s he that hath part in the first
resurrection, on such the second death hath no power, but they shall
be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand
years." But if Christ had not come in his kingdom at the end of the
Jewish age, as the prophets and himself had declared, then the whole
Christian system must have fallen and the names of its martyrs and
apostles remained buried in perpetual infamy as a set of deluded men
and impostors. But, blessed be God, it is not so. They, by their
faithfulness, have attained unto the "first resurrection" and thus
broken the dark chains of infidelity into fragments. This is the
_resurrection and change_ referred to in Phil. iii:20, 21, and 1
Thess. iv:15, 16, 17, on which we have commented.

We have intentionally omitted till now Phil. iii:11, 12, as our ideas
will be more readily comprehended here than in our introductory
discourse, where we simply adverted to these words of Paul--"If by any
means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead--Not as though
I had already attained either were already perfect," &c. Here we
perceive that the resurrection unto which he desired to attain
depended on his exertions in the cause of Christ, and being faithful
unto the end. He says (verse 14)--"I press towards the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." But what prize was
this? Ans. It was a _part_ in the _first resurrection_ to which he
desired to attain (verse 11) and he was not "perfect," he feared "lest
after having preached to others himself might be a cast-away." He
feared that he might not endure faithful unto the end. He was well
aware that the promise was--"Be thou faithful unto death and I will
give thee a crown of life." To obtain this crown of life in the first
resurrection, was the _highest prize_, the _highest calling of God_,
ever suspended upon human merits! Paul did continue faithful, and as
he was led to the thought of death, with composure and satisfaction
exclaimed--"For I am now ready to be offered; and the time of my
departure" is at hand. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished
my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a
_crown of righteousness_, which the Lord the righteous Judge shall
give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also, that
love his appearing." Here we perceive that Paul had continued
faithful, and was entitled to the promised crown, which was awarded to
him,