Philippians 1:19-26 - To Live is Christ
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
What does it mean to live? This is such a unique question and maybe a difficult question to answer. I think that many of us could come up with very different answers to this simple yet profound question.
Is it having an adventurous spirit?
Is it enjoying the pleasures of this life?
Or is it living for Christ?
The dictionary has multiple definitions of this word. In the most basic form it means to not be dead! But I think the most accurate definition of living is “to supply oneself with the means of sustenance.”
To Live - to supply oneself with the means of sustenance
Sustenance is what is required for one to sustain or continue living.
As you listen to today’s message, I want you to listen to what Paul says about living and dying and measure his value system with your own. What he considers to be what sustains him and what you may consider that sustains you may be different. I want you to see how your living stands in the light of Paul’s living. How your reason for living stands in the light of Paul’s reason for living. I want you to do this not in a comparison of the impacts that you make or the works that you do. We all have different callings. Paul’s was one that was exceptional and to compare ourselves to what he did is entirely off base. Yet, his motivation for living is what we need to aim for.
Turn and read with me in Philippians chapter 1 verses 19-26:
19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,
20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.
23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.
25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith,
26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
Prayer
As we start this journey today discovering what it means to truly live we get to our first point:
I. You Can Truly Live…By the Help of the Spirit and the Saints (19)
I. You Can Truly Live…By the Help of the Spirit and the Saints (19)
19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,
We are going to see in our passage today a powerful confidence of Paul’s righteous living for Christ. Yet, he beautifully starts off this section with complete humility.
Paul looks toward the Philippian believers and toward the Holy Spirit as reasons that he can be assured of his deliverance.
This word deliverance is sōtēria (so-ter-ee-a) and can mean salvation, deliverance, or preservation. Some commentators believe that this word is used to express Paul’s assurance that he would be freed from this particular imprisonment.
If you recall: Paul had three imprisonments:
Paul’s Three Imprisonments
1. Caeserea (AD 58-61)
2. Rome (AD 61-63) - This is where he is now when writing Philippians
3. Rome (AD 65-67)
Extra-Biblical historical records do show that Paul did have a time in which he was freed before his final and third imprisonment which occured in Rome and eventually led to his beheading. See the table to recall where we are during the writing of the book of Philippians.
However, this interpretation seems to be off in the context of the surrounding Scripture. If he was so sure of his deliverance from Rome, then why does he spend the following verses debating his future state of living or dying? This talk of living and dying and still having a good outcome points to his assurance of his eternal standing with Christ. And he also has just used the Greek word, oida (you-the), which is the strongest form of the verb to know and is to know with complete assurance.
He knew that he would walk with Christ whether alive or dead. And through the prayers of the saints that encouraged him in this knowledge and understanding and the Holy Spirit which was given to him as a seal of redemption or a guarantee as Paul called Him (Eph 1:14) - Paul rested assured in his salvation. Salvation appears to be the best understanding of this word in this context.
Yet, as he will continue debating his living and dying, he does come to the conclusion that for the time being, he will continue living for God still had work for him to do. This would prove true for a few more years afterward.
So as we see, Paul was able to truly live through the power of the Holy Spirit and the assurance given to Him by the indwelling Holy Spirit. However, he also was able to truly live by the prayers of the saints. Paul understood that God was more than enough for Him. He knew God was sovereign and over all. However, he also knew that God made man to be in community together. He understood what was articulated in Hebrews 10:25
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
He saw the prayer of the saints as vital in his continuance of his Christian journey. He understood the power of the prayer of the righteous as mentioned in James 5:16
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Paul understood that true living required the help of the Spirit first and foremost - yet he also understood the necessary support of fellow believers. I pray that each of us here lives through the power of the Spirit and thrives through the supportive prayers and encouragement of fellow saints.
You also can...
Scripture References: Eph 1:14, Hebrews 10:25, James 5:16
II. You Can Truly Live…By Courageously Living with the Saints (20)
II. You Can Truly Live…By Courageously Living with the Saints (20)
20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.
Paul has just told us how he is helped and then he goes on to start a few verses that seek to encourage his readers. Verse 20 starts off with the phrase eager expectation. This phrase can be translated deep desire as well and translates a Greek word that literally means waiting or watching with an outstretched head. It is the kind of idea that we see when a famous person is coming in a parade. People are on the edge of their seats in order to see this person. They are stretching their necks out as far as they can to get a glimpse of this person. Paul has that kind of passion of what he is about to say.
And what does he say? It is his eager expectation and hope that he will not be at all ashamed. His waiting on Christ will not put him to shame. He is assured and passionate about his knowledge of God’s faithfulness. Not only will he not be ashamed, but he will be with full courage. He is not moving forward in haphazard way. He is moving forward with passion and courage.
And because of how he is moving forward in faith he makes a seemingly bold claim. Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. The Greek word for honor here is megalynō (may-a-ga-lino) which means to make large, make great, magnify, and exalt. Paul is saying that Christ will be exalted by his steadfast courage and continued walk in the faith. Can we make this kind of bold statement like Paul? Are we truly living in such a way that Christ is magnified, exalted, and honored by our life?
Warren Wiersbe said:
Does Christ need to be magnified? After all, how can a mere human being ever magnify the Son of God? Well, the stars are much bigger than the telescope, and yet the telescope magnifies them and brings them closer. The believer’s body is to be a telescope that brings Jesus Christ close to people. To the average person, Christ is a misty figure in history who lived centuries ago. But as the unsaved watch the believer go through a crisis, they can see Jesus magnified and brought so much closer. To the Christian with the single mind, Christ is with us here and now.
Warren Wiersbe
Brothers and sisters, I pray that you take a good hard look at your life. See the trials and struggles that you are facing. And see how you are magnifying Christ. Do unbelievers or even immature believers see Christ being magnified in your day to day life? Do they see you approaching Christ in prayer and humility and see the faith that you have knowing that He will provide for you and your family? Or do they see a still misty figure in history that is far out of reach? I pray that your love and devotion and eager expectation for Christ shine through to others.
19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
May the world see our eager longing and eager expectation of Christ’s second coming and even for his continued work upon the earth today. May our lives mirror creation that awaits the final consummation of the rule and reign of our mighty God - knowing that we will not be ashamed at the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Magnify the Lord my friends. May we be a courageous group of saints magnifying our glorious Creator as we truly live for Him. Finally we also...
Scripture References: Romans 8:19
III. You Can Truly Live…By Sacrificially Living to Encourage the Saints (21-26)
III. You Can Truly Live…By Sacrificially Living to Encourage the Saints (21-26)
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
I want us to pause here at verse 21.
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
This is one of the most quoted and encouraging verses in the Bible. I pray that each of us memorizes this short verse this week. Paul is making a bold statement to the Philippian believers. He starts off with for to me. This means that he is letting them know that no matter who stands with him - he stands by what he is about to say. And then he says to live is Christ. Interestingly, Paul actually doesn’t include the word ‘is’ at all in this verse. The two instances of the word is are added for English understanding. There was a word for ‘is’ in the Greek and he actually uses it shortly after in Phil 2:13 - the word meaning to be (is, am, are) which is eimi (ee-me).
So why does he leave the word is out here? He wants to nail home the point that to live is Christ. In essence he says to live - Christ. It is a powerful way to magnify Christ. He is saying that everything in my being and all that I am is owned by Christ. He is the apple of my eye. He is my wonderful counselor, my best friend, my mighty Savior, my King of Kings my Lord of Lords, and my Living Hope. Living is equivalent to Christ because Christ is his life.
And with that same emphatic missing word ‘is’ he says to die - gain. Dying meant heaven for Paul. He was assured of his salvation and deliverance as we saw in verse 19. To die meant that he would see the Lord and enjoy Him forever.
Friends, how would you write this verse about your own life?
To live is...
being wealthy...
having a nice car...
being comfortable...
having more vacations...
or maybe they are even more holy sounding..
To live is...
being happily married...
having wonderful children...
being physically fit...
serving others...
This second group is full of godly desires. It is not sinful to want to be happily married, or have wonderful children, or take care of your body that is temple of God, or even serving others. But if it is your life’s goal over everything else to make your life about one of these things…if I might be so bold to say… you are an idolater.
You have exchanged the Creator for His creation.
25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
To live is Christ. The true believer understands this. Nothing else should compare with Christ in our lives. Our energy and time need to show our value for Christ. Yes we need to pursue godly things as well and serve others and live holy lives. But we do all of that out of a love for Christ that as we have said time and time again comes through us because He first loved us. We serve through the power and love of Christ. We love our wives and children with the power and love of Christ. To live is Christ. All that we do should be the result of Christ living in us and working through us.
Moving on to the rest of this passage:
22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.
Paul ends these last five verses with an interesting monologue. He is debating on whether he is to go home with the Lord or stay and be an encouragement and teacher of the Philippian believers. He said that he is hard pressed between the two. We have a saying for that - between a rock and a hard place. This Greek word gave a word picture of a traveler on a narrow road with walls of rock on both sides and feeling the pressure of this situation - unable to really make a turn in either direction. He loves the believers in Philippi. He wants to come to their aid and continue teaching and spreading the Gospel. But as he states in verse 23 - to depart and be with Christ is far better!
This statement from Paul brings up an important teaching when it comes to death.
Some have falsely taught that an unbiblical doctrine of soul sleep. They teach that once a person dies that their soul continues in a state of unconsciousness until their resurrection. This teaching is a false teaching and an anti-Biblical teaching.
Why would Paul see it as far better to die and go into an unconscious state than to walk with Christ while on earth? Even as verse 21 states - why would Paul speak of dying as gain with such passion if he was going to be in an unconscious state for many years before his resurrection?
Elsewhere we see even clearer teachings that refute this false teaching:
When speaking with the repentant thief on the cross:
43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
And just as clear, Paul nails this home in 2 Corinthians 5:8:
8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
To be away from the body is to be at home with the Lord.
A couple of other verses continue our understanding as seen in Matt 17:3
3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.
This is during the Transfiguration and Moses and Elijah are fully conscious here.
Finally, moving on to Revelation we see the fully conscious previously martyred believers crying out:
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.
I hope that this has helped you understand the wonderful peace of God that comes with understanding what dying really is for the believer. It is gain. It is gain because we are in the Presence of our Almighty God and Risen Savior - Jesus Christ.
We are in the Presence of the One who gave it all for us. He humbled Himself and came as the God-man Jesus Christ. He lived a sinless life and died on the cross for our sins. After his tortuous death He was buried three days but then rose from the dead and is now offering salvation to all who respond to His merciful drawing.
Friends, to live is Christ - and to die is gain. Paul, during his monologue here, has found it necessary to continue on in his body and preach the Gospel. This revelation eventually proved true as he was able to preach the Gospel for a few more years before his third and final imprisonment gave him the gain that he so longed for - the die is gain - to die is to be in the Presence of Christ.
Paul showed us in a mighty way what it meant to truly live. He sacrificed his comforts and freedom for His Savior and to advance the Gospel. His entire life was centered on Christ. May we courageously and sacrificially live for Christ as Paul did.
Scripture References: Phil 2:13, Rom 1:25, 2 Cor 5:8, Matt 17:3, Rev 6:9-11
Conclusion
As we come to a close, I want each of you to ask yourselves - Are you truly living?
Are you living by the help of the Spirit and the Saints?
Are you courageously living with the Saints?
Are you sacrificially living to encourage the Saints?
And all of these answers must align with what it means to truly live. To truly live is Christ. I pray that all of the distractions of this world fade away when you ponder the vastness of the glory of Christ. I pray that all of your anxieties and cares melt away when you ponder the power and sovereignty of Christ.
Let’s take a few moments and evaluate each of our hearts and lives. Think of some places in your life where you aren’t making Christ the priority. Think of some places in your life where you aren’t trusting Him as you should. The places where you are trying to go at it alone and in your own strength. Repent and turn away from your sinfulness in these areas. Ask God to help you be more and more aware of Christ in every aspect of your life. I’m going to give you a few moments to pray to yourself. Feel free to come up and pray with me if you need someone to pray with you. The altar is open. Whether in your seat or coming forward, take this time to rededicate and re-calibrate your life - every part of it to the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you haven’t ever put your faith in Jesus Christ and repented of your sins and believed in Christ - please come talk with me. I’d love to help further explain salvation with you and help you walk with Christ.
Prayer
If you would like to learn more about salvation through Jesus Christ or want to obey Jesus by obeying the first commandment of a believer in going through the waters of baptism - please let me know.
Have a blessed week.