Let Me Not Wander

If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.  (Philippians 1:22, ESV) So, here is the balance for Paul: To live is Christ... To die is gain (Philippians 1:21). To be Christ in this world will be fruitful labor for Paul. It will mean that more of the gospel is being spread abroad, more people will hear the good news, more will come to believe in the one and only savior of the world: Jesus Christ. As you read through these verses, you can almost feel Paul coming to the realization that he will stay here. He wants to go home, to be done with the labor, to be present with Christ, but almost like a dawning realization, he begins to understand that won't be the deliverance he will experience. He will most likely escape death this time, to continue in the labor. For Paul it is a Win, win situation.

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.  (Philippians 1:21, ESV) The Greek that is used here could more literally be translated, "To Live: Christ! To Die: Gain!" The meaning here is clear: For Paul to live, well, that will be like sharing in the very person of Jesus Christ. To live is to suffer for the sake of the Gospel. To live is to be persecuted. To live is to potentially remain in prison to eventually be executed. To die... now that is gain. To die is to be removed from all of this. As I have heard before, Paul must've thought, when conversations of execution came up, "You can't threaten me with heaven..." When Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit, penned* these words, I wonder if he knew how much comfort they would bring to those who are suffering for Christ and those who are close to death?

as 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.  (Philippians 1:20, ESV) Reading Paul's words in Philippians 1:19 and the beginning of verse 20, might lead you to suspect that Paul is asking / praying to be released from prison. Now, surely, that sort of deliverance is clearly included in the the thoughts and prayers of Paul and the Philippian church, but the last few words lay it out there, plain and simple. Paul's deliverance might come by life or by death. His main concern though? It is not which form of deliverance that he experiences, but only that Christ will be honored in Paul's body.

for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance,  (Philippians 1:19, ESV) Verse 18 ended with, "Yes, and I will rejoice..." which should actually go with this verse. So, he is rejoicing that the gospel of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed, but now he is going into another reason why he is rejoicing and continuing to rejoice. Being in prison, it is not unusual at all that he knows they will be and have been praying for him. Even being confident in deliverance from this situation is absolutely fitting to the thought process. What will be interesting is what he considers to be his deliverance, which we will see in the next few verses.

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.  Yes, and I will rejoice,  (Philippians 1:18, ESV) The source of Paul's joy in his circumstances, is that he can see the proclamation of Christ. It doesn't seem to matter to him what the motives of people are. He is looking beyond that at the workings of God, in spite of the motives of people.

The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment.  (Philippians 1:17, ESV) It is important to notice that this particular group of people are still proclaiming Christ. There is no hint of a false teaching or of false teachers in this passage. When the teaching is false, Paul also responds quite fervently against both the teaching and the teachers of false doctrine. But in this case, he still maintains joy that Christ is being proclaimed. The problem, in this case, is not the message, but the preachers of that message. These other preachers, instead of being motivated by a deep love of the apostle, are actually out for themselves. Quite possibly, they have seen Paul's imprisonment as an opportunity to jump into the spotlight themselves, and if they can put Paul down... take it permanently. It doesn't matter to Paul. The Gospel is being preached. I wonder if I would have the same attitude?

The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.  (Philippians 1:16, ESV) So, the one group that have become more confident to share the Gospel are motivated by love, specifically a love for Paul. They love Paul so much that when they find out he has been imprisoned for the defense of the Gospel, it motivates them to share the Gospel themselves. One could ask, what motivates you to share the Gospel? But a more significant question to ask would be in regards to who do you love? Are there currently any heroes for the Gospel in your life that you love? As they share the Gospel, and go great lengths and endure sacrifices to make it happen, does your love for them motivate you and give you the confidence to share the Gospel yourself?