3:11
If we die with Christ then we will also rise with Him. Being raised with Christ is the ultimate goal for the Christian. The Judaizers goal was proving their righteousness here, Paul's is to be raised with Christ. We too need to focus on this. The word "somehow" does not mean he has any doubt about being raised, but refers back to his present situation where he currently does not know whether he faces imminent death or not. It does not matter, if he is sentenced to death soon, or if he is released, either way he will one day be raised with Christ. "Resurrection from the dead" is literally "resurrection from the corpses". All of us will eventually die, will eventually end up as a corpse. What will happen then? The gospel provides the answer.
3:12
Paul has made great claims about his motivation and some may be tempted to stand in awe of him, but he immediately puts such thoughts to rest. He does not imagine that he has attained the goal or is in any way perfect. Rather he presses on to take hold of the goal for which Christ took hold of him. There are several points in this verse. Following Christ is about the direction our life is going in. None of us are perfect, each day we all sin in some way. If we claim perfection or imagine we are perfect then we are deceived. Instead what matters is what direction are we going in, what are we working towards, aiming for. Note also that it is what Christ took hold of us for. God works, we work. The initiative comes from Christ, as Jesus said, "you did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15:16), and He did so in order that we would bear fruit. Christ took hold of us for a purpose, not just so that we would not go to hell. If Christ has truly taken hold of us then we will have very different goals in life.
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