If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. The apostle uses the language of humble expectation. For the particles, "if by any means" ( εἴ πως), comp. Acts 27:12; Romans 1:10; Romans 11:14.
The verb "attain" means to arrive at the end of a journey; it presents the figure of a pilgrimage. Read, with R.V. and the best manuscripts, the resurrection from the dead. This phrase (used also in Luke 20:35 and Acts 4:2) means the resurrection of the blessed dead.
This meaning is strengthened here by the repetition of the preposition with the word "resurrection" ( ἐξανάστασις). The general resurrection is always called the resurrection of the dead.