Section 5
"attain to the out-resurrection" imply a goal. This goal, mentioned in Philippians 3:14, is the out- resurrection in Philippians 3:11. Hence, to attain to the out-resurrection is to arrive at the goal. In verses 12 and 13 Paul confessed that he did not reckon himself as one who had attained to this goal. But forgetting the things behind and stretching forward to the things before, he pur sued toward the goal of the out-resurrection.
The goal is the out-resurrection. To say that Christ is the goal is to speak in a general way according to verses 8 and 9 of Philippians 3. But to speak in a specific way, the goal is the out- resurrection. If we consider verse 14 in relation to verse 11, we shall see that the goal must be the out-resurrection. Therefore, in general the goal is Christ, but in particular the goal is the out- resurrection.
Now 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? Some may think that we must wait until the coming age to reach the goal. But if we do not arrive at the goal in this age, we shall not attain to it in the next age. We must endeavor to arrive at the goal dur ing our lifetime.