<p>3:10- see on Acts 9:16.</p><p><i>That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his death</i>- The full knowledge of the Lord Jesus will be when we know materially the &quot;power of His resurrection&quot;. Eternity will be about relationship with Him, and that is why eternity begins now insofar as we have relationship with Him. Knowing Him, therefore, refers to relationship rather than technical knowledge of theological propositions concerning Him.</p><p>The centrality of the cross is reflected in the way in which to live a life crucified with Jesus is set up as the ultimate aim of the Christian life. We are &ldquo;becoming conformed coming towards His <i>morphe</i>, His form and appearance unto his death&quot; (Phil. 3:10 RV). Slowly, our lives are working out towards that end; this is intended by God to be the final position we all reach by the time of our death or the Lord&rsquo;s return; that we will in some vague, feint way, have become conformed to the mind of Jesus as He was at <i>His </i>death. For as chapter 2 has explained, His<i> morphe</i> there is to be our pattern. His Spirit is to be ours. And through His resurrection, we are given that Spirit to displace our natural spirit (Jn. 7:39). The process of transformation by the gift of the new spirit, of &quot;becoming conformed&quot;, is ongoing now and continues until our last breath. Old age is thereby given meaning once we grasp this. And then finally at the Lord's return, our body will be &ldquo;conformed&quot; (same Greek word) to His in a physical sense (Phil. 3:21). And this is why we should count all things loss in order to come to know Christ (Phil. 3:8)- which the context suggests we are to read as knowing the spirit of His death. This is why His cross, the mind He had at His death, is so vital and central to our lives.</p>