“For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continued with you all for your progress and joy of faith, that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.”
Philippians 1:19-21 NKJV
The letter to the Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul while he was in prison awaiting trial. But Paul knew even then, in the midst of pain and trial, his greatest desire would be that Christ is magnified, or glorified, whether he himself lived or died. Verse 21 – one of my personal favorite verses – sums up everything that Paul is saying in the surrounding sentences. He says, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
To live is Christ: This is a statement of the focus of Paul’s earthly life following his conversion on the road to Damascus. To live is to serve Christ, to live is to bring honor and glory to Him and Him alone, to live is to make known to the world the grace and mercy that is offered up in Christ\’s sacrifice on the cross. While we live here on this earth, our worship is to be directed, living in obedience to the Father, basking in the glory of His Son; all that we do while here is to glorify God.
To die is gain: This is a statement of the focus of Paul’s life to come. To die is to gain complete fellowship with Christ, to die it to gain the life abundant. He knew that no matter what happened or how much was lost or gained while here on earth that crossing over to eternity can only be counted as gain.
That phrase “to die is gain” is unusual, really. Most of us don’t think of death as a good thing at all, and definitely don’t relate death to gaining anything. We think of it as a loss of life, and it is – for those who are lost. And don’t get me wrong, grieving for those who pass on is necessary; however, we can rejoice in knowing that for those of us who are saved, we will have lived a life that glorified God while we were here – even in the midst of trial – and will enjoy Him forever once we leave this earth to be with Jesus.
Paul writes in his second letter to the Corinthians in chapter five, “So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” A gaining of a life abundant is obtained when a child of God – one who has acknowledged their sins, confessed them to God and received forgiveness (provided in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Son) – is absent from the body, because then they are present with the Lord.
