Philippians 3:8-14
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
This passage is commonly interpreted as the Apostle Paul doubting whether or not he would be saved. Then this is applied to Christians generally - since all of us are worse than the Apostle Paul, we certainly all need to fear whether or not we will be saved, and doubt whether we have Eternal Life.
Is this a valid interpretation of this passage?
The verses in the passage in question that are commonly emphasized as Paul doubting his Salvation are:
Philippians 3:11-13
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Above, the Apostle Paul talks about obtaining "the resurrection of the dead" by any means necessary (verse 11). He does not consider that he has already attained his goal in this regard (verses 12-13).
The standard commentator interprets this to mean that Paul was somehow either afraid, or "humbly" feigning fear (which, given what's at stake, would be called feigning disbelief in Jesus Christ), that he might miss the First Resurrection (Revelation 20:6), and it makes one wonder whether they've even read the New Testament, to be able to come away with such a bizarre interpretation.
In the same book, just a few chapters earlier, the Apostle Paul makes one of the clearest statements testifying to his assurance of Salvation that we have in Scripture:
Philippians 1:21-23
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
In addition to the above, we can look at 2 Timothy 4:18, Romans 8:38-39, and practically every statement in the New Testament that the Apostle Paul makes about himself, and his hope, for clear testaments to the fact that he had assurance of Salvation, including the openings and closings to nearly every epistle.
So, to close this first section, whatever this passage means, we can dispel immediately that Paul is doubting his Salvation. That's not even close to being a reasonable interpretation of this passage, without nullifying and shredding the entire rest of the New Testament.
So, what has Paul not obtained, in regard to a "resurrection"? Let's look again at what he emphasized, in context:
Philippians 3:8-14
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Verse 10, as should be no surprise, is the key to understanding the verse immediately after it. The Apostle Paul here is expressing his desire to "know (Christ), and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death". Verse 11, then, is about him living in the reality and power of the resurrection, here in this life, as all of the things listed in verse 10 have to do with the present life he is living.
Living in the reality and power of the resurrection is referenced in many other places in Scripture, most often in relation to the fact that we have already been raised to life in one sense, as the moment we believe we are "passed from death unto life" (John 5:24). These statements are often connected to a reference of the resurrection of Christ, as well:
Ephesians 2:5-6
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Colossians 2:12
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Colossians 3:1-3
1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Galatians 2:20
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Romans 6:4-5
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Romans 8:10-11
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
So, what we are seeing in the verse in question is a desire to obtain the experience of having crucified the flesh, and walking in the Spirit, here in this life. This was something that even the Apostle Paul did not consider himself to have perfected (Philippians 3:11-13).
Also, we can see in context why he wants to attain to this reality:
Philippians 3:8, 14
8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
His desire is to "win Christ", later stated as "the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus". His motivation is an exalted eternity, wherein he will be closer to Christ, and which he describes as a "prize" - in contrast from a "gift" (Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9, etc.). His motivation is not stated to be, or even hinted at being, avoiding the Lake of Fire.
The word translated "prize" in Philippians 3:14 is used only one other place in the New Testament - verse 24 below - where we get much the same impression of a reward which hangs in the balance, dependent upon effort:
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
The above passage, covered in its own article here, is also about the Apostle Paul personally, and his personal desire to not lose his ministry, which is the subject of the chapter that the passage above appears in.
Both the passage above, and the main passage in question for this article, are the Apostle Paul expressing his desire, and resolve, to achieve an exalted state in this life, and rewards in the world to come. That is the context of both passages.
In summary, this passage is absolutely not an instance of the Apostle Paul doubting whether he would attain to the resurrection of the saved. It's about his desire to live completely in the reality that he is already spiritually resurrected by Christ, here in this life, which is a subject he made frequent reference to in many of his writings.