Bullets for the Battle

The Bullet of Victorious Living: “To Stand Out,” Part 1 of 3

… that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:10-11)

The Apostle Paul, probably the greatest Christian who ever lived, outlined the five keys to the victorious Christ Life in Philippians 3:10-11. These keys must have been written for coaches in a special way. The five steps are absolute essentials if an athlete is to “run to win” and conquer as a champion (I Corinthians 9:24-27).

In Philippians 3:10, Paul gives us the four “musts” if we are to reach the goal of 3:11. Here Paul gives us the paramount aim of his life … a present resurrection that lifts his life clearly above the “dead ambition” of people living around him. This word for resurrection is used only here in the Greek New Testament. It means out-resurrection or exanastasis! We get our word exit from the Greek ex. Ana means again and stasis means to stand. So Paul’s great goal as a Christian is to “stand out again” and again and again above the lesser driven men who give themselves to meager purposes all around him. In an athletic contest only the champion “stands out” and that’s because he alone has paid the price in knowing and applying the four essentials.