When we are “in Christ,” we are never outside of his loving care, never lost, never alone. To live is to be connected to Jesus, sheltered and comforted by him, accompanied by him along every step of the road. We are not excluded, but we are part of the family: in Christ. This is true, even when we feel like it is not true.

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Philippians #5. Philippians 1:18-26

Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, ²⁰as 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. (Philippians 1:18-26, ESV)

This is a text that has HUGE applications to our lives, but, at the same time, it’s not a very complicated topic. The hard part is not in understanding it, but in living it. I do want to clear up one small matter, however. Paul writes:

¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance

The Greek word that is translated here as “deliverance” occurs forty-four times in the New Testament. Here, and only here, the ESV (and most other English translations) translate it as “deliverance.” In all other cases—forty-three times—the ESV translates the same word as “salvation,” and it refers to the salvation of the entire person which we have through Jesus Christ. I understand why modern translations use “deliverance” instead. They think (or want to think) that Paul is saying that he will be “delivered” from prison and a death sentence. They want it to be this because Paul says this deliverance/salvation will come through the prayers of the Philippians and the help of the Spirit of Jesus. We don’t think of salvation as depending upon someone else’s prayers, and it feels uncomfortable to think that Paul might not be completely sure he will be saved through Jesus. But I don’t think we have to believe that Paul was uncertain about his salvation, or that his salvation depended upon the prayers of the Philippians. Salvation in Jesus Christ concerns the whole person, and I think what Paul means is that he trusts, with the help of the prayers of the Philippians, that his salvation will be obvious to all when he stands in Caesar’s court to make his defense.

It is clear that Paul is not talking about deliverance from prison, because he adds:

²⁰as 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. (Philippians 1:20-21, italic formatting added for emphasis)

Clearly, Paul thinks he will receive this salvation (or deliverance) whether or not he lives or dies. That would not be true of deliverance from prison, but it is certainly true of salvation.

So Paul rejoices because he knows that whatever happens—life, or death—he has the salvation given in Jesus Christ. I do think the word “salvation” can have a bigger meaning than just “saved from hell.” It means that through Jesus Christ, our entire lives are transformed. Yes, we have been saved from hell, and for the New Creation. But we have also been saved from being slaves to our desires, or slaves to sin; we have been saved from having to live by the world’s values; we are saved from fear, and worry and hate; we have been saved to bring honor to Jesus Christ.

So when Paul talks of the expectation of salvation, he does mean that if he dies, he will be with the Lord—he says so explicitly in verses 20-23. But he is also saying he is confident that, because he has salvation, that he will face Caesar’s court with courage, and that Jesus will be glorified and honored through his (Paul’s) words, attitude and actions. Whether he lives, or dies, Paul is confident in his salvation, and that means two important things: 1) He no longer fears death, and 2) He no longer fears whatever life has in store for him. In fact, he puts it like this:

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

Sometimes, I think we Christians find the second part easier than the first. If we are serious about following Jesus, we have heard of the His wonderful promises of eternal life in the New Creation, living in the presence of God and of many loved ones. This is a future that so good that it is beyond imagining. We will live in physical bodies, in a physical world, and both the world and our bodies will be made perfect. We will be constantly filled with the joyful presence of God. We will love each other without fear or perversion. We will have meaningful work to do, work that we love, and we also have all of the peace and rest and recreation that we want and need. That is why Paul says: “to die is gain.” He adds, in verse 23: “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” Indeed, what could be better? If we really believe the teachings of Jesus, the answer is: “nothing could be better than that.” So, Paul’s heart is at peace if he is to be killed. This should be normal for a Christian.

I know that I don’t fear death. In dreams when I’m in a crashing airplane or something like that, I get excited, because I know I’m about to be fully in the joyful presence of the Lord. I feel a little disappointed when I wake up. To be with Christ is far better than…everything else; anything else. When we really understand the gospel, all Christians should feel this way.

But that’s not the only thing Paul said. He actually started with: “To live is Christ.” What does he mean? He means that everything that takes place in this mortal life is in Christ, through Christ, and for Christ.

We live in Christ, and that means that nothing can separate us from the love of God given through Jesus Christ:

³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? ³³ Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31 – 39, ESV)

We are never outside of his loving care, never lost, never alone. To live is to be connected to Jesus, sheltered and comforted by him, accompanied by him along every step of the road. We are not excluded, but we are part of the family: in Christ. This is true, even when we feel like it is not true.

“To live is Christ” also means that Christ lives through us. One of my favourite hymns is “Yet Not I, But Through Christ in Me.” It perfectly sums up “to live is Christ.” We don’t live in Christ through our own efforts, actions or skills. No, it is Jesus himself who lives his life through each one of us. My main job is to keep saying “yes” to him, and allowing him to use my life as he wants. He wants to glorify God through each one of us, through our own personhood. So, for instance, Jesus wants to live through me, showing the glory of God through who Tom, specifically, is, and is becoming, in Christ. He wants to do the same through you, through your own uniqueness. This doesn’t mean we work hard to glorify God. Instead, it means that we develop the habit of letting Jesus live through us by saying “yes” to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, of surrendering to Him, even when it is difficult. Spiritual disciplines like Bible reading, prayer, fellowship, and so on help us to remain “in line” with what Jesus wants to do in us and through us.

We live for Christ. I don’t mean that we work hard to be good for Jesus. What I mean is that our lives no longer belong to us. We exist to be used as Jesus Christ desires. It’s not hard to sort of slip into the idea that some people, like pastors and missionaries, live for Christ, while the rest of the Christians sort of go about their own business. But that is not the picture we get from the New Testament. A follower of Jesus might live for Christ as a missionary, yes. But a Jesus-follower might also live for Christ in the business world, or a trade, or as a home-maker, a school-teacher, and any number of things. It’s not like Jesus only wants people to hear about him through pastors or missionaries. No, he wants to use all of us to bring his presence into the places where we go and to the people we spend time with. We Jesus-followers all live for him and his purposes.

This should be the attitude of all Christians. If we live, we live in Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. Our lives belong to him, and we exist for him to use to bless others and glorify him. When we surrender to this way of life, we receive tremendous benefits ourselves: love, peace, inner security, joy. We are never alone, we are completely loved.

The biggest thing in “To Live is Christ,” is that we lean on Jesus in simple trust. Right now, trust looks stupid to me. My daughter has cancer, and is literally fighting for her life—and it hasn’t gone that well so far. My pain remains (after typing “remains,” I had to get up and get a heating pad because of it). There has been no miraculous healing for either of us, though I believe God is capable of it. Some of my other children also have issues and struggles. The invitation to trust the Lord comes with a sense of risk and vulnerability. I don’t get a guarantee that things will come out the way I want them to—at least, not in the short term. Paul did not have that guarantee, either. But we are all invited to surrender and say:

 “Yes, Lord! I will take you on your own terms, even if it seems difficult, even if I don’t understand. I trust that you love me, that you are the way, truth and life, even though life is hard right now. I trust your Word, even when I don’t feel you, or your presence. I trust that in the end, I will be more than satisfied with who you are and what you have done with my life. I trust that these present troubles—big as they are right now, literally life and death—will not be worth mentioning when we share in your glorious future.”

It is much more a surrender than a hard task. If you find yourself working hard to get something from God, it might be more helpful, to step back and give up, instead, entrusting yourself to him even though you don’t see what you want, or feel what you want from God.

What if we face the worst case scenario: death? Then, it’s even better. We begin the celebration in spirit by joining the Lord, and those who have already died before us. In the fulness of time, we will all receive resurrected bodies, perfect and immortal, to live in, and to enjoy, a perfect, unbroken creation. When we are in Christ, though we walk through suffering and tears, our ultimate future is fulness of joy. Nothing that touches us here can destroy us; nothing can bring us any permanent harm.

When Paul contemplates this, he realizes that what he really wants is to leave this mortal life and join Jesus (v. 23). He says, truthfully, that to leave this life would be the best thing personally, by far, for him.

For me, living out: “to live is Christ,” is much more difficult than “to die is gain.” But Paul gives us an important lesson here. He declares that his life is not his own to do with as he pleases. If it was, he would go to be with Jesus, since, for him personally, that would be far better. But no, he says, contemplating his situation, he thinks that Jesus probably has purposes for him in this life. Therefore, even though he would prefer to die and be with the Lord, he is willing to remain and live in, through and for, Jesus.

I’m good with dying, myself. It means an end to pain and suffering, and the beginning of unimaginable joy. But I need courage from the Lord to remember “to Live is Christ.” This is one reason why suicide is not an option for Christians. We don’t belong to ourselves. Our lives belong to Jesus, and it is up to him when we live or die. Taking my own life is the same as taking the life of someone else (murder), because in both cases, I am killing someone I have no right to kill. Let’s say it plainly: If I am a true follower of Jesus, my life is not my own to do with as I please.

By the way, this text is not teaching that Paul did, in fact, live. Rather, it teaches us the proper attitude for all Christians about life and death. It shows us that Paul was willing to continue to suffer in this mortal life, if that was what Jesus wanted. In fact, he expected that Jesus wanted to continue to use him to bless others, and so was ready to continue to suffer, to delay the joy of being with Jesus fully in eternal life.

I think we have plenty to chew on, for now. Do you recognize that your salvation applies to your entire life—that everything is affected by it? Perhaps you need help from the Lord to see how your salvation affects everything.

What about “to live is Christ?” In what ways do you need help to live in, through, and for Jesus Christ? Do you need help surrendering, rather than working hard to get God to respond the way you want him to?

How about “to die is gain,” and “to be with the Lord (die) is far better?” Do you fear death? Why is that? Or, on the other hand, are you tempted to take your life into your own hands, as if it belongs to you, and not Jesus?

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you about all of this?