(REFLECTIONS ON Philippians 1:12-26)

21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Paul’s desire was to depart and be with Christ. Paul didn’t mean leaving ministry so that he would be free from the troubles of sharing the Gospel of Christ, but literally to leave this earth and be with Christ. Even in death, Christ would be glorified.

However, “to live is Christ” was what he chose because it benefited all those who would hear the Gospel of Christ. Yes, for Paul, to live is Christ meant that his life was not devoted to fulfilling his own desire. Rather, his life would be focused solely on preaching the Gospel of Christ.

Even his imprisonment was a fulfillment of “to live is Christ,” because through his imprisonment the Gospel of Christ was spreading. Paul wrote,

12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, 13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, 14 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.

Paul’s imprisonment, though negative from our perspective, was a blessing to him because through it people were encouraged by his example to speak the word of God more boldly and without fear, thus fulfilling his goal of “to live is Christ.”

Paul noted that some even shared the Gospel of Christ, talked about Christ, and talked about what Paul was doing in the hope of causing him distress in his imprisonment. Yet even in that, Christ was being proclaimed, and what Paul was doing was becoming known to more and more people.

For Paul, whether things were positive or negative, if they highlighted the Gospel of Christ, that was “to live is Christ,” and that was the life Paul desired to live. Otherwise, he believed it would be far better to die and be with Christ.

Brothers and sisters, we know these words, but do they stir anything in our hearts? What can we do with what Paul wrote to the Philippians, and how can we take that spark in our hearts and fan it into flames for the Gospel of Christ?

Brothers and sisters, if we feel anything from Paul’s struggle, then let us choose like Paul to live for the Gospel of Christ. Let us not try to flatten this message or make our faith about something else so that we don’t need to face the Holy Spirit’s stirring within us.

Pastor Michael Lu
Enduring Word Bible Commentary: Philippians 1