Philippians 3:8 “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 ¶ And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”
Under Divine Inspiration, to exhort us to greater service to our Lord, Paul shares with us his allegiance and dedication to “Christ Jesus” our “Lord”. He tells us that he “suffered the loss of all things, and” did “count them but dung, that” he “may win Christ” and that he would not claim his “own righteousness, which is of the law” “If by any means” he “might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”. He “suffered the loss of all things, and” did “count them but dung, that” he “may win Christ”; that is, he had given up all carnal joys and promotions, that he might feel and experience that blessed and holy nearness to our Lord and enjoy showing his love to Him by keeping His Commandments (John 14:15). Now, he refused to declare his own “righteousness”, but he vigorously declared “the righteousness which is of God by faith” so that he “may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death” and “If by any means” he “might attain unto the resurrection of the dead”. He did not say, that he had done these things so that he could obtain “the resurrection of the dead”, as if he might by some “means” of his works secure his “resurrection” from the dead. To “attain unto the resurrection of the dead” is to live according to the High Spiritual Truth of “the resurrection of the dead”. Like Paul, we ought to consider how great a thing our Lord has done for us, in that He raised Himself from the dead after totally paying our sin-debt, and He has assured us the one blessed and holy day, He will similarly raise every one of His Children from the dead to live with Him Eternally in Heaven. Knowing what our Lord has graciously and mercifully done for us, we ought to joyfully structure and discipline our lives so that others will take “knowledge of” us “that” we have “been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13); that we might live and behave commensurate with the Divine Standards of love and commitment and allegiance to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.