What Paul now says is literally “if in some way I may attain the resurrection from the dead.” The chiastic structure of verses 10 and 11 shows that this clause is to be taken with the clause immediately preceding. The expression “if in some way” appears to suggest some doubt or uncertainty in the apostle’s mind, but in reality what he expresses here is his sense of expectation and hope with humility. Good News Translation accordingly renders the expression as in the hope that (Goodspeed “in the hope of”; Jerusalem Bible “that is the way I can hope to”; New American Bible “thus do I hope that”; Phillips “so that I may somehow”).
The noun translated “resurrection” is an unusual double compound word used only here in the New Testament. It has the preposition ek (meaning “from” or “out of”) added to the ordinary word for resurrection. There is no indication, however, that one should attach special meaning to this rare word. Paul is probably not thinking of a “general resurrection” of all the dead, but of the resurrection of the faithful believers which will take place at the Parousia, that is at Christ’s second coming (1 Thes 4.16). Here the focus shifts from the participation in the life of the risen Christ here and now to the final and ultimate rising of the dead, when the believers will enter the promised state of eternal blessedness. In biblical thinking, resurrection is always an act of God. He is the agent who causes life and return to life. It is, therefore, best to restructure the final clause as I myself will be raised from death to life, implying that God is the author of this event. The passive construction will be raised from death to life may be made active by saying “God will raise me from death to life.” In a number of languages, however, death and life must be translated as verbs, thus requiring certain restructuring, for example, “that God himself will cause me no longer to be dead but to live.”
Based on the analysis given above, one can restructure verses 10-11 into two sentences: “All I want is to know Christ, namely to experience the power of his resurrection and share in his sufferings. I want to know Christ by becoming like him in death, in the hope that I myself will be raised from death to life.” It may, however, be necessary to make verse 11 into a complete sentence which could begin “In this way I can hope,” or “In view of this, I hope.”
Quoted with permission from Luo, I-Jin. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1977. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .