him, hurt him, or kill him until his purpose on earth is complete. He has confidence that God has a plan for him as long as he is alive. THAT I MAY LAY HOLD OF THAT FOR WHICH CHRIST JESUS HAS ALSO LAID HOLD OF ME Paul wanted to grasp hold of his life's pursuit. He wanted to latch on to it. He wanted to get such a good grip on it that he would not let go. He did not want to disappoint Jesus. If you marry a husband he may turn out to be a disappointment. "Well, I dated him for four weeks!" We cannot even tell if he brushes his teeth after dating him for a month! If we lay hold of pleasing Jesus with our lives, we will not receive his frown but his smile when we meet him. Not only does Paul take hold of something but Jesus does as well. Paul says, "In my flight toward hell, Jesus took out after me and held me in his grip." Christ laid hold of Paul for a purpose. Jesus wanted Paul to represent him in time on earth. He represents us in heaven and we represent him on earth. Paul wanted to accomplish all for which Christ had saved him. He did not want to disappoint the Lord. The first "laying hold" was done by Paul. He needed to lay hold of the purpose for his life on earth. The second "laying hold" is done by Christ Jesus. At the point of salvation Christ laid hold of Paul for a purpose. That purpose was to represent Jesus Christ in time. Our purpose here is to represent the Lord Jesus. He represents us in heaven; we represent him in time. Since we are here for the purpose of glorifying him, we need to lay hold or latch onto that purpose. PRINCIPLE: God has a purpose for our lives. He wants us to represent him on earth in time. APPLICATION: God has a track for the locomotive of your life to run upon. Has your locomotive jumped the track? Has your life come crashing down in one great accident? You are no longer in the will of God. You are not in regular fellowship with God. As long as you are alive God has a plan for you. No matter whether you have had a major accident, a massive crash, as long as you are alive, God has a purpose for you. No matter what you sin, if you are alive, God has a purpose for you. If your finger is out of joint, put it back in place. If you are out of fellowship, confess your sin. Get back on track. The only place were we can become free from the slavery of malice, hatred and grudges is in fellowship with our Lord. By being in the center of God's will we can have a life of freedom. If we allow sin to control us we are in slavery. Sin eats the soul. Someone has said, "It is not what you eat that kills you, it is what eats you." Are you eaten up by malice? What is eating you? Life is too short. We cannot afford to bear grudges. Time is too short. The stake is too high. If we hold ill will long enough it might secure such a hold upon us that we will take it right into the casket with us. Are we ready to get squared away? ---------- Copyright © 1995, Dr. Grant Richison. All rights reserved. There is no charge for Grace Notes Materials. You can help further this work by your prayer and by sending a contribution to: Grace Notes 1705 Aggie Lane Austin, Texas 78757 wdoud@bga.com Grace Notes Web site: http://www.realtime.net/~wdoud/ Anonymous FTP site: ftp://ftp.bga.com/vendors/wdoud/ Grace Notes is a ministry of Village Missions International. |
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