Philippians 1:21-23

Introduction

Last week our focus was Philippians 1:20: “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.”

His temporal “earnest expectation and hope” was to not be ashamed of Jesus Christ. He wanted to, with full assurance, magnify Christ no matter the season; regardless of him being on the top of his game or on his death bed. He wanted people to know the greatness of God.

To have this as his passion means that Paul would have to put to bed bitterness and anger. Think about this for a moment: if there ever was a person who had a right to be bitter with the world and God, Paul would be that person. Consider some of his travails in being obedient to God: 2 Corinthians 11:23–27 “…in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.”

Bitterness erodes the the thrill and zaps the energy of wanting to magnify Christ with your life and death. One pastor noted: “Most of our bitterness and anger towards others is rooted in an inability to be profoundly amazed at Christ's love for us in our sin.” Pride is the main culprit in bitterness. Pride says that we deserve better than what we got. As a pastor said: “Ponder and let it sink in that you don’t deserve better than you got from God.” He does not mean injustices are right. Instead, our sin deserves the wrath of God and not His grace. The offer of God’s grace is better than we deserve.

So, if you are bitter then your bitterness is a spiritual cancer eating at your joy in the Lord, which prevents you from desiring to magnify God in your life and in your death. Consequently, your driving passion will not be Philippians 1:21 but but a form of social justice.

Christ drove Paul

What drives Paul to be motivated in magnifying Christ in life and death? Paul gives the answer in Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” One Theologian noted: “This is a key verse in this epistle. In fact it should be a ‘key verse’ in the life of every saint.” Many pastors and theologians assert that this is one of the more sacred verses amongst all the sacred texts of the Bible. There point is do not flippantly read, meditate, teach or preach this text.

The first word “for” is a term of explanation. Paul explains in v.21 why his pursuit was to magnify Christ in his life and death. Vincent Word Studies highlights the phrase “to me,” by saying: “Whatever life may be to others, to me.” In other words, regardless of other peoples pursuits or purposes my purpose and pursuit is Christ. The phrase “to me” is not a self-assertion but an assertion made from experience. Paul was not saying “my aim is ‘to live is Christ,’ but ‘to live is Christ’ has been and will be my aim.

In verse 21, we have two dimensions that Paul wanted his audience to see: life and death. If we are to understand his passion to magnify Christ in life and death, then we must know what drove Paul in life and death.

First his life: “For to me to live is Christ.” He wrote something similar in Colossians 3:4 “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” Christ was Paul’s life. The word for “life” in both verses reflects life opposite of death. When viewed spiritually, the word speaks of eternal life. Paul connects Christ with life. Anything outside of Christ is not life but living death. My grandmother died of congestive heart failure. Weeks before she died, everyone knew there was no hope. Her body would have good and bad days during the last few weeks, but she had no hope of recovering. Even when her body rebounded from a near death experience, everything pointed to death. This is the point: life lived outside of Christ can only point to death. Yes, there could be happy moments along the way, but even in these temporary pleasurable moments, all things point to death , or in this sense, a wasted life. Jesus said in Mark 8:36: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”

A. Barnes notes: “His aim was not honor, learning, gold, pleasure; it was, to glorify the Lord Jesus. This was the single purpose of his soul - a purpose to which he devoted himself with as much singleness and ardor as ever did a miser to the pursuit of gold, or a devotee of pleasure to amusement, or an aspirant for fame to ambition.”

Wuest’s Word Studies notes: “Christ is Paul’s life in that He is that eternal life which Paul received in salvation, a life which is ethical in its content, and which operates in Paul as a motivating, energizing, pulsating principle of existence that transforms Paul’s life, a divine Person living His life in and through the apostle.”

A young man came to Mr. Gladstone who was the Prime Minister of England during much of the second half of the 19th century and said:

“Mr. Gladstone, I would appreciate your giving me a few minutes in which I might lay before you my plans for the future. I would like to study law.”

“Yes,” said the great statesman, “and what then?”

“Then, sir, I would like to gain entrance to the Bar of England.”

“Yes, young man, and what then?”

“Then, sir, I hope to have a place in Parliament, in the House of Lords.”

“Yes, young man, what then?” pressed Gladstone.

“Then I hope to do great things for Britain.”

“Yes, young man, and what then?”

“Then, sir, I hope to retire and take life easy.”

“Yes, young man, and what then?” he tenaciously asked.

“Well, then, Mr. Gladstone, I suppose I will die.”

“Yes, young man, and what then?”

The young man hesitated and then said, “I never thought any further than that, sir.”

Looking at the young man sternly and steadily, Gladstone said, “Young man, you are a fool. Go home and think life through!”

The point of this illustration is the young man had a number of dreams but none of his dreams centered on Jesus Christ. It does not matter what dreams, aspirations, or pursuits you have if Christ is not the reason. King Solomon understood this towards the end of his life. The reason he wrote in Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity;” and, in Ecclesiastes 1:14 “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit;” is life lived for self and not for God.

Before I started pastoring, I had a nursing hime ministry. One particular Sunday afternoon after the service, I noticed a new elderly lady crying. I went over to see if there was anything that I could help her with. She said there was not. Her husband had recently died as a lost man and her children were lost. I told her that I could visit her children if she wanted me to. He answer stunned me. She said that it would not do any good. “I am a Christian but lived my life for myself. So much so that my kids mock my faith today and would not believe a word from your mouth.” This lady came to the same conclusion that Solomon did: “vanity of vanities; all is vanity” outside of Christ.

Repeating what Jesus said at the end of a parable in Mark 8:36: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” What does it matter if you achieve your dream without Christ? All will be lost!

Where does Christ fit into the equation of your life? Is he part of the equation or the equation itself? The verb “is” in Philippians 1:21 is an equative verb. Meaning the noun on the left side of “is” is equal to the noun on the right side of “is.” Paul is saying “for me to live” is equal to Christ living in me. The atomic bomb was created when scientist were able to separate the neutron from the atom. The atomic bomb destroyed two Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki to bring World War 2 to an end. In like manner, a Christian’s life implodes when they separate Christ from their life.

Another question is what does “living is Christ” look like? It is easy to affirm anything to include living for Christ, but where is the validation to certify that you are living for Christ?

I want to highlight three attributes that Paul had in order to validate his assertion that “to live is Christ.” Faith was his life. There is a difference between being a man of faith and living by faith. A man of faith believes in a higher power, but a person living by faith subjects their life and decisions based upon the higher power. In other words, Christians are people of faith but to live by faith is to have all your decisions and pursuits guided by God’s word. Paul was a person of faith and lived by faith. For Paul to live as Christ meant he lived by faith. All of his activities were funneled into faith.

Paul wrote in Romans 14:23 “…for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” Even if the activity is simple and ordinary like eating, if done outside of faith is sin. Paul could not have lived as Christ without living by faith. To take this one step further, the author of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Even though Paul’s life had been turned upside down over the last several weeks (He was lynched, threats on his life, five judicial proceedings, taking captive to Rome, and imprisoned in Rome while chained to a Roman soldier every moment of the day), he believed that God was a “rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

A reason Christians are not moving mountains is we are dissatisfied with God’s direction and purpose in our life. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20 “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” In spite of being a prisoner Paul’s faith was still moving mountains. Philippians 1:13 “So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places.” You will know “to live is Christ” applies to you when your happiness is knowing wherever you are in life Jesus is known through your words and lifestyle.

In addition, love was his life. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:4–6 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.” The Greek word for “charity” is the highest form of love. The reason the KJV translators used charity to translate “agape” in 1 Corinthians 13 was in the 17th century “charity” “connote(d) an act of the will and the idea of selfless giving.” Paul willed to love and selfless gave to others, even his enemies.

Consider what love is based on 1 Corinthians 13. First, love is long suffering and kind. Second, love is “not envious, not proud, not arrogant, not rude, not cliquish, not touchy, not suspicious, not happy with evil. For Paul “to live is Christ” meant he loved as Christ loved.

Finally, truth was his life. No one can say “to me to live is Christ” if truth is not their foundation. The last part of 1 Corinthians 13:6 says that love “rejoiceth in the truth.” Not your or my truth but God’s truth. A person either lives according to truth of Christ in them (2 Corinthians 11:10 “As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.”), or will change God’s truth into a lie with their lifestyle or words (Romans 1:25 “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”).

Paul’s passion to live “uprightly according to truth” was so important that he confronted the most accomplished Apostle, Peter, when he publicly had a momentary lapse and lived according to the course of this world (Galatians 2:14 “But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?”).

He was constantly aware of the possibility of being “bewitched” by darkness to not live in the truth. He asked the Galatian Christians in Galatians 3:1: “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” Later in the same epistle he asked them in Galatians 5:7 “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?”

For Paul to say that for him “to live is Christ” means he was a person of faith, love and truth. These were the reflectors of his life so that people could see Jesus Christ.

“John Walvoord notes that ‘to Paul to live is Christ. By this he means that his life is wrapped up in Christ, in witnessing of Christ, in fellowship with Christ, in the goal to make his life a channel through which others might know Christ.’”

Before moving to the second half of the verse “let’s take a little quiz. How would you complete the following sentence? ‘For to me to live is ____.’ What word, phrase, passion, hobby, etc would you put in the blank? Don’t miss the point that no one leaves that sentence blank. Everyone finishes it with something. So I will ask again if you don’t fill the blank with Christ, what do you put there? Here are four questions to help you ‘fill in the blank’:

Where do I tend to spend spare time and money? Mt 6:21

What objects or persons give emotional delight as I mentally brood over them?

Where do my thoughts flow in spare time?

To what or whom do I turn during times of emotional upheaval or crisis?”

“Listen to the cries of the people of this world. What are they? To the successful businessperson it is, ‘To me to live is wealth.’ To the scholar it is, ‘To me to live is knowledge.’ To the soldier it is, ‘To me to live is victory.’ To the young man, ‘To me to live is pleasure.’ To the man desirous of recognition, ‘To me to live is fame.’ To the high school student, ‘To me to live is recognition.’ So we could go on and listen to all the voices of the world, but one is heard over them all—’To me to live is not wealth nor knowledge not fame nor glory but Christ. Christ first, last, midst all, and always Christ.’”

Let’s consider the second dimension: “to die is gain.” There is a relationship of thought between Philippians 1:20–23 “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:”

He wanted to magnify Christ in his body, for him to live is Christ, and living for Christ in the flesh is the fruit of his labor. On the opposite end, he wanted to magnify Christ in death, to die is gain, and to be with Christ is far better. Paul wanted to “die so that the way (he) die(d) would make Jesus look really good.” You can only do this if you see death as gain and better than anything else this life offers. Death did not take Paul to a cemetery but a sanctuary.

Alexander Maclaren, a Scottish Baptist Pastor in the Late 19th and early 20th centuries surmised regarding what Paul wrote in Philippians 1:21:

We lose everything we don’t need—We lose the world, the flesh, and the devil. We lose our trials, our troubles, our tears, our fears, and our weaknesses.

We keep everything that matters—We keep our personality, our identity, and our knowledge of all that is good.

We gain what we never had before—We gain heaven, the saints, the angels, the presence of God, and Jesus himself.

Paul did not view death as all the things about life he is going to miss. He viewed death as gaining new things in the hereafter, which is far better. “Having a Philippians 1:21 heart doesn’t mean you despise the God-given joys and giggles of life on earth — it means you realize that another life’s coming, another world, one that’s better than this one, even at its best. And not better by a little, but better by far.”

Why did Paul view heaven as gain? Here are a list of reasons:

2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 5:4 “For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.”

1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

Revelation 21:4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Revelation 21:27 “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

Paul’s Perplexity

Philippians 1:22–23 “But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:”

The fruit of Paul living in the flesh was not his retirement, relationships, or resources, but magnifying Christ in his body. The most noble, loving and caring thing a person can do is to magnify Christ. Paul’s perplexity is: “Do I want to achieve the most noble thing a person can reach by magnifying Christ or to die and “be with Christ; which is far better?” He did not know which one he wanted.

Why was this a battle or hard decision for Paul. If Heaven is gain and better than anything life offers, and if magnifying Christ in this life is associated with pain, misery and possible unspeakable death then why would he want Heaven one hundred out of one hundred times? The answer gets back to how he viewed his life. Remember how he described himself in Philippians 1:1 “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:” Paul was a slave to Jesus Christ. His life was all about serving Christ. In serving Christ, Paul served others.

We can clearly see this in Philippians 1:24–26: “Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.” The reason he was betwixt wanting to stay and going to heaven was his love for others. He knew the Philippian Christians needed him, and he wanted to advance their joy and faith.

A poem that describes Paul’s battle:

I’m hard-pressed here, from both sides torn, A longing deep within me born. To stay, to serve, to run the race, Yet yearning for my Savior’s face.

This life, though filled with joy and strife, Is but a fleeting, passing life. The treasures here, they pale and fade, Compared to what my Lord has made.

To depart, to leave, to be set free, And dwell with Christ eternally. Oh, what surpassing joy I’d find, To leave this weary flesh behind.

But still, I pause, for love compels, To stay and share the hope that dwells. For others' gain, I bear the load, And walk this narrow, rugged road.

Yet in my heart, the vision clear, Of Christ my Lord, so ever near. To be with Him—what could be greater? A life fulfilled by my Creator.

So while I labor here below, My heart is where I long to go. To live is Christ, His will my tether, To die is gain—for that is better.

Conclusion

What about you? Do you struggle with wanting to live for Christ or to die in Christ. Do you struggle for the right reason? Do you struggle because you want to fulfill your own pleasures or because someone or people group needs you to help them advance in their joy and faith? If you are living for yourself then understand you are living unto death.

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” Paul was living for the resurrected person that has vanquished the pain and misery of death for those who are living unto Him.