"Paul's Letter to the Philippians — The Witness of the Apostle Paul — Losing All but Gaining Christ”

Paul’s own example is now set forth as ours.  He had sacrificed so much (he says “all”) for the sake of Christ and his will.  Grace was now to be the overriding theme of what God was doing in this dispensation.  What did he have to gain as a believer is the great question here?  The answer, he writes, is “Christ”.  He describes it as “winning” Christ, not having his own righteousness.  He adds that this will require great suffering in this life.   This suffering that he desired so greatly to share even calls “the sufferings of Christ”.  Furthermore, that end, it seemed, was not guaranteed, either, for he uses the word “if” in regard to it.  But that is not the end of what he writes here for he calls this high goal, for him, the highest of all, “the resurrection from the dead”.  Today we will only introduce this subject for it is worthy of several studies.