The High Calling

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The High Calling of God

by David A. DePra

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection out from the

dead......Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but

this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and

reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward

the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Phil. 3:13-14)

What is "the high calling of God in Jesus Christ?" And what is

"prize" of that high calling?

Paul, in his epistle to the Philippians, tells us that this high

calling is his reason for living. And he tells us that there is a great

prize he is pressing toward in that high calling. His words apply

to each and everyone of us. They stand at the center of God's

purpose in our lives.

Reading all of Phillippians 3 reveals that the above verses

are really the conclusion of the subject Paul is talking about in

the chapter. Therefore we must put first things first. We must

go back to verse 4 and begin reading. Only then will we fully

grasp the meaning of this spiritual teaching.

Suffering the Loss

In verses 4-6, Paul lists all of his credentials -- all of those

things which could possibly commend him to God. He says,

Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other

man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I

more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the

tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the

law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church;

touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. (Phil.

3:4-6)

Then, in verses 7-8, Paul tells us that despite his excellent

spiritual heritage, he counts it as nothing before God:

But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency

of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have

suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I

may win Christ.

All that had accrued to Paul as the result of law-keeping he

counted as lost. He was "forgetting" it; "neglecting" to carry it

forth with him. He was moving on ahead to something better.

Now before we go on, it is vital to note that Paul does not list

one sinful or bad thing which he is counting as lost. No. What

he lists are all good things. They are all of the things which he

was using to try to establish his own righteousness before God.

Yet Paul says, "I suffer the loss of all these things that I may win

Christ." (Phil. 3:8)

Most Christians will tell you that they want to suffer the loss of

their sin and bad habits. But how about the things about ourselves

over which we take pride -- especially spiritual pride? There are

many things about each one of us which we subtlely use to

commend ourselves to God: Our works, our spiritual growth, our

talents, our gifts, and other religious accomplishments. But God

says, "You must suffer the loss of these. You have a high calling

OUT of those things. They cannot help you win Christ."

That I May Win Christ

Note that there is a CONDITION attached to "winning Christ."

"Winning Christ" is conditioned upon suffering the loss of all

things. Do you see that? Paul is clearly saying that he counts all

things as loss, indeed, suffers the loss of all things, "that I may

win Christ." The loss of all things is necessary to win Christ.

Paul then goes on to describe what he means by "win Christ."

....That I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine

own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through

the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

(Phil. 3:9)

This verse is clear. To "win Christ" is to be found in Him, not

having your own righteousness, but having HIS righteousness.

And as we have seen, in order to be found having the

righteousness of Christ, you have to lose your OWN

righteousness.

That is what it means to "win Christ." You have to be stripped

of every religious facade and be exposed for who you are before

God. Then you will embrace HIS righteousness. Paul then tells

us some of the results of "winning Christ" and embracing His

righteousness by faith:

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the

fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to His

death. (Phil. 3:9-10)

To "win Christ" means to have His righteousness by faith. But

then there are results to that: Knowing Him, the power of His

resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings.

Paul cannot here be talking merely about a legal position. He

is not referring to the fact that we are legally imparted with the

righteousness of Christ because of the Redemption. We are.

It's just that this isn't what he is talking about in these verses. If

having the righteousness of Jesus Christ by faith is merely a legal

position, then how could it result in knowing Christ? Or the power

of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings? It could

not. Paul is therefore talking about something more than a legal

position. He is talking about a death and resurrection experience.

We must actually be made conformable to Christ's death, and

then answer God's call upward to His resurrection.

Thus, we see what it really means to "win Christ." I "win Christ"

if I lose ME. In other words, I must lose my life in order to find it

in Him. I must lose my righteousness and fully rest in His. This is

the gospel of grace. And if we don't get this straight, nothing else

will work. It is the foundation upon which all else is built.

Made Conformable to His Death

The last part of verse 10, "being made comformable to His

death," really should, for the sake of English clarity, be placed at

the beginning of the verse. Verses 10-11 ought to read, "Being

made conformable to His death, (so) that I may know Him, the

power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, if

by any means I might attain unto the resurrection out of the

dead."

As mentioned, to "win Christ" I must lose ME. I must die to

myself -- to all that is both good and bad about me. Only if I

lose my righteousness can I have His. THAT, Paul says, is what

it means to "win Christ." It really means to be "made conformable

to His death," so that I can be raised in Him.

Have you ever thought that to "win Christ" you had to be made

conformable to His death? Sure. We are baptized into His

death. We are planted together with Him in His death. You can't

have the resurrection of Christ unless you are made conformable

to His death. Then you win Him. Then you can know Him, the

power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings.

Losing Our Life

Now all of that is a process. It begins with a once for all

decision to give myself to God. But that is only the beginning of

the race. It is only the beginning of my answer to the high calling

of God. I still must press on toward the prize of the high calling.

The conclusion of this process Paul is describing is, as

mentioned, is described in verses 13-14. Having told us he must

lose all things about himself so that he might win Christ, and then

having shown us that winning Christ will result in being made

conformable to His death, Paul then explains what the real goal

of these things: If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection

out of the dead.

It could not work any other way. If you win Christ, and are

made conformable to His death, you will then be able to attain

unto the resurrection out of the dead.

Sure. You can't be raised out of the dead unless you die.

You cannot be raised with Christ unless you are first made

conformable to His death. Therefore, when Paul talks about

forgetting what is behind, he is talking about what it means to

DIE. He is talking about what it means to lose your life for Christ.

And when Paul talks about pressing forward, he is talking about

what it means to experience resurrection out of that old life.

Forgetting What is Left Behind

Paul goes on to state that this process he is in is not finished.

He is still in the middle of it:

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one

thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching

forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark

for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

What is it that Paul says he has not yet apprehended or

attained? The resurrection out of the dead. He says he is still in

the process of doing so, just as a runner who has yet to finish a

race is still in the process of running. But then he tells us the

pattern he uses to attain that resurrection out of the dead. He

says, "There one thing I have found I must always do if I am to

make progress. I must forget what I have suffered the loss of. I

must leave all those things behind. I must not drag them forward

and allow them to again entangle me in the old creation. No. I

must press forward and endure as a runner running a race

toward the prize."

First, we suffer the loss. Then we "forget" that which is behind,

that is, those very things we suffered the loss of. This is total and

complete surrender to God. A finished death. But what does this

really mean in a practical sense?

Death to the old life carries with it a complete severance from

the old. We "forget" the old life in the sense that we no longer

carry it's scars, it's effects, or even some of it's benefits forward

with us. No. We leave that behind. We die to it. We "forget" it.

And we press forward in a progressive resurrection to what lies

ahead.

There is much more involved here than sin. Remember, the

things Paul lost weren't sinful things. They were "good" things.

Most of them religious things. But he had to leave them; forget

them.

Unless I am able to leave behind the things I've lost, I have not

really "lost" them. I may no longer possess them, but they are

still possessing me. I am still trying to salvage some part of my

life as my own. I have not yet got it settled: I am not my own.

I have no right to any part of my life. Not if I want the "prize."

To "forget" what is behind isn't talking about memory. It is

talking about DETACHMENT. It is talking about the principle that

governs you. If my focus and goal is the resurrection, and I am

no longer living for myself, but for God, then I am going to sever

my ties with the old life. It won't matter any more. I am living for

something yet to come.

There are many practical ways in which we must "forget what

is behind." You have to come to the place where you surrender

to God everything about yourself: Your pride, your religiousity,

your self-made righteousness, and your spiritual goals. You no

longer reserve for yourself the right to determine either the

physical or spiritual outcome of your life. All of that is given unto

God. But that is not all. You also have to surrender every hope

and dream you ever had. You have to let go of every sin you

ever committed and every good work you ever performed. You

have to forgive every sin ever committed against you, and every

bad thing that ever happened to you. You have got to do what

Jesus said you must do if you want to be His disciple: You have

to lose your life. You have to experience what it means to no

longer belong to yourself. You have been bought with a price.

You belong to God. And you are a new creation.

Now, all of that might seem scary. Afterall, we DO want

certain things out of life. And we are all so terribly deceived into

thinking that God is sitting in heaven just waiting for the chance

to take things away from us. Or to allow something bad to

happen to us. But the fact is, total abandonment to God is the

only way we will ever have what we really want -- both here

and in the age to come.

God's attitude is never to take away from us. It is always to

give to us. But we won't let Him. We'd rather do it ourselves.

And so He lets us. But there is a better way. We can surrender

to God all things right now, and begin to abandon ourselves to

Him. Then we will have what He wants us to have. And that is

always best.

How do we begin doing all of this? Well, we can't DO it. But

God will see to it that we get to this place. He will get us to the

place where we are so tired of trying to do things our own way,

and so wearied of paying the consequences for our own actions,

that we will finally say, "God help me." Depletion and reduction.

Spiritual bankruptcy. These are the conditions necessary for us

to "forget what is behind."

Excess Baggage

If you were moving to a new location, would you carry with

you baggage which you knew you would never need? No.

Why? Because it would burden you. It would hinder you. You

would not be able to freely move ahead.

All of us have excess baggage we need to get rid of. We need

to "forget it; leave it behind. If we don't, we are going to try to run

the race carrying all of this excess baggage. We will never be

able to finish the race.

There are all shapes and sizes of excess baggage. Some of

the biggest pieces are regrets about the past. Perhaps it is clear

to us that some of our decisions in the past cost us dearly in life.

Maybe some of these had to do with sin. It is so easy to say

"what if...?," especially if the present isn't so pleasant, or if we are

continuing to experience the consequences of our bad choices.

But we must, sooner or later, discard this baggage. The past is

over. It is done. The question is no longer what we did in the

past. It is, "What are we going to do with the baggage NOW?"

All the decisions we make in life carry consequences. Some

of these are bad consequences which never go away. Other

consequences are the result of the sin of other people. But there

is nothing we can do about the past. We cannot fix sin -- whether

it be our sin or the sin of others -- nor many of the consequences.

BUT -- we can give all of these things to God. There is no way

to time travel into the past and make bad decisions good. But

we can obey God NOW. We can take our sin and confess it, and

we can surrender all of it's consequences into His hands. If we

do, then we are no longer carrying the burden. It belongs to God.

If we are going to go on with God, and experience resurrection

out of the dead, we are going to have to answer his upward call

OUT of the past. That means forgetting what lies behind -- both

the good and the bad. It means to get it settled once and for all:

I do not have the right to decide the outcome of my life. God

alone has that right. But if I will surrender to Him, the outcome will

be exactly what is best for us, and what will glorify Him now, and

in the ages to come.

God has a pattern for building a future. It applies both to our

natural future as well as our spiritual future. That pattern is this:

God always builds on rubble. He always takes what is trashed

and smashed and uses IT to build a new city. But in order for

Him to be able to do that, my old life must be reduced to rubble.

I must see it for what it is and then hand the rubble over to Him

unconditionally,

Nice Looking Baggage

Bad choices and experiences are hard to forget. They often

cause inbred bitterness towards God. We must let these go.

We must discard all of these ugly looking pieces of luggage. But

there is another kind of luggage which isn't so easy to discard:

Good looking baggage. It's hard to let go of these because they

aren't ugly. There are the "good" things I carry along with me as I

press forward in Christ. But ironically, these pieces of baggage

can be the most burdensome of all.

We read earlier how everything Paul counted as lost were

good things. They were all religious things which were of the Old

Covenant. But Paul said he had to suffer the loss of them

because they were serving as a substitute for the real

righteousness found only in Christ.

The trouble with the good things in our lives is that they make

us fall in love with our lives. Possessions tend to possess us.

We become self-sufficient and callous to our own needs. When

we carry all of these wonderful looking pieces of baggage, the

last thing we want to do is LOSE them. To the contrary, we want

to keep our eye on them all the more; protect them. In fact, most

of us try to buy "travel insurance" on these pieces of baggage.

We want to make sure we don't suffer any real loss of them on

our journey in the high calling of Jesus Christ.

But no. These too are excess pieces of baggage. They too

must be lost. They must be tossed on the luggage ramp and

discarded into the hand of God.

Now, all of this might seem really impossible. It may seem to

picture a Christian life which akin to that of a monk living

somewhere in a cave. And actually, most of the fanatical,

self-denying cults of the past and present stem from such a

misunderstanding. They are all attempts to accomplish through

flesh, what God only can accomplish through the power of His

resurrection.

But if surrendering all to God doesn't mean we must become

a monk living in a cave, how does it play out in a practical way?

For instance, it is wrong to love someone, be married, or have

children? Are we to "forget" these loved ones? It is wrong to

have possessions? Or to have a savings account?

No. In fact, the closer we get to God, the more we will care

about our loved ones. We will find out that surrendering them to

God will make us love them all the more, and will result in our

relationships with them being better, and unto God's glory.

To become DETACHED from these things does not mean that

I discard them physically. It means they no longer govern me.

I might have possessions, but what I own doesn't possess me.

I will do all that I do unto the glory of God. Rather than live for

myself, I'll be living for the One who died and rose for me.

Much of what is messed up in our lives is the result of our

getting our own way. Even if things seem to have worked out

after we have gotten our own way, there are spiritual

undercurrents which we cannot imagine. Living for myself is

NOT the normal state God created for man. It cannot bring life to

anything.

Paul is talking in Philippians about becoming DETACHED

from this life. He is talking about finding a freedom from the

things of this world which is only possible if I find my home and

anchor in Jesus Christ.

The New Birth

What we are really talking about here are the results of the

NEW BIRTH. If I am born again, I am no longer bound to this

realm the way I used to be. In me is ALREADY a detachment

from it. In me is ALREADY the potential for a new perspective

regarding this age and the age to come. Afterall, if I really am a

new creature in Jesus Christ, then I am not a new creature in

theory only. I really am a partaker of divine nature, and am

indwelt by the Holy Spirit. I should no longer function the way I

used to function. I am no longer born of this realm. I am born

into the kingdom of God. My spiritual senses should be geared

to that new realm.

The reason this isn't immediately evident is that we continue

to exist in a physical body which is geared to the natural and

carnal -- even after we are born again. Our physical body is

not born again. And because we have developed the habit of

being governed by our physical body, along with it's mind,

soulish power, and emotions, we easily continue following it's

pattern. But if we do overcome by faith in Christ, and are willing to

suffer the loss of all things, that which is born in us of God will

begin to emerge. Just as a baby begins to develope certain

sensory skills, and begins to live and act like a human being

acts, so will we begin to evidence the characteristics of a new

creation in Jesus Christ.

Now notice: This changed perception, and this eternal

detachment, is not something we sit down and decide to DO.

We cannot say to ourselves, "Ok, I believe this is true. So I'm

going to try to think differently. I'm going to think detached

thoughts and try to act like a new creature."

No. Detachment and spiritual aptitude are not conjured up.

They are the results something: Death and resurrection. As I

unconditionally hand myself over to God, and allow Him to make

me confomable to the death of Christ -- in actual and practical

ways -- what will emerge from death is the new creation. And it

will have those traits with it. I will find this new perspective and

this new freedom of detachment, and perhaps even wonder

where it came from.

Paul actually tells us later in Philippians 3 that the ability to

forget what is behind is a trait of spiritual maturity. He says, "Let

us, therefore, as many as be perfect ("mature" in Greek), be thus

minded." (Phil. 3:15) In other words, those who are mature in

Christ will have a perspective enabling them to leave behind

their life in the hand of God. Again, the new creature is going to

grow to have that kind of freedom as an inborn trait. A mature

creation in Christ will have it because it is natural for it to have it.

Leaving Behind Sin

This "leaving behind" is applicable, not only regarding the

past, but also for NOW. In other words, no matter what happens

presently, I can immediately leave it behind. I can refuse to allow

it to govern me, hinder me, or move me from my walk in Christ.

This is especially so with regard to sin. Once we commit sin

against God, there is only one reason it has power to come

between us and God: WE put it there. We don't believe God has

forgiven us. So we leave our sin there, and then blame God for

putting up the wall.

This must stop if we are going to go on with God in the high

calling in Jesus Christ. We are going to sin everyday. If not in

deed, then in word. If not in word, then in thought. If not in

thought, then in attitude. When do we think God forgives us for

these sins if not immediately? Does He forgive an hour after we

sin? Or maybe ten minutes? Or maybe if we put in some "guilt

time?" Or promise to do better? Maybe that's when He forgives

us. No. He forgives us immediately. Indeed, He already forgave

us long ago -- because of the Lamb which was slain before the

foundation of the world.

This does not mean we refuse to take responsibility for sin.

No. Believing and receiving forgiveness is HOW we take

responsibility for it. We take full responsibility and realize it

leaves us with no hope. And then, by faith, we embrace the

Truth that Jesus Christ has already taken that responsibility for

sin from us and bore it in Himself. And then we STAND in that by

faith against all that would move us.

The spiritually mature are MORE sensitive to sin. But this

makes them MORE sensitive to their need, and as a result,

MORE sensitive to the Truth of what Jesus has done.

The High Calling of God

Paul said he intended to "forget those things which were

behind -- both good and bad -- and reach forth unto those

things which were before." He then told us what was before

Him. He said,

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in

Christ Jesus.

What is this "high calling?" Now we are ready to see it.

Actually, the word "high" is a bit misleading in the English

translation. The phrase really ought to read "upward calling."

This upward calling is not a special calling for only a few. No.

ALL are being called upward. ALL have the upward calling. This

"upward calling" is a calling OUT OF DEATH. It is a call to

resurrection OUT OF death. Paul said, "I have suffered all of

these things, and been made conformable to His death, if by any

means I might attain the resurrection out of the dead."

This is a wonderful picture. The "upward calling" is the

resurrection out of the dead. It is a call UP and OUT of death to

all that God has for us in Christ.

Running the Race

Paul reinterates this Truth again and again in Philippians 3.

After he tells us that everything he has lost and everything he has

experienced is unto the possibility that he might attain unto the

resurrection out of the dead, he goes on to compare this calling

to a race. He says,

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one

thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching

forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark

for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil.

3:13-14)

During a race, you cannot allow yourself to be distracted by

anything around you. You cannot even allow yourself to be

distracted by your own fatigue or boredom. And the way you

fight off these distractions isn't by turning in on them and

attacking them. No. What you do is get your focus on the end of

the race. You focus on WHY you are there: The prize.

But what is the "prize" Paul is talking about here?

The meaning of this verse 14 is somewhat different than we

might expect. The English translation almost makes it sound as

if the "prize" Paul is pursuing is the high calling of Jesus Christ.

Is Paul saying that he is reaching forth, trying to qualify for some

"high calling" of God which few can obtain?

No. Paul is not trying to obtain a high calling. He already has

heard the "upward calling" of Jesus Christ. It is already his. ALL

who are in Christ have this upward calling. So Paul's "pressing

forth," or "pursuit," is not to obtain the upward calling. Rather, it

his answer to the upward call. Paul is pressing forth toward the

"prize" because he has heard the upward call of God.

Now if the upward call isn't the "prize," then what is?

Paul told us earlier. He said everything he was going through

was unto this end: If by any means I might attain unto the

resurrection out from the dead.

THAT resurrection is the prize. It is the prize which is waiting

for him at the end of the race called life. It is the goal and purpose

of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

So what we have is this: The upward call of God in Christ

Jesus IS unto the resurrection out from the dead. It is a call UP

and out of the things of death INTO the things of God. It is a call

UP and out of this life, to the point where we must become

detached from it. We must press forward and endure the race.

Our goal is waiting for us, fully in place for us to possess.

What Resurrection?

All that Paul is describing in Philippians 3 as his experience in

Jesus Christ is part of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ. It

is actually a description of the race he is running; of everything

that is working in him towards the goal: The resurrection out

from the dead.

The KJV actually translates this phrase in verse 11 as "the

resurrection from the dead." But it is not so in the Greek. The

Greek says, "the out (Greek - "ek") resurrection of the dead."

This is the only place in the Bible where such wording is used.

The picture is a resurrection OUT OF death.

What is this resurrecton "out from" the dead?

Well, one thing Paul cannot be talking about here is the FACT

of our resurrection in Christ through salvation. He cannot be

talking about the FACT of our new birth. He cannot be, for those

things are finished realities. We are either born again or we are

not. And if we are, we are raised with Christ. Not a little, but fully.

There is therefore nothing left for us to "attain" or "apprehend." In

Christ, then we ARE new creations. The old HAS passed away,

and all things ARE new." (II Cor. 5:17)

This is all present reality. The resurrection is as finished a

victory as is the death of Christ. Unless that is true, then we are

still in our sins. (I Cor. 15:17) We have no victory over sin, and

no power over the flesh. In fact, we aren't even born again. All of

those things are made possible only through the resurrection,

and are experienced only if we are NOW raised with Christ.

So, Paul cannot be talking about our present position in Christ

when he says, "If by any means I might attain unto the

resurrection out of the dead." He cannot be, because he has

ALREADY attained to THAT resurrection in Christ. We all have.

If we are Christians, we are raised with Christ. That is what

MAKES us Christians.

Paul is talking about something else. He must be. It was

something he had YET to attain. It was something for which he

had to press forward, and something upon which he had to focus

his life. This "resurrection out of the dead" was something Paul

was still in the process of attaining. Not one which is over and

done with.

So what is this resurrection OUT OF the dead?

Well, it is not a "different" resurrection than the one received at

salvation. Rather, it is that SAME resurrection -- being applied.

The resurrection OUT OF the dead is the resurrection life we

have received at salvation carrying us UP and OUT of the things

of death which are of the old creation. This resurrection OUT OF

the dead is exactly what it says it is: Resurrection OUT OF this

old creation, UP and INTO Christ -- in a practical and

experiential way -- right now.

Paul was given resurrection life at salvation. But he only

began the race at that point. He had not yet finished. He still

had to attain to all that this resurrection life held. The resurrection

of Christ was in the process of raising him UP and OUT of the

things of death.

The upward call of God in Jesus Christ is a call UP and OUT

OF our abode here, in this dead creation, into resurrection life. It

is a call to us to allow God to strip us of everything which died in

Christ, and to bring forth everything which was purchased

through the resurrection. It is an upward call to attain this NOW,

in this life. And then, when we pass on, it will be fully released in

the eternal ages.

Shedding the Old

When we receive Christ, we are given eternal life within. Our

old nature is put to death in Jesus, and we are imparted with new

life -- resurrection life. But this is WITHIN. Our spirits -- the

fundamental part of us -- is what is born again. The rest of us --

mind, will, emotions, and body -- are not yet born again. But

neither do they cease to exist. Neither are they changed. They

will continue to act the way they have always acted, unless we

yield them to the new life. This is what it means to "overcome."

Now notice: Despite the fact that our new birth is a totally

finished reality, it is not a stagnant life. No. It must grow and

mature. It must burst forth and emerge from the bondage of the

old creation -- from being govern by all that is of the old creation.

It must, through the process of overcoming, come to govern us.

This process is resurrection. It is what it means to "attain" to the

resurrection out of the dead. Through the power of the Holy

Spirit we are called UP and OUT of the things of death -- of all

that is of our old man in Adam -- into the new life which we have

in Christ Jesus.

So now we see what this "out-resurrection" really is. It is a

detachment from our old life -- not as a thing unto itself -- but

because we have been swallowed up in the NEW life. It is the

resurrection we have in Christ coming to govern us.

Perhaps one of the best examples in nature of what happens

to us through the new birth is what happens to a snake when it

sheds it's old skin. At some point in time, every snake begins a

process. It is a process whereby the old skin begins to decay,

and the new skin begins to form. The snake, as it were, receives

a "call" out of it's old skin, and begins to form a new skin. This all

happens because of the way a snake is made. God designed it

that way.

Now, before the snake can shed it's old skin, a new skin must

already be formed. It must be in place. That new skin is fully

developed inside of the old skin. This causes decay and

deterioration of that old, outward skin, until the snake can begin

to shed it. The snake then wiggles and rubs on whatever it can,

in order to discard the old and move forward in the new.

This is exactly what happens to us spiritually. Inside of us,

dwelling in the essence of our being, is new life. We ARE born

again. And that new life in Christ is fully alive and in tact, within

us. It is a finished reality.

This new life, however, must grow and develope. But there is

a problem. There is are traits and patterns of the OLD life to

contend with. Consequently, just as a snake must shed it's old

skin for the new one to emerge, so our old life must be shed so

that the new life in Christ can emerge. The upward call of God is

a call OUT OF that old skin; out of that old life. It is a beckoning

to us to come UP and OUT of that which is old and dead.

If we do answer this upward call, the same thing which happens

to the snake's skin will happen to our old life: It will begin to

loosen and die. We will have to "suffer the loss" of it -- of all

that belongs to the old life. This will, at times, be difficult. We'll

have to struggle and wiggle and even hurt. Old skins are hard to

shed. But if we continue overcoming, we will emerge. We will

attain to the resurrection out from among that dead "old skin."

Not Earned

When we hear words like "attain" or "apprehend," we tend to

think of "earning." This kind of mentality is deeply engrained into

our religious thinking. But this is not what Paul means by the terms.

When he says we must "attain" or "apprehend" the resurrection

out from the dead, he is not saying that we must earn it.

Once again, a look at the real meaning of the words used

helps. To "apprehend" means, in the Greek, "to lay hold of."

To "attain" carries a similiar meaning. So rather than say we must

earn or qualify for the resurrection out from the dead, Paul is

saying we must be matured in order to "lay hold of" it. In other

words, we must grow to where we can take possession of what

God has freely given us in His Son.

Actually, if we carefully read what Paul says about his need

to "apprehend" the resurrection out of the dead, we will find that

he says the opposite of what he would say if we had to "earn"

it. He says:

But I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am

apprehended of Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:12)

Here Paul does not say that he must qualify or earn the

resurrection out from the dead. No. He says that Jesus Christ

has already laid hold of him FOR that purpose. That resurrection

IS his calling. It is why Jesus Christ has laid hold of him. What

he must do now is "lay hold" of the thing for which Jesus "laid

hold" of him! In other words, he has already been given an

eternal inheritance. But now he must take possession of it.

God has given us all things freely in Jesus Christ. We did

nothing to earn the resurrection, and nothing to earn God's upward

calling to us. Our inheritance in Christ is solely by God's grace.

It is there, fully in place, waiting for us to take possession of it.

The trouble is, we know very little about it. We don't know what

to do with it. We are not fit, as long as we are governed by this

old nature, to take possession of it. We must grow to mature

in Jesus Christ before we will be able to do anything with it.

Don't get this mixed up with "earning." God never tells us that

He has an inheritance for us that He will give us only if we do this

or that. No. He has ALREADY given it. The new birth carries it.

We are already birthed into the position of being co-heirs of all

things in Jesus Christ. There is no earning involved, any more

than we had to earn the right to be born as a physical baby. It

is all freely given us. All of it!

But suppose when we were born as a physical baby we were

born into a wealthy family. Suppose we were the sole heir to a

great fortune. Would that inheritance have done us any good

while we were still a baby? No. We would have had no point of

reference for it whatsoever. Despite the fact that our inheritance

was there, fully in place, freely given, and despite the fact that

nothing could take it away, it might as well have not been there

at all. We were not mature enough to take possession of it. We

still had to grow and mature so that we could "lay hold" of what

is ours.

So it is with our inheritance in Jesus Christ. If we are born again,

we have been laid hold of for this inheritance. If we have been

raised with Christ, we have been called upward to take

possession of what is ours. But none of this means that we are

yet matured enough in Christ to "lay hold of that for which Christ

has laid hold of us." That we must "attain" and "apprehend."

This is accomplished by all that Paul describes in Philippians

3. It is a process of death and resurrection NOW.

God isn't going to force us to come and take possession of

our inheritance. He says, "Your inheritance is here, fully in place

for you. But there is very little about it that you can understand or

experience as long as you continue to live under the power of the

old life. I am therefore calling you upward. Come upward and

OUT of the things of death. Then you can embrace the eternal

inheritance I have given you. Then you can take possession of

what I have freely given."

The "Prize"

The end of the race, the "prize" OF the upward call, is, of

course, the fullness of the resurrection. It is to fully shed our "old

skin" -- the old creation -- and be clothed with a new body.

Paul speaks of this in his second letter to the Corinthians:

For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened, not

so that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality

might be swallowd up of life. Now He that has wrought us for the

selfsame thing is God, who also has given unto us the earnest of

the Spirit. (II Cor. 5:4-5)

We are being told that within us is "the earnest of the Spirit,"

that is, a "downpayment" of what is yet to come in it's fullness.

We possess new life. But now we are being called upward out of

the confines of the old dead creation, so that we might manifest

and experience the resurrection.

This upward call is for NOW. We begin to experience the

power of His resurrection NOW. We begin to shed the old skin

NOW.

God tells us how:

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge,

that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all,

that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves,

but unto Him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore

henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have

known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no

more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old

things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The upward calling of God in Jesus Christ is a call, or

resurrection out from the dead old creation. We begin that race,

that upward journey, NOW, by no longer living for ourselves. We

live for God. This entails unconditionally surrendering all of

ourselves to Him continually, as He gives grace and light. If we

do, we will "begin to attain" unto the resurrection out of the dead.

We will begin to "shed our dead skin." Then, at the end of the

age, we will experience the fullness of this resurrection. The

"prize" -- our inheritance and reason for living -- will then be ours.

Paul says, "If in anything you are otherwise minded, God shall

reveal even this unto you." God's entire focus in everything He

does and allows in our lives is unto this "prize." He is calling us

upward unto a resurrection out from the dead to newness of life

in His Son -- an eternal inheritance. *

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