Paul’s Statement of the Goal
If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection [Greek, out-resurrection] of the dead. (Phil 3:11)
Paul stated clearly his (and our) objective, the objective of our daily pursuit of Christ.
Paul was near the end of his life when he wrote these words. They are the expression of a mature Christian.
Today one would not ordinarily hear a minister of the Gospel say he was seeking to attain the resurrection from the dead. The goal of Paul seems to be unknown to us. Paul’s comments a few verses later indicate he was speaking of bodily resurrection to righteousness, immortality, and glory:
Who shall change our vile [humbled] body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Phil 3:21)
There is a "mark," a goal of the Christian redemption. It is stated here in Philippians by the Apostle Paul.
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ. (Phil 3:14)
We know that all people who have lived and died will be resurrected by the Lord Jesus.
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (Jn 5:28,29)
But to be raised to righteousness, immortality, and glory in terms of the promise of I Corinthians, Chapter 15 must be attained.
It is the reverse of the rebellion of Eden, which led to physical death. The destroying of the last enemy, physical death, is accomplished only when every other enemy of Christ in us has been conquered.
The out-resurrection (to use the Greek term found in Phil 3:11) is the first resurrection. The first resurrection is the privilege of those who have attained the transformation of the inner man, who have chosen Christ as the supreme goal of their life.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (Rev 20:4)
Notice the accent on behavior, in the preceding verse. Those who lived and governed did not do so on the basis of a profession of belief in Christ’s death and resurrection but on the basis of forsaking their life for the Gospel’s sake. They did not worship the beast or the image of the beast, nor did they receive his mark, the mark of the world spirit, in their right hand or their forehead.
The statement is being made today that all such verses apply only to the Jews because the "Gentile Church" already had been "raptured" into Heaven. If this is the case, then it is the Jews who will be priests of God and of Christ and who will rule with Him throughout the thousand-year Kingdom Age. But the Scripture teaches that it is the members of the Body of Christ, the royal priesthood, who will rule with Christ.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Rev 20:6)
These are the Lord’s kings and judges. They chose to set aside their own "head," their own mind and self-direction, so they could follow the Lord with a perfect heart. They refused to worship the Beast (Antichrist) This means they resisted the temptation to make a God of themselves by following their own will and desires. They did not serve the gods of the world—the gods of money, of lust, of violence, of occult practices, of drunkenness and revelry (the mark in the hand), neither were they changed into the thinking of the world (the mark in the forehead).
They came to life (were raised bodily to immortality and glory) and ruled with Christ throughout the thousand-year Kingdom Age.
It appears that most Christians in the world of today are not attaining the bodily resurrection to righteousness, immortality, and glory.
There is a clearly stated goal of redemption. It is the filling of our personality with eternal life and glory. When we emphasize any other objective we bring confusion into our thinking and practice. The Christian churches of our day are in theological confusion because they do not present the resurrection of our body to righteousness, immortality, and glory as the true goal of our salvation in Christ.
Sometimes the catching up is emphasized, as in the pre-tribulation "rapture" error. This produces further confusion.