These include knowing Christ, knowing the power of his resurrection, sharing in Christ's suffering, and being united with Christ in his death and resurrection. Paul urges the believers at Philippi to follow his present example because of heaven and the new bodies that wait for believers. He speaks of how he works as hard as he can to be like Christ, knowing that God will allow him to live forever in heaven, as if he were a runner racing for the finish line.
Receiving spiritual things from Christ is spoken of as if Paul could grasp them with his hands, and Jesus choosing Paul to belong to him is spoken of as if Jesus grasped Paul with his hands. Alternate translation: "to receive these things for which Jesus claimed me as his own"
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