Part 12. The Prize of the High Calling. (Phil.3:14)
“That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” (Phil.3:10-11)
There is something about Paul’s emotive earnestness in this chapter that captures our attention. There is something here that doesn’t seem to fit into a neatly formed theory about the time of resurrection. Notice in the above reference his use of the expression “if by any means.” Does that imply that believers do not in fact possess a certain hope to be included in that great event? Didn’t Paul tell the Corinthians about the orders of resurrection – “Christ the Firstfruit, then those who are of Christ at His coming”? Doesn’t that mean everyone who is a Christian? Why is Paul saying something different to the Philippians, years later, when he was a captive in Rome? [Read more…]