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Philippians 3:10-11 speaks of both death and the out-resurrection from the dead. The death here is the lovable, all-accomplishing death of Christ. In the previous chapter we saw the many things that Christ’s death has accomplished on our behalf. In this chapter we come to the result, or the issue, of being conformed to Christ’s death: that we may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead. Death is the condition for our attaining to the out-resurrection. Hence, in these verses we have both the condition and the goal. The Greek word translated “attain” in verse 11 actually means “arrive at.” This indicates that Paul desired to arrive at a certain goal, the goal of the out-resurrection.
Many Christians are not clear about the goal of their Christian life. After we believed in the Lord Jesus according to God’s New Testament economy, we were baptized. The significance of baptism is to terminate our natural being and to be germinated with the divine life. In baptism the natural life is buried, and a new life rises up. Baptism, however, is simply the beginning of our Christian life. Our Christian life also has a goal, and this goal is the out-resurrection. This term out-resurrection means that every part of our being will be resurrected. When we were baptized, our old life, our natural human life, was terminated and buried, and a new life, the divine life, which is Christ, rose up from within. At that time we began our Christian life and walk. The Christian walk involves a long process, and it takes us a long way. At the end of this walk is the goal at which we need to arrive. As we have pointed out, this goal is the out-resurrection, the extraordinary resurrection. The way toward this goal is the process of resurrection.
On the day we were baptized, we should have realized that our old man, the natural man with the old life, was buried. Through that burial, the divine life, the eternal life, rose up within us, and our Christian walk began. A new life had come to live in us with the goal of bringing our whole being into resurrection. Between baptism and the goal there is the long process of arriving at the out-resurrection. Although our baptism signified that our old man had been buried and that another life had risen up to live in us, we did not live according to what was signified by our baptism. Most of the time we lived by our natural life, not by Christ. Because we still live so much by our natural life, the process of resurrection must continue.
The Epistle to the Philippians is composed in such a way that if we do not have experience, we will have difficulty understanding it. Remember that verses 8 through 11 of chapter 3 are one long sentence. In verse 8 Paul says that he counts all things as loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord. Furthermore, in verse 9 he tells us that he desires to be found in Christ in such a condition that he does not have his own righteousness out of the law but that he has God Himself lived out of him as his righteousness. All this is for the purpose of experientially knowing Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings and also of being conformed to His death in order to arrive, by any means, at the out-resurrection from the dead.
Arriving at the out-resurrection is the result, the issue, of being conformed to Christ’s death. To be conformed, molded, to the death of Christ means that we remain always in His death. 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.
Bible expositors have had a difficult time understanding the word resurrection in Philippians 3:11. They have found it especially difficult to decide whether it refers to the future resurrection at the time of the Lord’s coming back or to the experience of resurrection life today. Some have said that this resurrection cannot possibly refer to a present experience of resurrection but must refer only to the resurrection at the time of the Lord’s coming back when the dead saints will be raised up. Others, disagreeing with this view, have said that according to the context, it must refer to a present experience. During the years I have spent a great deal of time praying about this and seeking for the Lord’s understanding of it. I have come to see that this matter of the out-resurrection is a process that has a beginning and an ending. The time between the beginning and the ending is the period of the process. Thus, the out-resurrection spoken of in this verse does not refer strictly to something either present or future. Instead, it refers to the process that began on the day we were baptized and that will conclude when we arrive at the outstanding resurrection. As we move on toward the goal, we are in the process of being resurrected.
Our resurrection began with our regeneration. As sinners, we were all part of the old Adam. In every respect we were old. We were old in body, soul, and spirit. But when we believed in the Lord Jesus, something new entered into us. The Holy Spirit of God came in to regenerate us with the life of God. Thus, by regeneration our old, deadened spirit was resurrected. The Bible says that when we were saved, we were made alive (Eph. 2:5). Before we were saved, we were dead in offenses and sins (v. 1; Col. 2:13). But when we believed in the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God came in to enliven our deadened spirit with the divine life. At that time, part of our being, our spirit, was resurrected. But what about the other parts of our being, such as our mind, emotion, will, and heart? When we were regenerated in our spirit, these parts were not yet resurrected. Nevertheless, God’s goal is to resurrect our whole being.
Much of theology is too doctrinal and cannot be applied to our experience. Theology may merely tell us that if a believer dies before the Lord Jesus comes back, he will eventually be resurrected from the grave. This, of course, is correct, but it is not a very practical teaching. The Bible reveals that, according to God’s economy, we are first resurrected in our spirit. From that time onward, our Christian walk is a process of resurrection. Day by day God is processing us from the natural life to the resurrected life. In Philippians 3:10 Paul speaks of being conformed to Christ’s death. This is a continual process, not a once-for-all experience. As we know Him, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, we are under the process of being conformed to Christ’s death.
Suppose a certain brother is baptized, realizing that his natural life is being buried and that he has been enlivened by the divine life. From that time onward, he begins to walk toward the goal of having his entire being brought into resurrection. He loves the Lord and prays to the Lord with the expectation that eventually every part of him will be resurrected. He begins to have the excellency of the knowledge of Christ and, one by one, he begins to count things as loss so that he may gain Christ and be found in Him in a condition of not having his own righteousness out of the law but of having God Himself lived out of him as his righteousness. He also begins to experientially know Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings. Gradually, he also begins to be conformed to the death of Christ. As he seeks the Lord and experiences Him, he spontaneously realizes, item by item, the things in him that have been terminated. For example, one day he may come to see that his love for his wife should not be a natural love. Thus, he may pray, “Lord, I confess that my love for my wife has been a natural love. Grant me the grace to live a crucified life with my wife.” This is to be conformed to Christ’s death in the particular matter of loving his wife. Several days later he may realize that even his contact with the saints has been too natural. He has cared for the saints and tried to shepherd them, but even in his shepherding he has been too natural. Therefore, he prays and confesses this matter to the Lord, asking Him for the grace to no longer shepherd the saints according to his natural life. He may pray, “Lord, I want to be conformed to Your death. Like You, I want to live a crucified life. When You were on earth, You did not love people or care for them according to the natural life. Everything You did was in resurrection. Lord, grant me the grace that from now on I will not shepherd Your saints in my natural life but in You.” Through this experience he becomes conformed to the death of Christ in this matter also. Item by item, he is conformed to Christ’s death. The more he is conformed to Christ’s death in this way, the more his being is resurrected. In loving his wife and in shepherding the saints, he is resurrected.
We need to point out that this process has nothing to do with the improvement of behavior. It is not something ethical or religious but altogether a matter of transformation through the divine life, of having the natural life terminated and of being brought into the divine life.
Let us now consider Paul’s situation regarding this matter when he wrote the Epistle to the Philippians. Do you believe that he was thoroughly resurrected at that time? I do not believe this. At least a small percentage of his being must still have been natural; it was not yet Paul the apostle but still Saul of Tarsus. On the way to Damascus he was enlightened and knocked down to the ground. On that day he was saved, and his spirit was resurrected. Nevertheless, his whole being was not resurrected at that time. However, a great deal more of his being, probably more than ninety-five percent, had been resurrected. Because he was not fully in resurrection, he was still endeavoring to arrive at the out-resurrection from the dead. He was still in the process.
My burden in this chapter is to point out to you that our Christian walk is a matter of death and resurrection. Today we all are on the way to the out-resurrection from the dead. Paul desired to be conformed to Christ’s death so that, by any means, he might arrive at the out-resurrection from the dead. As we have pointed out, this does not refer merely to the resurrection of the dead in the future. The future resurrection of the dead will not be a resurrection unto life but unto judgment. When the dead unbelievers are resurrected, they will be judged. The believers, however, are resurrected from the dead. This is a resurrection not unto judgment but unto life. Thus, we are being resurrected not for judgment but for life. Day by day and little by little, we are being resurrected unto life. Every time I am resurrected a little more, I have more life. Each step of the process of the out-resurrection from the dead is unto life. The Christian walk is not a matter of behavior or ethics; it is a process of resurrection. We are being processed into resurrection. We are all in this process, and we are all in resurrection. The difference between us is a matter of degree. For example, one brother may be fifty-five percent resurrected and another brother, forty-five percent.
We need to forget the teachings about the improvement of behavior. Do not try to love others, to control your temper, or to be a good husband or wife. Instead, endeavor to be conformed to Christ’s death. You may still be under the concept that you must improve your behavior. But the only thing you need to do is to be conformed to the death of Christ. I admit that this is much easier to say than it is to practice. In this matter we need Christ to help us. I have no burden to help you control your temper or be a good wife or husband. My burden is to charge you to be conformed to the death of Christ. As you are about to love someone, be conformed to His death. As you are about to lose your temper, be conformed to His death. As you are about to go somewhere or do something, be conformed to His death. Simply be conformed to the death of Christ. Unbelievers cannot be conformed to Christ’s death because they do not have the Holy Spirit within them. But because we have the Holy Spirit within us and because we have been regenerated with the divine life, we can be conformed to the death of Christ.
We need to see the vision that God’s economy is not a matter of ethics or religion but of being conformed to the death of Christ. This means that we need to be buried and remain always in death to be conformed to Christ’s death. However, time after time we come out of the tomb and thereby stop being conformed to Christ’s death. Often we live and act in a natural way, even in doing spiritual things or scriptural things. We may act according to the Scriptures, but we are not conformed to the death of Christ in doing so. Rather, we are in our natural life. It is easy for Christians to give up evil things, but it is very difficult to be conformed to the death of Christ and not to do anything by our natural life. Nearly fifty years ago I gave up the sinful things, but I am still learning how to be conformed to Christ’s death. We all were born natural, raised to be natural, and educated and trained to be natural. We are continually doing things in a natural way. This is why it is so difficult for us to drop the self. In so many things we are not yet resurrected.
As long as we are not in resurrection, we cannot experience Christ, because Christ today is in resurrection. Even if you are a Christian, you cannot experience Christ if you remain in the natural life. But when you are willing to be conformed to Christ’s death and are spontaneously brought into resurrection, you will meet Christ in resurrection. Here, in resurrection, Christ becomes our experience. Take being nice as an example. The sisters are usually very nice. This niceness, however, is natural. When some sisters hear this, they may decide to no longer be nice. But to do that is to be sinful. The way is neither to be nice nor to not be nice; it is to be conformed to the death of Christ. Whoever we are, whether we are young, middle-aged, or elderly, we all need to be conformed to the death of Christ. Even the teenagers need to be put into the mold of Christ’s death and conformed to it. If we are not conformed to the death of Christ, we simply cannot experience Him.
In speaking of the resurrection in verse 11, Paul specifically speaks of the out-resurrection. This indicates that Paul wanted to be in the outstanding resurrection. He did not simply want to graduate; he wanted to be the valedictorian, an outstanding graduate. Paul desired this because he realized that by this outstanding resurrection he was experiencing Christ, was partaking of Him, and was enjoying Him. Here in this resurrection Christ was truly the life-giving Spirit to him.
In our daily living we need to learn to practice one thing: to check whether we are conformed to the death of Christ before doing anything. Do not say that a certain thing is good, scriptural, spiritual, or heavenly. The thing you plan to do may be very heavenly or spiritual, but in doing it you may not be heavenly or spiritual. It is not a matter of how we do a certain thing; it is a matter of who is doing it, we or Christ, the natural life or the resurrected life. Even singing a hymn to God is wrong if we sing it in the natural way. Our singing, and our praises also, must be in resurrection. Do not question whether something is good or bad, right or wrong. Instead, check whether or not you are conformed to the death of Christ in doing it. If you are being conformed to His death, you will be in resurrection, and in resurrection you will meet Christ, experience Christ, and enjoy Christ. Christ today is the life-giving Spirit in resurrection. If you are not in resurrection, you need to repent in order that you may be brought into resurrection. Then in resurrection you will meet Christ.
Because Christians do not realize this, they exert very little influence on the people around them. But a Christian who is in the process of resurrection should influence others. Today’s Christians have so little influence. We, however, must not be a continuation of today’s Christianity. We must be known by our experience of being conformed to Christ’s death.
We need to forget everything ethical or religious and concentrate on practicing to be conformed to the death of Christ so that by any means we may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead. I can testify that day after day I experience Christ and enjoy Christ in this way. This is the message of the book of Philippians.
We will continue to be processed into resurrection until our whole being is resurrected. Then we will simply need to wait for our body to be redeemed, that is, for our body to be resurrected. This was Paul’s meaning in Philippians 3. He was in the process of being resurrected by being conformed to the death of Christ.
Other verses prove that the out-resurrection spoken of in Philippians 3:11 is not merely a future event but a present process. Romans 6:4 and 5 say that as we have been buried in the likeness of Christ’s death, so we will also walk in newness of life. This means that we will be resurrected in the likeness of His resurrection. This likeness is the newness of life.
Romans 8:10 and 11 say that we have Christ within us, that our body is dead because of sin, but that our spirit is life because of righteousness. Furthermore, the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead will give life to our mortal body so that our body may enjoy resurrection life. This is not only a future matter; it is the process of resurrection that we are undergoing today.
In 2 Corinthians 1:8 and 9 Paul says that he was excessively burdened, beyond power, and even despaired of living; he also says that he had the response of death in himself. Nevertheless, God, who raises the dead, sustained him by the power of resurrection. In 2 Corinthians 4:10 Paul says that he was always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus might be manifested in his body. In verse 16 of the same chapter he says that the outer man is decaying, but the inner man is being renewed day by day. This is the process of the resurrection. We will continue in this process until we arrive at the goal of the out-resurrection. This is the way to experience Christ.
This word must not be mere doctrine to us; it is something that we need to practice in our daily living. In whatever we do, we should ask whether or not we are being conformed to the death of Christ. We need to be conformed to His death so that by any means we may arrive at the out-resurrection from the dead. This is the only way for the Lord to go on in His recovery, the only way for the Lord to build up His church, the only way for Him to prepare His bride, and the only way for us to bring the Lord back. The unique way is to be conformed to the death of Christ so that we may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead.
