Philippians 1: 'to live is Christ, to die is gain'

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Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel.  As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.  And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.

It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.  The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defence of the gospel.  The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.  But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.  I 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.  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know!  I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.  Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved – and that by God.  For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.

Philippians 1:12-30

It's easy to look at our life circumstances and wonder: 'what is the point of this?'  Setbacks may cause us to question our entire purpose and calling - how can God achieve his purposes?  When Paul was imprisoned in Rome it would be been understandable if he had had these thoughts.  Here he was - a missionary who had travelled round founding many churches, now no longer free to travel and his freedoms severely limited.  It is possible that the Philippian church were disturbed by this - as I'm sure we would too if we were in their position - and hence Paul writes to reassure them: what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel (1:12).  This is by no means a remarkable chain of events as far as Biblical examples go - from the earliest times God turned human sin on it's head by using it for good, the pinnacle of this being the crucifixion of Jesus, who took on our sin for our redemption.

And Paul does not appear to be discouraged by his experiences.  This does not mean that he did not experience discouragement - the apostle was 'only human' after all and speaks candidly of his own weakness and sinfulness elsewhere.  However, the fact remains that Paul reports that he is rejoicing (1:18).  In my opinion, it is likely that this is something that is far deeper than any fear and discouragement Paul may have felt, and what is more, it is a decision.  He knows through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (1:19) that God will use his situation for good, and thus chooses to rejoice.

There is also something further about suffering that is explored here.  In the last paragraph of the passage I have included above, Paul charges the Philippians to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel, whatever happens, standing firm as one despite opposition (1:27-28).  He then says: This is a sign to [those who oppose] that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved – and that by God (1:28). How is it a sign? Because suffering, opposition, or refining is a sure test of where one's loyalties lie.   Why would a world that crucified Jesus accept his followers? If we truly are the body of Christ on this earth, then we should expect the same hostility. And so Paul says: For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him (1:29).

But what if that suffering leads eventually to death?  Is everything we've achieved all in vain? No - in fact it is the very opposite: to die is gain (1:21).   It is only in our death when we will finally be free of sin and live with Christ unhindered - not as disembodied souls, but our mortal bodies sown as seeds for resurrection bodies (see 1 Corinthians 15).  This is where the body of Christ is headed - the goal.  There is plenty to do on the way, but we know at our journey's end our sufferings will not have been in vain.