To Live is Christ
In Philippians 1, the apostle Paul presents his readers with a dilemma which he himself faced:
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. . . Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. (Philippians 1:21-23).
- What does Paul mean by “to live is Christ, and to die is gain?” In what manner is living Christ and dying gain?
- Are the choices really both equally appealing? Why is Paul torn?
- What does Paul choose? And what lessons does his choice present to Christians today?
Living is Christ
For Paul, and likewise every Christian, living truly is Christ. Paul knows he was dead in his trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). But he is made alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:5). Before Christ opened his eyes, Paul was not living. After Paul was reborn, he was living in Christ. Paul even writes in Galatians, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
Because Paul owes his life to Christ, and became a slave of Christ (Romans 1:1), Christ consumed his entire being. He lives to serve Christ. He lives to “go. . . and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19), to “do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Thus, for Paul, living is Christ, because he lives only to serve Christ and make his name great.
Dying is Gain
Conversely, all believers gain much by dying. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the crowds that, throughout their lives, they should “lay up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20). Paul, and all Christians, do not, therefore, ultimately exist for life on earth, but rather, they live for the reward in heaven.
Beyond this, Paul himself teaches that our hope lies in the resurrection of the dead, not in this life only. He writes,
If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19).
Hence, it’s clear the primary source of joy for a Christian is eternal life with Christ, not the short blink of an eye existence on earth. So, for Paul, dying is gain because at death, he enters into eternal life with Christ.
Equally Appealing
It’s important to determine if the two horns, or choices, Paul presents are truly equal because there is no dilemma if one option is better than the other. The value and appeal of both choices, living for Christ or dying to gain, have already been demonstrated. But is one more valuable than the other? Whichever option, life or death, best honors Christ is most valuable to Paul. His greatest concern is that “Christ will be honored. . . whether by life or by death” (Philippians 1:20).
So for Paul, neither life nor death is an end in itself, but each is a means to the end that is Christ’s glory.
Paul is “hard pressed between the two” choices, because both options allow Paul to serve his purpose for Christ. Living for Christ “means fruitful labor” for Paul (Philippians 1:22), but “to depart and be with Christ” (Philippians 1:23) means eternity in the house of God, forever crying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8). The great value and appeal of both life and death can be easily seen, and it is thus no wonder that Paul is torn.
Paul’s Choice
Paul does, however, choose between the two. He finds one to be more valuable, “more necessary” (Philippians 1:24). He writes,
But to remain in the flesh is far more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:24-26).
l concludes that by living, he can better glorify God and be one of Christ’s “witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Despite the appeal of both choices, Paul decides that living is more necessary and conducive to fulfilling his God-given mission on earth, and his choice presents an important lesson to Christians. Paul writes that his “desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Philippians 1:23).
Paul wants to escape the struggles of this life and enter the presence of God, but that want submits to the overarching desire in Paul’s life, which is to obey God’s plan for his life.
Paul knows he must remain and continue his life because he can better serve Christ that way. Neither life nor death is bad, but the Holy Spirit led Paul to conclude that life is better, simply because death was not the calling God had placed on his life at the time. Christians everywhere must strive to mirror this decision-making process.
The primary criterion for any Christian’s decision should always be to follow the will of God for his life and continue to devote his entire existence to the service of Christ. This may mean living a long life, as the apostle John did, or dying young for the sake of Christ, as many of the other apostles did.
And it is not the Christian’s prerogative to choose. Simply wanting to depart from this life to dwell with Christ is not a reason to commit suicide. Suicide is the expression of a selfish and sinful want presumptuously superceding and ignoring God’s plan. And, on the other hand, Christians do not have the right to flee from death either. God does lead Christians to die for the sake of the Kingdom, but because death holds no power and dying is gain, death is worthy of no dread or fear.
And this applies to more than the general dichotomy of life or death: the principle here applies to every single decision a Christian ever makes. The deciding factor should never be the Christian’s want, but must always be a perception of what is revealed by the Holy Spirit. Whether deciding between schools, careers, neighborhoods, churches, etc., the decision should always be determined by the Holy Spirit’s influence and revelation.
Conclusion
If “to live is Christ and to die is gain,” which is better? Neither is inherently superior. For Paul, when he wrote Philippians, it was better to continue to live. But it depends on God’s unique will for each person’s life. Paul was convinced by the Holy Spirit that God willed for him to remain and serve God by spreading the Word to the ends of the earth. But it is God’s will that some should die for his sake, as did Jesus, Stephen, and according to tradition, even Paul (eventually). Each Christian must live by the Holy Spirit, making every decision according to what they, by the Holy Spirit, have discerned God’s will to be for his life.