We have not attained Christ until we have pursued Christ to the point of perfect, full possession of Him. In order to gain Christ, gain the resurrection, we must, through Christ, overcome every enemy that comes against us. When we have attained rest from our enemies we then have attained Christ, attained the redemption of our body from the hand of the enemy. This is why the fourth chapter of the Book of Hebrews speaks of the "rest" of God. The rest of God is rest from God's enemies and our enemies.

The out-resurrection from the dead is the first resurrection. It will take place at the beginning of the thousand-year Kingdom Age, at the time when the Lord Jesus returns from Heaven. According to our understanding, the out-resurrection will include the victorious saints of every era of God's working with mankind. The remainder of God's family, as well as the nations, will be raised and judged at the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age.

The participants in the first resurrection will be a firstfruits of mankind to receive the redemption of the physical body.

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (Revelation 20:4,5)

"And they lived." This expression means they regained their physical body. The remainder of the dead people did not regain their body until the conclusion of the thousand-year Kingdom Age.

The physical body died because of the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Our body is dead because of Adam's sin and because of its own sin.

And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. (Romans 8:10)

The restoration of life to the physical body is a primary goal of the Christian salvation. The redemption of the body by adoption was the goal of the Apostle Paul.

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:23)

Our new inner nature is born of God. Our body will be adopted when the Lord returns provided we have attained the resurrection in our inner nature by bringing down, through the Virtue of Christ, every power in us that opposes God.

We might think of the victorious saints as being one hand of the Body of Christ, a remnant of Israel, a Gideon's army. The one hand is struggling to get loose from the grip of Satan. As soon as the hand gets loose it will set about to release the remainder of the Body, and then the nations of the earth that are willing to receive God's salvation through Christ.

To be continued.