If Ye then be Risen with Christ - Dead unto Sin, Alive unto God

• Being Made Conformable Unto His Death - Rom 12:2, admonishes all believers: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”. Tit 2:12 also exhorts, “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world”. And 1 John 2:17 proclaims, “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever ”. Who does the “Conforming”? In both the phrases “… be not conformed to this world” and “… but be ye transformed”, God is the One Who both restrains conformity to this world and initiates spiritual transformation, or salvation. This is why a citation such as 2 Cor 5:17 is so vitally important as it pinpoints the fact that a dead soul has been regenerated – or given eternal life – by the work of God, and by the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. Repentance has to do with a “change of mind”. When a person becomes a child of God he is transformed spiritually. All three Persons of the Holy Trinity are intimately involved in an individual’s redemption and transformation. Rom 8:29 says, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren”. To know God is to be known of Him, or to be saved, as we find in Gal 4:9, “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God …”. Paul’s desire was to “know” (or experience) God in the most intimate way possible. Of course, such a desire is the direct result of God working both to will and to do of his good pleasure in Paul’s life , as Php 2:13 says, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” . To be thus “conformed” is to be wholly identified with Christ. The elect are “… conformed to the image of his Son …” and “… fashioned like unto his glorious body…”. The first verse refers to believers' receiving the Spirit of Christ and the desire to obey God’s commandments, patterned after the Lord Jesus Christ and describes the salvation that God has orchestrated, according to 2 Cor 4:3-4. The latter verse refers to believers’ receiving their glorified spiritual bodies on the Last Day, or Judgment Day, which will be the end of this sin-cursed universe and the end of time. May God so conform us to His will as 1 Pet 5:10 affirms, “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

Php 3:10-11 "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead."

Rom 8:28-30 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

Php 3:21 “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned [confirmed] like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”

Php 1:4-6 “Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he [God] which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”.

• The Fellowship of His Sufferings - We learn from Psa 66:10-12: “For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place”. Notice the role of suffering that God is highlighting in this verse. This is a divine pattern established by the Lord Jesus that the Apostle Paul wanted to emulate, as we read in Php 3:10: “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death”. Suffering is an important part of a christian’s life but it brings to light the fact that God uses adversity as a means for the child of God to “grow in grace”. Refinement hurts! naturally, this process is by no means easy, as Heb 12:11 underscores: “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby”. Yet, Rom 8:18 gives us much hope: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us”. 1 Pet 4:13 adds, “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy”. It is noteworthy that even the Lord Jesus had to suffer both physically and, more importantly, spiritually as He endured the equivalent of eternal damnation in Hell for His people, as Heb 2:10 reminds us: “For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings”. 2 Cor 1:5-7 also reveals that God uses our own hardships to encourage others, who will one day face similar trials.

2 Cor 1:5-7 “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.”

Rom 8:16-17 “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

2 Cor 10:9-10 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

• Reckon Ye also Yourselves to be Dead Indeed unto Sin, but Alive unto God - But why does Php 3:10 state, “… being made conformable unto his death”? After all, don’t we read this in John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life”. While this is certainly true, we still need to discover why God uses the specific words that He did in Php 3:10. I believe that Rom 6:3-11 provides the answer. Just as Christ died and rose again, someone who has become “born from above” experiences the same as what Rom 8:10 clarifies, dead to sin but alive unto God: “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness”. This is the reason a child of God is instructed in Luke 9:23, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me”. We discover another aspect of fellowship, or salvation, in 1 John 1:6-7: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin”. Here God highlights a vital facet of the Christian life as walking (or living) in “the light” as opposed to walking in “darkness”, which was our spiritual status prior to salvation. “… being made conformable unto his death …” relates to the fact that the believer is to follow the pattern outlined in Rom 6:11, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord”.

Rom 6:3-11 “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Col 3:5-11 “Mortify [or put to death] therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. 8But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 11Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.”

• I might Attain unto the Resurrection of the Dead - Thus far as we have been studying Php 3:10-11, we have learned a number of things: 1) To “… know him …” has everything to do with salvation, as Luke 1:77 states: “To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins”. It also implies a willingness to be obedient to the Bible, according to 1 John 2:3: “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments”. 2) To know (or experience) “… the power of his resurrection …” has to do with the greatest display of God’s power as He raised the Lord Jesus from the dead, even as He raises His elect from the dead spiritually. Rom 6:5 concludes, “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection”. 3) To identify with the “… fellowship of his sufferings …” is a prerequisite of the Christian life, as Rom 8:17 reminds us, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together”. 4) “… Being made conformable unto his death …” relates to the fact that the believer is to follow the pattern outlined in Rom 6:11, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Now we want to consider Php 3:11, “If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead”. Nearing the end of his life, Paul, under divine inspiration, utters the words in 2 Tim 4:6-8, “... there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness ...”. It should be noted that a “crown of righteousness” is not an additional reward of some sort; but it is a reference to the precious gift of eternal life. It is God Himself, Who is both a believer’s hope and reward. The resurrection of the dead will occur on the Last Day, or Judgment Day, which coincides with the end of this world, the end of time, and the ushering in of eternity for both the saved and the unsaved, “... they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation ...”.

Php 3:10-11 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

2 Tim 4:6-8 “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

1 Cor 15:20-24 “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 24Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.”