Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.
Dig Deeper
I was so frustrated one year with the high school basketball team of which I was the coach because they just could not seem to understand and execute the defense system that we wanted them to learn. It was a year in which we had no significant returning players, so nearly every person on the team was new. We went over it time and time and time again. I explained it, I drew it up, I described it, yet they just could not seem to grasp the level of physicality and the speed of movement that they needed in order to execute the particular style of defense for which our team was well known. Finally, it hit me what we had to do. I called several of my former players who had graduated and moved on but who were the best defensive players that had been our team over the years. They all gathered for one practice and did the drills with the current team, showing them how it actually looked when done correctly. They modeled all facets of the defense for these young men. I was amazed at how quickly they suddenly caught on once they had seen a model. They not only understood how to physically perform the defensive scheme, they finally seemed to grasp the philosophy behind it.
It seems that most humans learn things, especially difficult subjects, when we can see it modeled for us. Abstract subjects suddenly come to life and become three-dimensional. Paul was a master teacher and he knew this truth very well. He could, of course, have simply called the Philippians to the life of Christ and urged them to constantly put other’s interests ahead of their own. That only goes so far, though, especially when it is often so difficult to imagine what that looks like in the real world. It is so difficult to discern a healthy balance between putting other’s interests above our own, and becoming a doormat. So, at several points throughout this letter, Paul will model or point to models of this type of living. How does Paul model this truth in this section? Simply in that his own personal desire would be to be fully complete in his transformation into the image of God in Christ. He knows, however, that the only way to accomplish that is to die. His love and desire for Christ are so strong, though, that this is his personal preference. Yet, he knows that if this happens, it would not be the best thing at the moment for the young Christian community. So, if it is God’s will then he will continue in the body during the present age. Paul could just continue on without saying this to anyone, but instead he opts to tell them of his personal struggle and acceptance of doing what is better for them in opposition to his own personal will. In telling them of his struggle, Paul has modeled in living color what it means to put the concerns of others and the cause of Christ above his own personal desires.
Paul is confident that God’s plan will end in his deliverance, but the fact that he will continue to rejoice is not contingent upon whether or not he is released from prison. Paul, when he says that his present state will turn out for his deliverance, is quoting from Job 13:16. Paul’s point does not rest in his present state of affairs in prison, but like Job, he was concerned with the final court of arbitration, where God’s people will be vindicated. Thus, for Paul, what happened to him at the hands of the Romans was of little consequence, for he had bigger things in mind. He was, instead, expecting that he would not be ashamed, by which Paul can only mean the failure to be found in Christ. In Paul’s mind, no one who hopes in the Lord, will ever be put to shame (Ps. 25:3). So, until the time of final judgment, he will continue to exalt Christ and live the life of Christ regardless of what happens to him in the present age.
This is a stark reminder for those of us who are so eager to live for Christ when things are pleasant and going well, but as soon as tough times hit in our lives, our homes, our church, etc., we are quickly tempted to abandon the life of Christ and revert to the old way of doing things and our old lives. In verse 21, Paul clearly states in one sentence a summary of the Christian faith as succinctly as possible. Those who recognize that we cannot earn our way back to God or restore the image of God marred by sin, die to themselves and enter into the life of Christ (Romans 6:3-4). This is precisely the point where so many religious teachings of our day go wrong. They preach a self-help gospel that is aimed, in one form or another, at improving your life or helping you to find happiness, peace, prosperity, or whatever else they might be pushing that week. But that is not at all what Christianity is about. It’s not about fixing up your life, but about dying to self and entering into the only life (John 14:6) that is the image of God (Col. 1:15; 2 Cor. 4:4) and will take part in the resurrection (John 11:25). For the Christian to live is Christ, because our life belongs to him. This means that one of the great tasks for the Christian is to constantly be on guard for areas in which we have tried to live out our desires rather than living the life of Christ, which is to do the will of God.
Because Paul knows that he is clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27) and hidden with Christ (Col. 3:3) so that when God looks at him, He sees Christ, he also knows that if he dies, it is gain, because he will be united with Christ whom he loves so dearly and await the time of the great resurrection. Here is another area where many Westernized Christians today are confused, believing that the great hope of the Christian faith is heaven. Yet, we don’t really find anyone in the New Testament talking about the hope of going to heaven when they die; for them heaven was the time (albeit preferable to the struggle of life in the present age) when souls that were separated temporarily from their bodies were kept in God’s presence until resurrection. This is Paul’s dilemma. He would, in many senses, rather go on to be with Christ, but he knows deep down that there is more work for him to do. So, his resolve is that he will gladly stay in the body during this present age because it will result in their progress and joy in the faith. He has, then, laid out his personal preference, but also demonstrated that he will put their interests ahead of his own. At the same time, Paul is not absolutely sure that God’s plan is for him to remain on earth at that time. Life in the Roman Empire was cheap and he could be executed at any time. If that were to happen, he wants them to know that if they suddenly received news of his death, there was no need to panic. God was in control and Paul would have been exactly where he wanted to be.
In 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, written presumably after this letter and his time in prison (if Paul wrote this letter while in Ephesus), Paul describes coming to a point where he despaired of his own life. Things looked so bleak that he began to believe that he would meet the death sentence, and he felt it in his heart, soul, and mind. This in incredibly instructive for us. In this passage, Paul seems upbeat and hopeful. Yet, he obviously didn’t always feel that positively. Yet, as we read on in 2 Corinthians, especially in passages like chapter 5, Paul never wavered in his belief in God and the resurrection for those in Christ. The huge lesson for us to take away from that is Paul learned to distinguish between his feelings and his belief, and demonstrated how to live out his belief when his feelings were telling him something very different. This is a Christian discipline that we must never tire in striving towards.
Devotional Thought
What is most challenging for you when it comes to truly putting the interests of others above your own? What are some practical ways that you can begin to embrace the life of Christ in this area?
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