We must never allow ourselves to alter or belittle one word of God in

our attempt to rescue another word of God; any such parallel with the

stretching out of a hand to save the Ark of God is most uncalled for and can

be fatal.  The words which the Holy Ghost would teach us here are:

Ei pos katanteso eis ten exanastasin ten ek nekron.

`If by any means I might attain unto the out -resurrection that which

(is) out from dead ones'.

A very similar usage of the verb katantao is found in Acts 27:

`And because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part

advised to depart thence also, If By Any Means They Might Attain to

Phenice' (Acts 27:12).

It is common knowledge that this ship never reached Phenice, but ended

as a total wreck.  Paul knew this by actual experience, and within two years

uses the same words here in Philippians 3.  The explanation for Paul's doubts

does not lie in the words `If by any means I might attain unto', but in the

added preposition ek the `out -resurrection' and which if treated with the

respect that the words chosen by the Holy Ghost demand, will lead to further

light and truth.  This we must now proceed to demonstrate.

This demonstration we will divide into four parts:

Exhibit by comparing one passage with another the usage of the

word `resurrection' with and without such prefixes as `out' and

Exhibit by comparing spiritual things with spiritual that both

the epistles, Philippians and Hebrews, deal with Prize or Reward

rather than with initial salvation.

Exhibit that the two key words, perfection and perdition, are

found in these two epistles.

Exhibit by comparing spiritual things with spiritual the intended

parallel between Philippians and Hebrews.

In this way we shall adhere closely to the principle of 1 Corinthians

2:13; we shall honour the choice of words made by the Holy Ghost and will

arrive at certainty in connection with the intention of the apostle when he

wrote to the Philippians, and Philippians 3:11 in particular.

The preposition `out' is used in a variety of ways and it is possible

by a biased selection to `prove' almost anything, as the reader may already

be aware.  Legitimate inquiry will seek to discover what is intended by the

addition of ek `out of' when used with resurrection.  In Acts 24:15 we have

the simplest form in which the hope of resurrection can be expressed,

anastasin nekron `a resurrection of dead ones'.  This doctrine was held by

Martha, the sister of Lazarus, and is imbedded in the Apocrypha which speaks

of a resurrection unto life.  With this fact before us, the questioning that

is reported in Mark 9:10 `What the rising of the dead should mean' at first

seems incredible; for it would appear, on the surface, that the common people

or even the Pharisees were more clearly taught than the Lord's followers!  A

reference to the original makes all clear.  These disciples were troubled by

the presence of the word ek.

`Till the Son of Man were risen out from dead ones' ek nekron anaste.