I feel like I’ve probably buried everyone under all the political stuff lately, and so I thought I would post something a little more life-inclined. So this post is about something I recently read in a book called Life-study of Philippians.*

This book speaks about what the apostle Paul calls “the out-resurrection from the dead,” (Phil. 3:11). In speaking about this, the book reveals that there is a big difference between the resurrection of Lazarus and the resurrection of Christ. I had always wondered about this. Well, I mean, I always felt bad for Lazarus: he was resurrected one day (John 11:43-44), but he ended up dying again when he got old. With Christ, however, this isn’t the case; Christ resurrected, and He completely defeated death. Death no longer had any hold over Him (Acts 2:24). So what’s the difference?

Well, the difference is that Christ’s resurrection is a resurrection out of the old creation and into God. When Lazarus resurrected, he still had his old body, and he was still a part of the old creation. When Christ resurrected, however, He resurrected with a spiritual body (John 20:19); He was (is) a new creation (Gal. 6:15; 2 Cor. 5:17). When Lazarus was resurrected, he was unchanged in his nature. Christ resurrected and became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). Furthermore, even though Lazarus was resurrected, he eventually ended up back in the tomb. But Christ’s resurrection brought Him to the throne of God—and He is there today.

Thus, when Paul speaks of the out-resurrection (“out” is a prefix translated from the Greek, ek, meaning “extra”), He means an extraordinary resurrection. Lazarus had an ordinary resurrection, but Christ’s is extraordinary. Christ’s resurrection is a resurrection that brought Him out of the old creation and brought Him to God. To be in this out-resurrection means to leave everything of the old creation and to be brought into God. For this goal, Paul pressed on, considering it a prize to be won (Phil. 3:12-14).

Here are some quotes from the book:

…the resurrection of Lazarus is very different from the power of Christ’s resurrection. Eventually, Lazarus died and was again buried in the tomb, but Christ’s resurrection was a resurrection that brought Him to the throne. When Paul speaks of the power of Christ’s resurrection, he has in mind something different from the power manifested in the resurrection of Lazarus. Paul is speaking of a resurrection that can be called Christ’s resurrection. He wanted to know the power of His resurrection. (Life-study of Philippians, p. 461)

The common meaning of resurrection is that something dies and comes to life again. Lazarus was resurrected in this way. He had died, had been buried, and had even begun to smell bad. Then the Lord Jesus came and cried out, “Lazarus, come forth!” and Lazarus came out of the tomb (John 11:43-44). Was the resurrection of Lazarus a case of the out-resurrection? No. Even though Lazarus was raised from the dead and came to life again, nothing of the new creation was wrought into him. Instead, he continued to be a person in the old creation. At most, Lazarus experienced restoration; he was restored from death to the natural life…The out-resurrection in 3:11 is very different from the resurrection of Lazarus. Did Paul expect to return to the tomb once he obtained the out-resurrection? Certainly not! The resurrection Paul was pursuing in Philippians 3 was something absolutely apart from the old creation and in the new creation. What Paul terms the out-resurrection refers to a resurrection out of the old creation and into the new creation. (ibid., pp. 466-467)

*Lee, Witness. Life-study of Philippians. Living Stream Ministry: Anaheim. 1984.