Triumphantly Run the Race for the Prize – the Out-Resurrection from the Dead!

In order for us to arrive at the out-resurrection and therefore obtain the prize, we need to triumphantly run the race for the prize; the result of being conformed to Christ’s death is that we main attain to the out-resurrection from the dead.

Paul aspired and desired fervently to pursue Christ toward the goal; he knew what the prize was, and he wanted to gain the prize.

Do we know what is the goal of our Christian life? Do we know what is the prize?

According to the apostle Paul, the prize of our Christian race is the out-resurrection from the dead.

All men will be resurrected when the Lord returns, in order to be judged before Him; some will have the resurrection unto life while others it will be unto death.

But besides this resurrection, there’s the extra resurrection, the outstanding resurrection, as the prize to the Lord’s overcomers.

And this prize will not come as a surprise to the overcoming saints, for they have been allowing the death of Christ to operate in them and every part of their inner being has been resurrected, so that they would just enter into the out-resurrection.

This is what we aspire toward, that our whole being would go through death and resurrection, that all the inner parts of our being would be brought into resurrection so that we may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead.

Today we are in a process, the process of resurrection; in this process, every part of our inward being – our mind, emotion, and will – is being resurrected.

Today we have to admit that our mind still thinks its own thoughts and has its own concepts that are not according to God, our emotions have feelings and sentiments which do not reflect God’s feelings, and our will makes choices without being one with God.

So we are in the process of death and resurrection, that is, we’re being conformed to Christ’s death so that we may have every part of our being resurrected and so that we may arrive at the goal to gain the prize of the out-resurrection.

We need to open our mind, emotion, and will to the Lord, so that He may make His home in us, transform us, renew us, and conform us to His image.

Furthermore, as we go through the sovereignly arranged circumstances, things, matters, and situations in our daily life, we need to allow the Lord to press us in the mold of Christ’s death so that we may experience the power of His resurrection.

May we let the Lord operate in us and may we not try to escape death; may we allow our natural man with all its issues and manifestations to be put to death so that the resurrection life of Christ may operate in us.

Triumphantly Run the Race for the Prize – the Out-Resurrection from the Dead!

For us to attain to the out-resurrection is for us to arrive at the out-resurrection; this requires us to triumphantly run the race for the prize (1 Cor. 9:24-26; 2 Tim. 4:7-8; Heb. 12:1-2).

On one hand, our Christian life is a life of living Christ in a normal way by turning to our spirit and learning to be one spirit with the Lord.

On the other hand, our Christian life is a race, and we all run the Christian race to obtain the prize – the out-resurrection from the dead.

Paul spoke concerning this in 1 Cor. 8:24-26; all run the race, but one receives the prize; therefore, we need to run in this way, that we may lay hold.

When we run the race, we need to exercise self-control in all things to obtain an incorruptible crown.

We run not as though without a clear aim, and we box not as though beating the air – we have a definite goal and aim.

Every believer has a course or race to run, which is ordained by God.

In Acts 20:22-24 Paul speaks about this; he saw that the race the Lord gave him to run holds persecutions, imprisonment, suffering, and even death, but this is what the Lord wants him to do.

We don’t know what our race entails, but we are here to triumphantly run the race for the prize – the out-resurrection from the dead.

There may be suffering, persecution, difficulties, and pain, but we want to finish our course.

We are like a runner in a race who is desperate to be first so that he may obtain the prize.

As Christians, we’re in a race similar to those in the Olympic Games; by any means, we want to triumphantly run the race for the prize to arrive at the goal of the out-resurrection.

We all need to have a sense of desperation infused into us, so that we may run the race with endurance in order to desperately attain to the out-resurrection.

The goal is that we would have the fullest enjoyment and gaining of Christ, and the prize is the uttermost enjoyment of Christ in the millennial kingdom; this prize is a reward to the victorious runners of the New Testament race.

For us to triumphantly run the race for the prize, we need to first forget everything that is behind and stretch forward toward what is before to gain Christ in a fresh, new way.

We may be a Christian for many years and we may have had many experiences of Christ, but our attitude should be that we have not yet obtained, we have not yet been perfected.

We should not regard ourselves as those who have obtained the full enjoyment of Christ or the full maturity in life.

Yes, we have obtained the common salvation by the common faith (1 Tim. 1:14-16), but we are still pursuing Christ in order to gain Him.

We want to triumphantly run the race for the prize so that we may attain to the out-resurrection.

Like the apostle Paul, we have been regenerated but we’re not yet perfected or matured in life.

We have gained something of Christ, Christ has gained us a little, but we have not yet obtained, nor have we been perfected; we are still pursuing Christ.

We do not consider ourselves to have gained but rather, we do one thing: we forget the things which are behind us and stretch forward to the things which are before us to obtain the prize.

We are not content with where we are and what we have, we do not linger in our past experiences of Christ, and we do not consider that we have attained; we want to triumphantly run the race for the prize in order to attain to the out-resurrection.

We want the extra portion of the enjoyment of Christ, the out-resurrection spoken of in Phil. 3:11.

All believers who die before the Lord returns will be resurrected, but there will be an extraordinary resurrection, an outstanding resurrection, as a reward for the overcoming believers.

As believers in Christ who are running the New Testament race, we need to triumphantly run the race for the prize.

We should not be satisfied merely with being saved and with enjoying the Lord a little, not backsliding in the world, and being in the meetings of the church.

Yes, all believers and unbelievers will be resurrected, and there are two classes of resurrection: resurrection to life and resurrection to condemnation (John 5:28-29).

The believers will have resurrection to life, unto salvation, but unbelievers will be resurrected after the millennium unto condemnation, unto perdition.

But we want more. We want the prize: the out-resurrection. We want the extra resurrection which is at the beginning of the millennium for us to rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years.

For this, we want to run the race with endurance.

Like Paul, we do not know whether we have attained until the last moment; it is only when writing the last epistle, 2 Timothy, that he knew that he had finished his course.

We want to triumphantly run the race for the prize so that we may finish the course and arrive at the goal to gain the prize, the out-resurrection from the dead.

Lord Jesus, we do not consider ourselves to have attained to the goal, but we forget what is behind us and stretch forward to gain more of Christ! Amen, Lord, we want to pursue toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God! We want to triumphantly run the race for the prize of the out-resurrection! Oh Lord, we want to gain more of Christ today! Gain more of our being. We press on toward the goal for the prize. We forget what is behind and we do not linger in our past experiences of Christ, no matter how genuine and sweet they are. Keep us running the New Testament race until we attain to the out-resurrection from the dead! Oh Lord, we want to gain the prize! You laid hold of us, and now we want to lay hold of You. You gained us, and now we want to gain You! Keep us running the race with endurance so that we may finish our course and win the prize!

The result of being Conformed to Christ’s Death is that we may Attain to the Out-Resurrection from the Dead

According to Phil. 3:10-11, the result of being conformed to the death of Christ is that we may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead.

The condition for us to attain to the out-resurrection is death; when we are conformed to the death of Christ, out-resurrection will follow.

This is a cycle; first, we know Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, and then we attain to the out-resurrection from the dead.

The power of Christ’s resurrection enables us to enter into the fellowship of His sufferings for the Body and to be conformed to His death.

The more we are conformed to the mold of the death of Christ, the more Christ’s resurrection life is dispensed into us.

May we remain in this process, in this cycle, of being conformed to Christ’s death so that His resurrection may operate in us.

On one hand, we need to triumphantly run the race for the prize to attain to the out-resurrection from the dead.

On the other hand, we need to be conformed to the death of Christ so that we may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead.

For us to be conformed, molded, to the death of Christ means that we remain always in His death (Rom. 6:6; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:10).

The death of Christ is our home, the mold into which we have been put; we simply need to remain here.

The more we remain in Christ’s death, the more the power of His resurrection can operate in us and the resurrection life can be manifested in us.

If we are being conformed to the death of Christ, we will be in the resurrection life of Christ, and in resurrection, we will meet Christ, experience Christ, and enjoy Christ (John 11:25; Eph. 3:8; Phil. 1:8, 19, 21a; 2:5-8; 3:12).

How can we meet Christ, enjoy Christ, and experience Christ?

We first need to be conformed to the death of Christ so that we may enjoy Him, meet Him, and experience Him in His resurrection.

We love the Lord, but we do not see Him; we exult in Him with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory, though we have never seen Him with our physical eyes.

We are not here to make a display or to show others the power of Christ’s resurrection; we are here to enjoy the Lord, partake of Him, and grow in Him.

If we remain in the death of Christ, allowing ourselves to be molded into its likeness, the outcome will be that every part of our being will be gradually resurrected.

We are here, in the death of Christ; we have been put into His death by our baptism.

We simply need to remain. We need to allow ourselves to be molded into the likeness of His death so that we may have every part of our inner being gradually resurrected.

This is a gradual process; it does not take place overnight, but at the end of the year we realize that we have gained something more of Christ than when we had at the beginning of the year.

May every day be a day of out-resurrection; may we open to the Lord every day and let Him conform us to His death so that we may be gradually resurrected in every part of our inner being.

We do not know how long this process will take, and we do not know when is the end of our course, but we want to triumphantly run the race for the prize, and we want to let the Lord conform us to His death so that we may attain to the out-resurrection.

Lord Jesus, we want to arrive at the out-resurrection by being conformed to the death of Christ. Keep us here, Lord, in Your death, throughout the day. May we remain always in the death of Christ so that we may experience Christ and the power of His resurrection. May we be conformed to the death of Christ so that we may be in the resurrection life of Christ. Oh Lord, we open to You. We want to gain more of You. Grant us the experiences we need for us to remain in the death of Christ and attain to the out-resurrection. May we allow ourselves to be molded into the likeness of the death of Christ so that every part of our being would be gradually resurrected. Do this in us, Lord. We just want to cooperate with You. We want to triumphantly run the race for the prize, and we want to let You conform us to Your death so that we may attain to the out-resurrection!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ron Kangas in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-Study of Philippians, pp. 194-195 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Knowing, Experiencing, and Enjoying Christ as Revealed in Philippians (2023 Memorial Day Weekend Conference), week 6, entitled, Attaining to the Out-resurrection.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Attaining to the Out-resurrection, outline via, The Church in Chicago.
  – The word of righteousness – the believers’ crown, article via, Affirmation and Critique.
  – Gaining Christ—the Goal of the Believers’ Pursuit of Christ, outline via, New Zealand FTT website.
  – Philippians (1) – Being found in Christ, knowing Christ by experiencing Him,a nd arriving at the outstanding resurrection, outline via, LSM.
  – To obtain Christ by experiencing the power of His resurrection, a portion via, Life-Study of Philippians, Chapter 52.
  – Being Found in Christ, Knowing Christ, and Pursuing Christ, outline via, The Church in Regina.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Long as my life shall last, / Teach me Thy way; / Where’er my lot be cast, / Teach me Thy way. / Until the race is run, / Until the journey’s done, / Until the crown is won, / Teach me Thy way. (Hymns #406 stanza 3)
  – There’s a race for us to run—Hallelujah, / And a way for us the race to win. / To all those who have begun—Hallelujah, / God has spoken, “Look away to Him!” … / Look away into His face—Hallelujah, / He who’ll finish what He did begin. / O what grace to run the race—Hallelujah— / We obtain by looking off to Him! (Hymns #1206 stanzas 1 and 5)
  – May the Cross put me to death / That on Christ I may rely; / May His Holy Spirit fill, / That Himself I may apply. / May His death so work in me / Daily deeper than before, / That my self may be destroyed / And His life thru me may pour. (Hymns #412 stanza 5)