KNOWING, EXPERIENCING, AND ENJOYING CHRIST AS REVEALED IN PHILIPPIANS
Message Six
Attaining to the Out-resurrection
Scripture Reading: Phil. 3:10-14; Rom. 6:3-5; 8:11; Rev. 1:17b-18
I. "The out-resurrection" refers to the outstanding resurrection, the extra- resurrection, which will be a prize to the overcoming saints—Phil. 3:11; Rev. 20:4, 6:
A. All believers who are dead in Christ will participate in the resurrection from the dead at the Lord's coming back—1 Thes. 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:52.
B. The Lord's overcomers will enjoy an extra, outstanding portion of that resurrection, a resurrection in which they will receive the reward of the kingdom; this is what the apostle Paul sought after—Phil. 3:11; Heb. 11:35, 26.
II. For Paul, to live was Christ as the out-resurrection—Phil. 1:21a; 3:11:
A. The Christ who lived in Paul is the One who, in His own person, is the reality of the out-resurrection—John 11:25; Rev. 1:17b-18; 2:8.
B. The out-resurrection is actually the dear, precious, excellent person of Christ, the One who, through crucifixion and resurrection, has passed out of the old creation and has entered into God—John 14:3, 20; Heb. 6:19-20.
C. In order to attain to the out-resurrection, we need to know Christ in the power of His resurrection, know Him in the fellowship of His sufferings, and know Him by being conformed to His death—Phil. 3:10-11.
D. In verses 13 and 14 we see that Paul did not account of himself to have laid hold of the out-resurrection already; he pursued toward the goal of the out- resurrection for the prize to which God in Christ Jesus had called him upward.
III. Our Christian life has a goal, and this goal is the out-resurrection, the extraordinary resurrection—v. 11:
A. Paul aspired to be conformed to Christ's death so that, by any means, he might arrive at the out-resurrection from the dead—v. 10.
B. The Christ whom we should live is Himself the out-resurrection—1:21a; 3:11; John 11:25.
C. We all are on the way to the out-resurrection; the out-resurrection should be the goal and destination of our Christian life—Phil. 3:11-15.
D. The way toward the out-resurrection is the process of resurrection—Rom. 8:11:
1. This process began on the day that we were baptized and will conclude when we arrive at the outstanding resurrection—6:3-5.
2. As we move toward the goal, we are in the process of being resurrected; eventually, every part of our being will be resurrected—1 Thes. 5:23.
3. We will continue in this process until we arrive at the goal of the out- resurrection—Phil. 3:11.
E. To attain to the out-resurrection is to arrive at the out-resurrection; this requires us to triumphantly run the race for the prize—1 Cor. 9:24-26; 2 Tim. 4:7-8; Heb. 12:1-2.
IV. The result of being conformed to Christ's death is that we may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead—Phil. 3:10-11:
A. Death is the condition for our attaining to the out-resurrection—v. 11.
B. Arriving at the out-resurrection is the result, the issue, of being conformed to Christ's death—v. 10.
C. To be conformed, molded, to the death of Christ means that we remain always in His death—Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10.
D. If we are being conformed to Christ's death, we will be in the resurrection life of Christ, and in resurrection we will meet Christ, experience Christ, and enjoy Christ—John 11:25; Eph. 3:8; Phil. 1:8, 19, 21a; 2:5-8; 3:12.
E. If we remain in Christ's death, allowing ourselves to be molded into its likeness, the outcome will be that every part of our being will be gradually resurrected—vv. 10-11.
V. Concerning attaining to the out-resurrection, we need to ask an important question: Can we reach the goal of the out-resurrection in this age, or can we only run the race and hope to reach the goal in the coming age?
A. If we think that we must wait until the coming age to reach the goal of the out- resurrection but do not arrive at this goal in this age, we will not attain to it in the next age.
B. We should endeavor to arrive at the out-resurrection during our lifetime—v. 11.
C. Romans 8:11 reveals that we can attain to the out-resurrection in this age:
1. This verse says that if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to that part of our being that is dying—our mortal body.
2. Gives life in verse 11 does not refer to healing but to the result of our allowing the Spirit of God to make His home in us and saturate our entire being with the divine life.
3. The Spirit is dwelling in us to work the out-resurrection into our being in a real and practical way.
VI. To arrive at the out-resurrection indicates that our entire being is gradually and continually resurrected—1 Thes. 5:23:
A. God first resurrected our deadened spirit; He proceeds to resurrect our soul and our mortal body until our whole being—spirit, soul, and body—is fully resurrected out of our old being by His life and with His life—Eph. 2:5-6; Rom. 8:6, 11.
B. This is a process in life through which we must pass and a race that we must run until we arrive at the out-resurrection as the prize—Phil. 3:11-14.
C. If we are conformed to Christ's death, every part of our being will be gradually resurrected; thus, the Christian life is a process of resurrection.
D. We can reach this goal only by living a crucified life—v. 11; Gal. 2:20.
VII. We need to be conformed to Christ's death so that by any means we may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead; this is the only way for the Lord to go on in His recovery, the only way to build up His church, the only way for the bride to make herself ready, and the only way to bring the Lord back—Phil. 3:10-11; Matt. 16:18; Rev. 19:7-9a; 22:14, 20.