Just as Moses suffered the loss of all things, and counted them as refuse for the

excellency of Christ, so did Paul, and so must all who lay claim to the prize of the high

calling. We cannot conduct a search into all the many phases of suffering with Christ,

each one will pursue his appointed track, but we do believe that if any are to attain the

likeness to the "body of His glory", they must in some measure have known something of

the meaning of the body of humiliation. We take it that Paul's desire, as expressed in

chapter 1: 23, the "out resurrection" of chapter 3: 11, the "prize of the high calling" of

chapter 3: 14, and the being fashioned like unto His body of glory of 3: 21, all refer to

the same thing. The standing of the believer as a member of the one body is indefectible.

To such and to such only is there presented the possibility of winning a prize and of

attaining unto the "out resurrection". The indefectible standing is connected with the

work of Christ for us, the attaining of the prize is connected with the outworking of His

grace in us.

May we discern the things that differ, and lay aside every weight, run the race set

before us, looking away unto the Lord, Who for the joy set before Him, endured a cross,

despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Conformity to the death of Christ is the final term that the apostle uses in his statement

of the steps that lead to attaining the resurrection of verse 11.

In chapter 1: 21 he says, "For me to live is Christ, and to die gain". In chapter 3: he

tells us that he counted all things as loss and refuse, that he might "gain" Christ. The

climax of such abandonment is death. Of Christ it is said, in this context, that the lowest

depth of His humiliation is marked by death, even the death of the cross. "The death of

the cross" therefore is that which Paul has in mind when he says in Phil. 3: 10, "being

made conformable unto His death". Even in that death the repudiation of the world is

marked. No honours attend the burial, no monument marks the spot, it is the death of the

cross. Paul does not pray for martyrdom, he does not ask that he might die as Christ died,

he does pray that he might be made "conformable unto His death". The word used here

is summorphoumenos. In verse 21, a verse which we believe answers very pointedly to

verses 10 and 11, the word translated, "may be fashioned like", is summorphos, the one

conformity is related to the other. If there be no conformity unto His death of shame,

how can we claim verse 21 with its conformity to His body of glory?

"To conform" means literally "to make of the same form", and then, "to be in entire

harmony with the object indicated"; the conformity which the apostle desired was not, as

so many teach and desire, a conformity with His life on earth, but with His death. "What

would Jesus do?" is misleading; the earthly life of the Lord Jesus is of the utmost