Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Philippians 1:21

Clarke's Commentary

Verse 21. For to me to live is Christ — Whether I live or die, Christ is gain to me. While I live I am Christ's property and servant, and Christ is my portion; if I die-if I be called to witness the truth at the expense of my life, this will be gain; I shall be saved from the remaining troubles and difficulties in life, and be put immediately in possession of my heavenly inheritance. As, therefore, it respects myself, it is a matter of perfect indifference to me whether I be taken off by a violent death, or whether I be permitted to continue here longer; in either case I can lose nothing.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Results of Paul’s imprisonment (1:12-26)

Some of the Philippians were becoming down-hearted because Paul had been imprisoned so long. He tries to encourage them with the news that through his imprisonment he has been able to tell the good news of Jesus Christ to many people whom he could not reach otherwise. Among these were people such as Roman guards and government officials. His fearless example has encouraged the local Christians to evangelize more boldly (12-14).
Unfortunately, the local Christians are bold in different ways. Some are sincere disciples of Jesus Christ, and are more zealous for him because of Paul’s example. Others, who are more interested in gaining status for themselves in the church, are jealous of Paul’s influence and are glad to see him locked up. This enables them to pursue their selfish ambitions, knowing that Paul can do nothing to stop them (15-17). Paul, however, is not angry. He is glad that at least they are still preaching the true gospel, even if not from the best motives (18).
Paul believes that through the Philippians’ prayers he will have added help from God’s Spirit and so be set free. This will allow him to continue his work of spreading the gospel. But as he thinks also of the possibility of execution, his confidence is briefly shaken. He feels less certain that he will be released. Nevertheless, whether he will be released or executed, his aim is to bring honour to Christ (19-20). As for his personal desires, he does not know which he prefers. Life itself means to enjoy Christ, and death will only increase this joy; but if he is released he will have further opportunity to serve God in the world. His death will benefit him, but his life will benefit others (21-24).
At this thought Paul’s original confidence returns. He expects that their prayers for his release will be answered. Apart from the joy this will bring to both Paul and the Philippians, it will increase their faith and lead to further progress in their lives for Christ (25-26).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if to live in the flesh, — if this shall bring fruit from my work, then what I shall choose I know not. But I am in a strait betwixt the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ; for it is very far better: yet to abide in the flesh is more needful for your sake.

PAUL'S GREAT SOLILOQUY

In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark delivered a soliloquy in which he viewed both the present life and the after-death state as equally undesirable and terrifying. When considering the evils of life, he could incline toward death, except for the soul-shattering thought that evil dreams would torture him. Thus, Hamlet stands as the typical unregenerated man, oppressed by life, but afraid to die. Here, the matchless Paul rises above such a dilemma, viewing both life and death as the means of magnifying the Lord Jesus.

To live is Christ … Salvation through Christ is, briefly stated, a sinner's denial of himself, renunciation of himself, and complete submission to the will of Christ, being "baptized into" Christ, thus being saved, not as himself, but as Christ. That fact surfaces in Paul's brief clause here.

To die is gain … "Anyone who can truthfully say, `For me to live is Christ' can also say, `To die is gain'." F. F. Bruce, Answers to Questions (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1972), p. 109. Therefore, this Pauline statement is more than a mere complaint of his being imprisoned. "To depart and be with Christ is very far better!" (Philippians 1:23). No Christian should dread death. Whatever Paul could have meant by such words as these, the confidence is justified that the after-death state of Christians will be "very far better" than any earthly life, however blessed.

Very far better … "This is the highest superlative which it is possible to form in any language … from which we may infer that Paul knew of no middle state of insensibility between death and the resurrection." James Macknight, op. cit., p. 413. It can hardly be imagined that Paul would have considered such a middle state of total insensibility to be preferable to remaining in the world to proclaim the gospel of Christ. Despite this, however, there seems to be indicated some kind of intermediate state in such passages as 1 Thessalonians 4:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. We must confess, as did Dummelow, that "Our best notions of the other world are dim and confused." J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 972.

To depart and be with Christ … Of course, this is a mere euphemism for death; but, as Martin noted, "It is a military term for striking camp, and a nautical expression for releasing a vessel from its mooring." R. P. Martin, op. cit., p. 78. Barry stated that this expression is found in only one other New Testament passage, Luke 12:88, "When he shall return (break up) from the wedding. The body is looked upon as a mere tabernacle. Each day is a march nearer home, and death is the last striking of the tent on arrival." Alfred Barry, Ellicott's Commentary on the Holy Bible, Vol. III, Philippians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 71.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

For to me to live is Christ - My sole aim in living is to glorify Christ. He is the supreme End of my life, and I value it only as being devoted to his honor - Doddridge. His aim was not honor, learning, gold, pleasure; it was, to glorify the Lord Jesus. This was the single purpose of his soul - a purpose to which he devoted himself with as much singleness and ardor as ever did a miser to the pursuit of gold, or a devotee of pleasure to amusement, or an aspirant for fame to ambition. This implied the following things:

(1) A purpose to know as much of Christ as it was possible to know - to become as fully acquainted as he could with his rank, his character, his plans, with the relations which he sustained to the Father, and with the claims and influences of his religion; see Philippians 3:10; Ephesians 3:19; compare John 17:3.

(2) A purpose to imitate Christ - to make him the model of his life. It was a design that his Spirit should reign in his heart, that the same temper should actuate him, and that the same great end should be constantly had in view.

(3) A purpose to make his religion known, as far as possible, among mankind. To this, Paul seriously gave his life, and devoted his great talents. His aim was to see on bow many minds he could impress the sentiments of the Christian religion; to see to how many of the human family he could make Christ known, to whom he was unknown before. Never was there a man who gave himself with more ardor to any enterprise, than Paul did to this; and never was one more successful, in any undertaking, than he was in this.

(4) It was a purpose to enjoy Christ. He drew his comforts from him. His happiness he found in communion with him. It was not in the works of art; not in the pursuits of elegant literature; not in the frivolous and fashionable world; but it was in communion with the Saviour, and in endeavoring to please him.

Remarks On Philippians 1:21

1. Paul never had occasion to regret this course. It produced no sadness when he looked over his life. He never felt that he had had an unworthy aim of living; he did not wish that his purpose had been different when he came to die.

(2)If it was Paul’s duty thus to live, it is no less that of every Christian. What was there in his case that made it his duty to “live unto Christ,” which does not exist in the case of every sincere Christian on earth? No believer, when he comes to die, will regret that he has lived unto Christ; but how many, alas, regret that this has not been the aim and purpose of their souls!

And to die is gain - Compare Revelation 14:13. A sentiment similar to this occurs frequently in the Greek and Latin classic writers. See Wetstein, in loc., who has collected numerous such passages. With them, the sentiment had its origin in the belief that they would be freed from suffering, and admitted to some happy world beyond the grave. To them, however, all this was conjecture and uncertainty. The word “gain,” here, means profit, advantage; and the meaning is, there would be an advantage in dying above that of living. Important benefits would result to him personally, should he die; and the only reason why he should wish at all to live was, that he might be the means of benefiting others; Philippians 1:24-25. But how would it be gain to die? What advantage would there be in Paul’s circumstances? What in ours? It may be answered, that it will be gain for a Christian to die in the following respects:

(1) He will be then freed from sin. Here it is the source of perpetual humiliation and sorrow; in heaven be will sin no more.

(2) He will be freed from doubts about his condition. Here the best are liable to doubts about their personal piety, and often experience many an anxious hour in reference to this point; in heaven, doubt will be known no more.

(3) He will be freed from temptation. Here, no one knows when he may be tempted, nor how powerful the temptation may be; in heaven, there will be no allurement to lead him astray; no artful, cunning, and skillful votaries of pleasure to place inducements before him to sin; and no heart to yield to them, if there were.

(4) He will be delivered from all his enemies - from the slanderer, the calumniator, the persecutor. Here the Christian is constantly liable to have his motives called in question, or to be met with detraction and slander; there, there will be none to do him injustice; all will rejoice in the belief that he is pure,

(5) He will be delivered from suffering. Here he is constantly liable to it. His health fails, his friends die, his mind is sad. There, there shall be no separation of friends, no sickness, and no tears.

(6) He will be delivered from death. Here, death is always near - dreadful, alarming, terrible to our nature. There, death will be known no more. No face will ever turn pale, and no knees tremble, at his approach; in all heaven there will never be seen a funeral procession, nor will the soil there ever open its bosom to furnish a grave.

(7) To all this may be added the fact, that the Christian will be surrounded by his best friends; that he will be reunited with those whom he loved on earth; that he will be associated with the angels of light; and that he will be admitted to the immediate presence of his Saviour and his God! Why, then, should a Christian be afraid to die? And why should he not hail that hour, when it comes, as the hour of his deliverance, and rejoice that he is going home? Does the prisoner, long confined in a dungeon, dread the hour which is to open his prison, and permit him to return to his family and friends? Does the man in a foreign land, long an exile, dread the hour when he shall embark on the ocean to be conveyed where he may embrace the friends of his youth? Does the sick man dread the hour which restores him to health; the afflicted, the hour of comfort? the wanderer at night, the cheering light of returning day? And why then should the Christian dread the hour which will restore him to immortal rigor; which shall remove all his sorrows; which shall introduce him to everlasting day?

Death is the crown of life:

Were death denied, poor man would live in vain:

Were death denied, to live would not be life.

Were death denied, even fools would wish to die.

Death wounds to cure; we fall; we rise; we reign!

Spring from our fetters; fasten in the skies;

Where blooming Eden withers in our sight.

Death gives us more than was in Eden lost,

The king of terrors is the prince of peace.

Night Thoughts, iii.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

21For to me to live. Interpreters have hitherto, in my opinion, given a wrong rendering and exposition to this passage; for they make this distinction, that Christ was life to Paul, and death was gain. I, on the other hand, make Christ the subject of discourse in both clauses, so that he is declared to be gain in him both in life and in death; for it is customary with the Greeks to leave the word πρός to be understood. Besides that this meaning is less forced, it also corresponds better with the foregoing statement, and contains more complete doctrine. He declares that it is indifferent to him, and is all one, whether he lives or dies, because, having Christ, he reckons both to be gain. And assuredly it is Christ alone that makes us happy both in death and in life; otherwise, if death is miserable, life is in no degree happier; so that it is difficult to determine whether it is more advantageous to live or to die out of Christ. On the other hand, let Christ be with us, and he will bless our life as well as our death, so that both will be happy and desirable for us.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Now, that we might continue to grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, let us turn to Philippians 1 .

Paul the apostle was arrested in Jerusalem, held in prison in Caesarea for two years until he appealed to Caesar and was brought as a prisoner to Caesar in Rome, in order that he might appear before Caesar and appeal his case. While Paul was in Rome for two years awaiting his appearance before Caesar, he was under house arrest. He was able to rent his own quarters, however, twenty-four hours a day he was chained to one of the Roman guards. There were in Rome some ten thousand elite soldiers who had been appointed as the imperial guard and whose chief duty was the protection of the emperor in Rome. One of these men were chained to Paul on shifts, twenty-four hours a day, for two years. Paul saw that as a tremendous opportunity to witness. They can't get away, and as the result of Paul's witnessing to these men, many of them of Caesar's household were brought to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Quite a revival there in Rome while Paul was there awaiting his appearance before Caesar.

The church in Philippi took up an offering for him and sent him a very generous offering. It was brought to him by Epaphroditus, who on the way became extremely ill and almost died, but he brought to Paul this gift from the hearts of those in Philippi, and basically this letter that Paul writes to them from the prison in Rome is a letter of thanksgiving and gratitude for the money that they had sent to him by Epaphroditus. And so, that really was the occasion of Paul's writing this epistle. It is written not as from an apostle to the church as are most of Paul epistles, but it is written as a letter from friend to friend. There is a very warm, friendly feeling through the whole epistle; it is interesting that the tone of the epistle is one of extreme joy and rejoicing. Interesting in the fact that during the time that Paul was doing all of this rejoicing, he was chained to a Roman guard in a Roman prison. Some of you perhaps visit Rome on occasion and were led into the Mamertin prison where tradition says Paul was held. It isn't a very attractive place; it is sort of under ground, the light comes in from a window up above, but yet, Paul always had the light within him, and thus, as he declares, "I have learned in whatever state I am in to therewith be content. I know how to abound. I know how to be abased. I'm content because my contentment does not lie in my circumstances. My contentment lies in my relationship with Jesus Christ and that cannot change. My circumstances may change, I may be in tough physical circumstances, but my contentment isn't in that. My contentment is in Jesus." And it is important that we also learn to find our contentment in Jesus Christ, because then we can learn whatever our condition is to be content.

So, Paul opens this epistle, and along with the little letter to Philemon and 1 Thessalonians, it's the only epistle where he does not begin by the affirmation of his apostleship. Usually, it is, "Paul an apostle by the will of God." But he is writing now as a friend to a friend.

Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ ( Philippians 1:1 ),

The word servant here in Greek is doulos, which is bondslave.

Now, there was a phrase concerning the bondslaves of Jesus Christ and that phrase went, "To serve Him is to reign as king." So, Paul a servant, but yet, to serve Jesus is to reign as a king, to be his bondslave.

Now, the word doulos, bondslave is more than just a servant. A servant was a person who was hired who had the freedom if he didn't like his job to quit and find a job someplace else. Not so with a bondslave. Like it or not, you were the property of your owner. The servant could come and go as he pleased, not the bondslave. Bond slavery was something that was for life. Paul the apostle, the bondslave, Paul and Timothy bondslaves,

to all the saints in Christ Jesus ( Philippians 1:1 )

The word saints has come under a lot of abuse. We've lost the sort of meaning of the word; the word comes from the Greek word hagios, which means holy, and so really, he is writing to those who are consecrated. A lot of times you read, "Unto the saints," and you say, "Oh, this don't apply to me; I'm surely no saint." But it is unto those who are consecrated to Jesus Christ. And so the literal meaning of the word saint, holy or consecrated.

to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops [overseers] and deacons [workers] ( Philippians 1:1 ):

I go to the Greek word themselves to translate them so that we get the . . . again bishops, we think of some guy who was over a whole bunch of churches. But they were the overseers within the local church, and the deacons were the workers. Those workers within the church.

You remember Philippi was the first place Paul came to when he brought the gospel to Europe. He was in Troas. He received the vision of a man of Macedonia saying, "Come over and help us," and Paul immediately went down, caught a ship to Macedonia. They came to Philippi, and there Paul found a group of women who were worshipping on Saturday out by the river. They were Jews. Now, this means that there was not a large Jewish community in Philippi. For where in a community they have ten adult Jewish males, they had the obligation to build a synagogue, but if there wasn't ten adult Jewish males, then they usually met in an outdoor area, usually by a river or a place of beauty and all. And so, the indication is that there were not many Jews in Philippi, and thus, meeting by the river. Paul went out and met with the women that were there, and he shared Christ and many of them received. He started a work there in Philippi. He wasn't able to minister very long because the Jews who found out that the women were converted began to stir up trouble. They had Paul arrested. He was beaten. He was thrown into the dungeon where he and Silas at the midnight hour were singing and praising the Lord, when suddenly, the prison was shaken by an earthquake and the doors were opened and they were freed. And the jailer, realizing that awakening from his sleep and seeing what had happened, took his sword and was ready to kill himself, and Paul said, "Do yourself no harm. We are all here."

You see, under the Roman rule if you were a guard and your prisoners escaped, then you had to take the penalty of the prisoners. So, better to commit suicide, really, than to face the wrath of the Roman justice, having lost the prisoners that were entrusted to you.

And so the man came in to Paul trembling, and he said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" And Paul said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house." And so he took Paul home and washed the caked blood off of his back as a result of the beating, and then he gave him something to eat. Paul shared with the family, and they all received Jesus Christ and were all baptized. That was the beginning of the church of Philippi.

Now the magistrates of the city, those who had arrested Paul were responsible for that, they came and said, "Let him go. We don't really have charges, so just let him go." And Paul said, "Hey, wait a minute. I am a Roman citizen and I have been beaten without any charges being filed. There has been an injustice here." Philippi was one of the main Roman cities. It was supposed to have been a model of Roman justice, and so he said, "They think they are just going to send me away. Let them come down; let the mayor come down himself and pardon me, you know, and let me go." And they went back and they said, "Did you know that they are Roman citizens?" "Oh no," and he knew that he had blown it. And so, he came down and said, "Please would you get out of town. Just go, you know we are sorry, just go."

Now, from that small beginning the Spirit of God did a work. The church had grown to the place where they had to have overseers; they had deacons and administrators. The work of God had expanded, and they had taken up a generous offering for Paul and sent it to him. And so, from that early beginning God began a good work, and he did really perform a very, really special work there in Philippi. So to the overseers and the worker,

Grace be unto you, and peace ( Philippians 1:2 ),

Now, we have come across these Siamese twins many times in the New Testament, and they are typical Pauline salutations as he opens his epistle so often with this, "Grace and peace be unto you."

from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ ( Philippians 1:2 ).

Again, I would like to emphasize, and I don't think we can too much, the fact that the Lord is not His name; it is His title. And we should not consider it or think of it as a name. We are talking of relationship when we say the Lord. Jesus is His name. As we were singing, "His name is Jesus, Jesus, sad hearts weep no more." His name is Jesus, or in the Hebrew, Jehoshua. But Lord is His title, and if we use the title of Lord, then that does signify that we take the position with Paul as a bondslave. It's talking of relationship from our Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you ( Philippians 1:3 ),

So Paul, every time he remembered the work of God there in Philippi, was thanking God for them.

John in writing his epistle said, "I have no greater joy than to know that my children are walking in truth" ( 3 John 1:4 ). I think that that can be said of the heart of every minister. The greatest joy that can come to any minister is to know that those who are really the children in the faith as the result of their ministry continue to walk in the truth.

Being in the ministry has tremendous rewards, and it is just thrilling to see the work that God does in various areas. This morning, as I was at the back door greeting the people as they were departing, there was a lady with her husband there, and their daughter, and her husband. As they approached me, I could see tears just welling up in their eyes. As they shook my hand, they said, "We are from New York and we listen to your radio program. And we have started a Bible study in our home, and we listen to your tapes and God is just blessing tremendously. We have so many people that are coming and being blessed through the word of God, and what a thrill for us to meet you and to be here today." As tears just began to stream down their face. And I tell you, you don't think that's not rewarding, to just see the fruit of the ministry. How you thank God for the work that He is doing. How you thank God for the privilege of being His instrument through which He might work.

And so Paul, God's instrument, is now giving thanks unto God for the report that comes from Philippi of their continuance in the walk and in the faith. Every time he remembered them, he would say, "Oh, thank God." Every time I think of you, I just thank God for the work that He is doing by His Spirit.

Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy ( Philippians 1:4 ),

So he is thanking God, praying for them always, but there is always a certain joyfulness involved with it because of the work that God is doing there. And he is thanking God for your fellowship in the gospel, from the first day until now.

Now that fellowship, ideal fellowship, the koinonia, is that oneness in the gospel, and no doubt also in this case refers to the support that they had given to Paul through the years. As he was writing to the Galatians, he said that they who are taught in the word ought to communicate unto them that teach in all good things. So, that the church in Philippi had been faithfully supporting Paul through the years, and so there was that oneness, the sharing, and you remember in the early church, if anyone had anything, they sold it and they brought it and laid it at the apostles feet, and they had all things in koinonia. This is the same Greek word here. There was just that sharing together of the welfare of their resources with Paul.

For your fellowship [or oneness, a communion] in the gospel from the first day [that he had been there in Philippi] until now [even to the present time]; being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ ( Philippians 1:5-6 ):

Which is, of course, the day in which Christ comes. The day that Christ comes for His church. I am confident that God is able to just continue the work that He started. Now, a lot of times, unfortunately, we don't have that confidence.

In the book of Hebrews, Jesus is called the author and the finisher of our faith. And we have got to realize what God has begun He is going to finish. He is not like us. He doesn't start a lot of projects that He doesn't finish. By virtue of the fact that God has begun a work in my life, I am confident that God is going to complete that work in my life. And Paul said, "We are confident of this very thing that He who has begun the good work in you will continue to perform it, unto the day that Jesus comes" ( Philippians 1:6 ). I have that confidence.

There is another scripture that says the Lord will perfect that which concerns you. The word perfect means complete. God is going to complete those things that concern you. He is going to complete that work of His Spirit within your life. He has begun it. He will finish it. He is the author and the finisher.

Even as it is meet [necessary] for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace ( Philippians 1:7 ).

So, you see the personal nature of this letter. It's really from Paul's heart to them as he just opens up and bears his heart to them, and again that oneness that they share together, for they are partakers with Paul of the grace of God. And they are sharing with him, who at this time is in bonds. He is in prison because of his defense of the gospel, and so they are sharing with him through these various experiences.

For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels [compassion] of Jesus Christ ( Philippians 1:8 ).

Paul said, "That love of Christ constrains me, I long for you with a compassion that Jesus Christ has put in my heart for you."

And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment ( Philippians 1:9 );

Now, Paul said he thanked God for the fellowship that they had together, but he also prayed for them, and this is Paul's prayer: that their love may abound more and more in all knowledge.

You know that there is a phrase, to know Him is to love Him. The reason why Jesus said, "Learn of Me," is that He wants you to know how much He loves you. Learn of Him, learn of how much He loves you, because Jesus knows the more you know Him, the more you will know His love for you and the more you know His love for you, the more response you will have towards that love in your loving Him. So that you might abound more and more in that love of Christ as you gain the knowledge of that love.

That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ ( Philippians 1:10 );

Again, the reference to the coming of Jesus Christ. Now, He is able to keep you unto the day that He comes. And this is how Paul wants them to be: growing more and more in their love and in their knowledge that they might approve or live after those things which are excellent and be sincere.

The word sincere, of course, comes from the Latin word sincere; two words actually, sin, without, and cere is wax. Now, during the days of Rome there were a lot of artisans. Everybody was anybody who could find the hammer and the chisel and were carving away on marble, and throughout the old world, I mean, you could find all kinds of statutes. You go to the museums and just row after row after row of marble statutes, and there was just something that was very common in those days, the working in marble.

Now, in working in marble, not everyone is perfect. And it might be that you were, you know, trying to shape the nose on the statue that you were making and you slipped and you popped the nose off of the thing. Well, they became extremely clever. They would take the ground marble, mix it with wax, and they could work it out and it could put on a nose out of wax that looks so genuine you couldn't tell it. You would go down to the store, you would see this lovely statute, and say, "Oh, I like that one. I want that one in our entry hall." So you buy this statue and you take it home and put it in your entry hall, and then those hot summer days would come and you would come walking into the house, and the nose had melted and run down over the lips, and you knew it was wax. So the Latin word sincere, without wax, without phoniness, genuine. And that's the way Paul wanted them to be: genuine in their faith, no phoniness to it.

Being filled with the fruits of righteousness ( Philippians 1:11 ),

Now, the fruit of righteousness is love and joy and peace. Paul wanted them to be filled with the fruits of righteousness, filled with love, filled with joy, filled with peace.

which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel ( Philippians 1:11-12 );

Now, they had been following Paul's career. They were aware of his arrest in Jerusalem. They were aware of his imprisonment in Caesarea, the two years as a political pawn. They were aware of his appeal to Caesar, and now they were aware of his imprisonment in Rome. Here is a man they highly respected. Here is a man they loved greatly. And to realize that he was really in prison on these trumped up charges, really with no basis. It seems like there was sort of a waste of talent. Paul had been so busy in going out and sharing the gospel, and now being in prison it seems like God has made a terrible mistake allowing this warrior of the cross to just be shut up in prison.

A lot of times we do not understand why God has allowed certain things, and from our viewpoint God has made here a serious mistake. Do you ever think that God has made some mistakes in your lives? There were a lot of times I thought God has surely made a mistake now. My circumstances, my condition, surely this is a mistake. But Paul is assuring them now, what things have happened really God has been using him for the furtherance of the gospel.

It is marvelous to be able to see the hand of God, even in those places where I am at a personal disadvantage, things that I would not personally choose for myself, to always realize that God probably has His hand in this.

The other day, Saturday, I started out of the house to come out here to the church, and suddenly I thought, "Oh, I have forgotten my glasses." So, I went back into the house to get my glasses and I didn't see them on the counter, and I realized they were in my pocket. It's what they call senility. It comes with old age. But as I was going back out to the car, the thought came to me, "I wonder if the Lord was sparing me from an accident." You know accidents happen with such precision, split-second timing, that just a moment's delay at this point could very well be protecting you from some accident down the road. So I said, "Thank you, Lord. You know things I don't know, and you are watching over even your dumb little sheep, and you are taking care of those who don't have enough sense to take care of themselves. Whatever it was, whatever purpose, thanks Lord! I appreciate You watching over me."

Now, it is important and it is good to realize that whatever happens to me is happening for a good purpose. God has a plan in mind for my life. So that Paul, as he said to the Roman church, "All things work together for good to those that love God" ( Romans 8:28 ). Paul is seeing here the good that God is bringing forth from his imprisonment. He is wanting to encourage them who would be prone to question God or doubt God because this marvelous apostle is being wasted in prison. He was assuring them that God's hand and purpose are being accomplished by his imprisonment. "I want you to know that these things that have happened to me, have really happened for the furtherance of the gospel."

When Paul was being brought to Rome and went through that tremendous storm for over fourteen days there in the Mediterranean, he had warned the captain not to set sail. He said, "I perceive a real danger is going to come to us." But the captain told the Roman centurion, "What does that guy know about the seas. I am a captain. I have been on these seas all my life. He is a land lover and doesn't know anything. We can sail." So the centurion said, "Okay, sail." Then they got in that horrible storm where for fourteen days they did not see the sun or stars; the ship was tossed to and fro in the Mediterranean. The mast was broken. They had thrown out all their cargo. They had just really placed themselves, finally, at the mercies of the sea. Everyone was seasick and miserable, and after fourteen days of this, Paul stood up and told them, "I told you that you shouldn't have started out." I love those people. He said, "Be of good cheer. The angel of the Lord stood by me last night and told me that though the ship will be wrecked and destroyed, all of the lives will be saved."

Well, the Lord wanted to reach the governor of the island of Malta, and that was just an unusual way of getting Paul to Malta. It wasn't on their planned journey, so God detoured them to Malta. There was no way Paul could have talked the captain in going to Malta. The Lord had souls on Malta that He wanted to reach, so Paul had really a great experience witnessing to the natives and a real revival started and, I am sure, a continuing work of God there on the island of Malta as the result of Paul's visit.

Now, this imprisonment, brought from Malta into Puteoli, on into Rome, and now in prison, but it is all happening for the furtherance of the gospel.

So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all of the palace [or the pretorium], and in all other places ( Philippians 1:13 );

Now, the palace would have been Nero's palace there in Rome. As we read in other accounts, many of Nero's servants came to know Jesus Christ.

And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear ( Philippians 1:14 ).

They see how Paul's testimony is so fearless, how Paul is leading so many of these imperial guards to Jesus Christ. And the boldness of Paul's witness and all embolded many of them to also begin to really witness for the Lord and to witness boldly for the Lord. Paul said, "It has all happened for good. It is all working out. God is working in this whole thing. My imprisonments and my experiences really are furthering the work of the gospel."

Now he said,

Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds ( Philippians 1:15-16 ):

Paul, because he was a dynamic leader and a strong leader, had his enemies as well as his friends. That is the price of leadership. Just the very fact that God is using you is going to create enmity, jealousy, animosity, in the hearts of people. Paul was no exception. There were those who were jealous of Paul's ministry and what God was doing through Paul. They thought to take advantage of the fact he is in bonds. They are going to go out and they are going to try and do their work, out of contention. Their motive was contention, rivalry; rivalry against Paul, building up their own little flock or whatever. Their motives were really wrong in what they were doing, but the very fact that they were doing it, Paul rejoiced.

I think that this is just a tremendous example of the true Christian minister. He doesn't care who is getting the credit; all he cares is that the work of Christ is being accomplished. So God is blessing the Baptist church and it's bursting at the seams; praise the Lord! The Spirit of God is moving in the hearts of those people. Rather than feeling jealous or competitive, rather than saying, "I don't know why God would bless them when we are so much better than they are." You rejoice that God is working and that the work of God is being accomplished. Even if a person comes in with wrong motivations, and they say, "I don't like that Chuck Smith. I am bitter at him. I am going to rip off a part of his flock. We're going to establish our ministry right down the block, and we are going to pick up the disgruntles and everyone else that comes out of there." Praise the Lord people are being ministered to. They are disgruntled with me. They won't come here anymore. Well, bless God there is a place for the disgruntles to meet.

Christ is being preached. The motive may not be right within their hearts, but that doesn't matter. Paul said, "To me I am thrilled that the work of God is spreading in this community." Some of them have wrong motives, contentions, really trying to add to Paul's afflictions.

But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice ( Philippians 1:17-18 ).

So beautiful!

According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death ( Philippians 1:20 ).

At this point, Paul was facing Caesar Nero, and he really did not know whether or not he would receive the sentence of death from Nero. Now, he knew that Nero had a general opposition to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He knew that Nero saw Jesus Christ as a threat. Nero had ordered that the people confess that Caesar is Lord. Those that refused to confess that Caesar was Lord would be put to death. Paul was going to be facing now this little tyrant. He says, "Pray for me that I might be as bold as I have always been, not going to back down now in this situation, just because I am going to be facing this tyrant Caesar. My expectation, my hope that I will not be ashamed, that I will speak the truth boldly, though the consequence may be my head."

It is interesting from a historical standpoint that Paul appeared before Caesar Nero twice. Once, on his appeal in Caesarea, he had appealed to Caesar, and the first time Paul appeared, Caesar Nero set him free. The charges were baseless. Paul was set free. A couple of years later he was rearrested and brought back to Rome and Caesar Nero ordered him beheaded. So, Paul died a martyr death and he was beheaded by the edict of Caesar Nero. But, as you look at history, an interesting thing: number one, we know that Jesus had told his disciples that they were going to be hailed before the magistrates and before kings. But He said, "Don't take any forethought what you are going to say because in that hour the Holy Spirit will give you the words, and these things will turn for your testimony, or the appearances will give you an opportunity to testify." So, as you read Paul's defenses before the judges and before the kings, he appeared before King Agrippa; he appeared before Felix and before Festus. On every occasion Paul took the occasion to testify, to tell of the work of God's Spirit in his life, and he witnessed to his being born again by the power of Jesus Christ. Every time that he appeared before any of these magistrates, it was just to Paul an opportunity to testify for Jesus Christ. The higher the position of the person before whom Paul was appearing, the more fervent was Paul's testimony, the more earnest was Paul in his endeavor to convert the person, because Paul always thought, "Wow, with the influence and position this guy has, think of what it could do for the gospel if he were saved."

When he appeared before King Agrippa, man, did he ever lay on a heavy testimony. When he was coming to the close, he said, "Agrippa, do you believe the scriptures? I know you believe the scriptures." And he was really coming to the close, and Festus cried out, "Paul, you're crazy! You have been studying too hard. You have lost your mind." Paul came right back and began to press Agrippa, until he said, "Wait a minute, you mean you are trying to convert me to be a Christian? You're trying to persuade me?" Paul said, "I sure wish you were, just like me, except I wouldn't wish you to have these bonds on you. But oh, how I wish you were."

Paul appearing before Nero, don't you know he really turned it on. I mean, he felt no doubt, if I can convert Nero, think of what that will do for the gospel if the emperor becomes a Christian. I am sure he laid on the heaviest witness anybody has ever heard at any time in history when he got before Nero.

It is interesting as you study the history of Nero, up to this point in history, up to the point that Paul appeared before him, he was a fairly decent ruler. After Paul's appearance, there was a sudden and dramatic change in Nero's personality recorded in history. He became almost a mad man. In fact, many did think that he became insane. There is that likelihood that God, through Paul, was giving to Caesar Nero the opportunity of being saved and the testimony and the witness was so powerful, that in his rejection of that testimony, his complete rejection of Jesus Christ, that Caesar Nero at that point became demon possessed. There are certainly things in history to indicate demon possession in Caesar Nero, and also in the scriptures.

Caesar Nero became a madman. In his persecution of the church, he became inhumane. They would tie Christians on posts in his garden, cover them with tar, and set them on fire to light his garden in the evening, as he would get in his chariot naked and race through the paths of his garden. Christians lighting them, torched there in the garden. It was inhumane and horrible.

It is an interesting study as you study carefully the history of Nero, and this dramatic change just about the time that Paul witnessed to him. He then, of course, burned Rome in his desire to build a new and greater Rome, one that would be named after him and leave his monument, and then blame the Christians. That was when Paul was recalled and arrested in Ephesus, and brought back to Rome, and then beheaded by Caesar Nero.

Now, whether or not Paul was writing it during the first imprisonment or second is not known for certain. It was probably the first, but even at this point, his outcome is uncertain. Paul expresses, "Hey, my desire is that Christ be magnified in my body. Whether by life or by death, I really don't care. I just want to live for the glory of Jesus Christ." "God forbid," he wrote, "that I should glory except in the cross of Jesus Christ. I am not looking for anything for myself; I am looking that my life will bring glory and honor to Christ. That Christ be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death, doesn't make any difference."

For to me to live is Christ ( Philippians 1:21 ),

He is the center of my existence. My life revolves around him.

Again, if you were to say, "To me to live," what would you have to say? To me to live is the Indy 500. To me to live is playing a guitar. To me to live is... And so many people are living for so many things. Paul said, "For me to live is Christ." Because he said for me to live is Christ, he can also say,

and to die is gain ( Philippians 1:21 ).

You can't say that if you are living for anything else. To me, to live is to be wealthy, to mass a fortune, and to die is to lose it all. To die is loss. You can only say to die is gain when you have lived your life for Jesus Christ. That is why if a person lives their life for Jesus Christ, we don't have to, and we should not, grieve over their death. We can grieve over our loss. We sorrow, but not as those who have no hope; we sorrow because we are going to miss them. But, we don't sorrow for them. We don't grieve for them. For if a person is living for Christ, to die is gain.

But if I live in the flesh [I really don't know what is going to happen now], this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I wot not [I really don't know] ( Philippians 1:22 ).

If you ask, "What would you choose, Paul? Do you want to live or die?" I really don't know. For he said,

For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better ( Philippians 1:23 ):

Now, if soul sleep was a legitimate doctrine, then Paul the apostle surely did not understand the doctrine. He would not then express himself this way concerning death. "I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be asleep, awaiting the great day of the Lord. No, I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ." Paul's understanding that death would free his spirit from his body, that his spirit might immediately be with the Lord in Heaven.

In writing his second letter to the Corinthians, he said, "For we know that when this tent, the earthly body in which we presently live, is dissolved, that we have a building of God that is not made with hands that is eternal in the heavens. So then, we who are still living in these bodies do often groan earnestly desiring to be freed from them, not that I would be in an unembodied spirit, not that I would be unclothed, but that I might be clothed upon with the body which is from heaven. For we know that as long as we are living in these bodies, we are absent from the Lord. So we would choose rather to be absent from these bodies, and to be present with the Lord." Consistent with what he is saying here to the Philippians.

"For I have the desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. So I really don't know what to choose. I am really in a strait. I'm facing life or death, and I don't know, but I don't really know what I want." There is a desire. We in this body groan earnestly, desiring to be freed from these bodies. Not to be unembodied, but to be clothed upon with the body which is in heaven. So, we in these bodies groaning earnestly desiring. So I have a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better.

Now, do you really believe that? You see, we have the wrong attitude towards death. "Oh, my, what a shame, what a pity that he should die. Oh, how terrible, what a loss." You just don't understand what death is for the child of God. But Paul said,

Nevertheless to abide in the flesh [for me to continue to stay in this body of flesh] is more needful for you ( Philippians 1:24 ).

"You need me. Now, I would like to go, my desire is to go and be with Christ, but you need me. I am torn, torn by your need of my continued ministry, and by my desire to be with the Lord." I think that that is always true, we are sort of in a strait betwixt two. When we think of the Lord and being with Him in heaven, "Oh, man, I love to be with the Lord." But yet, we look at our family and they still need us and the responsibility is all around us and we think, "They still need me." There is that torn feeling.

And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith ( Philippians 1:25 );

So, Paul was confident at this point that he was going to be exonerated, which he was, and to continue for a little while yet with them.

That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again. Only let your conversation [manner of life] be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent [Now, if he takes my head], I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit [Now, whether I stay in jail actually that when I hear of you, that this is what I'll hear: that you are standing fast in one spirit], with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel ( Philippians 1:26-27 );

So the desire for the church: one faith, one mind, working together for the faith of the gospel.

And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake ( Philippians 1:28-29 );

Wait a minute, I thought I heard an evangelist the other night saying that no Christian ever needed to suffer if he just had enough faith. Evidently, he didn't read Philippians 1 . It is given on the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but to suffer for His sake.

Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me ( Philippians 1:30 ). "

Contending for the Faith

Life or Death (1:21-24)

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

Here is an intensely personal confession. The content of this confession is twofold: "to live is Christ" and "to die is gain." Hanhart’s quote is noteworthy:

With the words "for me to live is Christ" Paul "is not speaking...of his natural life, but of the life of the New Age received through the Spirit (v. 19)...With "life in the body" and "life in the flesh" he means the natural life. But "for me to live is Christ" refers to life eternal; it is of another sort" (Hanhart 183).

"To me" is emphatic in the Greek text. It carries with it the idea of "according to my own experience." The question, "What is life?" or more explicitly "What does it mean to live?" is answered here by Paul. The question is answered by "it is Christ." Life means Christ. Luther and Tyndale both translate, "Christ is my life." Life to Paul has no meaning apart from Christ. His life is not his own; it is totally devoted to Christ (Galatians 2:20). "For what is life?" is obviously a rhetorical question. Paul is not asking for information; he is only explaining the purpose of his own life. For him "it is Christ."

Since Paul’s life finds its total meaning in Christ, his dying, which results in being with Christ (verse 23), is viewed as an advantage.

"Death" translates a Greek aorist infinitive which denotes the event of dying, not the process. "Will bring more" translates a single word in Greek, literally "gain." "Death is gain" in two respects. First, it is the way to the immediate presence of Christ (verse 23). Second and more important, his death by martyrdom would produce the promotion and progress of the gospel. Hence, death would be gain for the proclamation of the gospel (Loh and Nida 32).

The apostle is also concerned with the interests of living. Paul asserts that living has no meaning apart from Christ; He is the object, motive, inspiration, and goal of all the apostle does (Galatians 2:20). It is for this reason that he can triumphantly claim he considers "everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (3:8). Galatians 2:20 is a parallel text. His very dilemma about living or dying arises because he values the significance of his life in service for Christ and His people.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

II. PROLOGUE 1:3-26

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

C. Progress report 1:12-26

Paul proceeded from his introductory comments to explain his personal circumstances because these were of interest to his readers and profitable for them to understand. In relating them the apostle revealed a spiritual viewpoint that is a model for all believers for all time. This "biographical prologue" [Note: Swift, p. 241.] illustrates how the principles for effective partnership in the gospel that Paul introduced in Philippians 1:3-11 were working out for the furtherance of the gospel in his own circumstances.

He began by relating what had happened because of his imprisonment in the past (Philippians 1:12-18) and then explained what was happening in the present (Philippians 1:19-26).

"In spite of the hostility of his enemies outside the church and the evil designs of his detractors within, the apostle is greatly encouraged by one overriding fact: Christ is being proclaimed." [Note: Martin, p. 67.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. Paul’s anticipated deliverance 1:19-26

At this point Paul’s thinking turned from what had already occurred because of his imprisonment to what he anticipated happening in the future. He referred to this so his readers would uphold him in their prayers and feel encouraged to adopt his viewpoint in their own situation in life.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

This great testimonial affirmation succinctly summarizes Paul’s philosophy of life. For him, regardless of the decision about whether he would continue to live or die or the opinions of other people, saved or lost, his whole life revolved around Jesus Christ. Paul placed "to me" first in this sentence for emphasis. Jesus’ work on the cross had become the reason for all that Paul did. Appreciation for Christ motivated him. His present enablement through the Spirit was the source of his strength. The prospect of seeing Jesus Christ and standing before Him one day drew him and constituted the goal for all he did. Many people today, if they were honest, would have to say that for them to live is money, fame, happiness, family, or any of a multitude of idols. [Note: See Swindoll, p. 57.] However, Jesus Christ was the sun around which Paul’s life orbited.

"Paul’s only reason for existence is that he may spend his life in that glad service; and death for that cause will be the crowning service." [Note: Martin, p. 77.]

If the Emperor’s verdict were death, Paul would be better off than if he continued to live. He would go into the presence of his Lord and be free forever from sin, suffering, and sorrow. Furthermore he would have glorified God by persevering faithfully to the end of his life. The Christian can take a radically different view of death than the unbeliever who has no hope, as Paul did (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

"Paul’s hope for the future, centered as it was in Jesus, kept him from making too much of his current circumstances. This hope enabled him to reassess his circumstances, not by suppressing his emotions, evident throughout this letter, but by relating them to God’s sovereignty and to Jesus’ centrality in life." [Note: Darrell L. Bock, "A Theology of Paul’s Prison Epistles," in A Biblical Theology of the New Testament, p. 322.]

Barclay's Daily Study Bible

Chapter 1

A FRIEND TO HIS FRIENDS ( Php_1:1-2 )

1:1-2 Paul and Timothy, slaves of Jesus Christ, write this letter to all those in Philippi who are consecrated to God because of their relationship to Jesus Christ, together with the overseers and the deacons.

The opening sentence sets the tone of the whole letter. It is characteristically a letter from a friend to his friends. With the exception of the letter to the Thessalonians and the little personal note to Philemon, Paul begins every letter with a statement of his apostleship; he begins, for instance, the letter to the Romans: "Paul a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle" (compare 1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians 1:1). In the other letters he begins with a statement of his official position, why he has the right to write, and why the recipients have the duty to listen; but not when he writes to the Philippians. There is no need; he knows that they will listen, and listen lovingly. Of all his Churches, the Church at Philippi was the one to which Paul was closest; and he writes, not as an apostle to members of his Church, but as a friend to his friends.

Nonetheless, Paul does lay claim to one title. He claims to be the servant (doulos, G1401) of Christ, as the King James and Revised Standard Versions have it; but doulos ( G1401) is more than servant, it is slave. A servant is free to come and go; but a slave is the possession of his master for ever. When Paul calls himself the slave of Jesus Christ, he does three things. (i) He lays it down that he is the absolute possession of Christ. Christ has loved him and bought him with a price ( 1 Corinthians 6:20), and he can never belong to anyone else. (ii) He lays it down that he owes an absolute obedience to Christ. The slave has no will of his own; his master's will must be his. So Paul has no will but Christ's, and no obedience but to his Saviour and Lord. (iii) In the Old Testament the regular title of the prophets is the servants of God ( Amos 3:7; Jeremiah 7:25). That is the title which is given to Moses, to Joshua and to David ( Joshua 1:2; Judges 2:8; Psalms 78:70; Psalms 89:3; Psalms 89:20). In fact, the highest of all titles of honour is servant of God; and when Paul takes this title, he humbly places himself in the succession of the prophets and of the great ones of God. The Christian's slavery to Jesus Christ is no cringing subjection. As the Latin tag has it: Illi servire est regnare, to be his slave is to be a king.

THE CHRISTIAN DISTINCTION ( Php_1:1-2 continued)

The letter is addressed, as the Revised Standard Version has it, to all the saints in Christ Jesus. The word translated saint is hagios, ( G40) ; and saint is a misleading translation. To modern ears it paints a picture of almost unworldly piety. Its connection is rather with stained glass windows than with the market-place. Although it is easy to see the meaning of hagios ( G40) it is hard to translate it.

Hagios ( G40) , and its Hebrew equivalent qadowsh ( H6918) , are usually translated holy. In Hebrew thought, if a thing is described as holy, the basic idea is that it is different from other things; it is in some sense set apart. The better to understand this, let us look at how holy is actually used in the Old Testament. When the regulations regarding the priesthood are being laid down, it is written: "They shall be holy to their God" ( Leviticus 21:6). The priests were to be different from other men, for they were set apart for a special function. The tithe was the tenth part of all produce which was to be set apart for God, and it is laid down: "The tenth shall be holy to the Lord, because it is the Lord's" ( Leviticus 27:30; Leviticus 27:32). The tithe was different from other things which could be used as food. The central part of the Temple was the Holy Place ( Exodus 26:33); it was different from all other places. The word was specially used of the Jewish nation itself. The Jews were a holy nation ( Exodus 19:6). They were holy unto the Lord; God had severed them from other nations that they might be his ( Leviticus 20:26); it was they of all nations on the face of the earth whom God had specially known ( Amos 3:2). The Jews were different from all other nations, for they had a special place in the purpose of God.

But they refused to play the part which God meant them to play; when his Son came into the world, they failed to recognize him, and rejected and crucified him. The privileges and the responsibilities they should have had were taken away from the nation of Israel and given to the Church, which became the new Israel, the real people of God. Therefore, just as the Jews had once been hagios ( G40) , holy, different, so now the Christians must be hagios ( G40) ; the Christians are the holy ones, the different ones, the saints. Thus Paul in his pre-Christian days was a notorious persecutor of the saints, the hagioi ( G40) ( Acts 9:13); Peter goes to visit the saints, the hagioi ( G40) , at Lydda ( Acts 9:32).

To say that the Christians are the saints means, therefore, that the Christians are different from other people. Wherein does that difference lie?

Paul addresses his people as saints in Christ Jesus. No one can read his letters without seeing how often the phrases in Christ, in Christ Jesus, in the Lord occur. In Christ Jesus occurs 48 times, in Christ 34 times, and in the Lord 50 times. Clearly this was for Paul the very essence of Christianity. What did he mean? Marvin R. Vincent says that when Paul spoke of the Christian being in Christ, he meant that the Christian lives in Christ as a bird in the air, a fish in the water, the roots of a tree in the soil. What makes the Christian different is that he is always and everywhere conscious of the encircling presence of Jesus Christ.

When Paul speaks of the saints in Christ Jesus, he means those who are different from other people and who are consecrated to God because of their special relationship to Jesus Christ--and that is what every Christian should be.

THE ALL-INCLUSIVE GREETING ( Php_1:1-2 continued)

Paul's greeting to his friends is: Grace be to you and peace, from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ (compare Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; Philemon 1:3).

When Paul put together these two great words, grace and peace, (charis, G5485, and eirene, G1515) , he was doing something very wonderful. He was taking the normal greeting phrases of two great nations and moulding them into one. Charis ( G5485) is the greeting with which Greek letters always began and eirene ( G1515) the greeting with which Jews met each other. Each of these words had its own flavour and each was deepened by the new meaning which Christianity poured into it.

Charis ( G5485) is a lovely word; the basic ideas in it are joy and pleasure, brightness and beauty; it is, in fact, connected with the English word charm. But with Jesus Christ there comes a new beauty to add to the beauty that was there. And that beauty is born of a new relationship to God. With Christ life becomes lovely because man is no longer the victim of God's law but the child of his love.

Eirene ( G1515) is a comprehensive word. We translate it peace; but it never means a negative peace, never simply the absence of trouble. It means total well-being, everything that makes for a man's highest good.

It may well be connected with the Greek word eirein ( G1515) , which means to join, to weave together. And this peace has always got to do with personal relationships, a man's relationship to himself, to his fellow-men, and to God. It is always the peace that is born of reconciliation.

So, when Paul prays for grace and peace on his people he is praying that they should have the joy of knowing God as Father and the peace of being reconciled to God, to men, and to themselves--and that grace and peace can come only through Jesus Christ.

THE MARKS OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE:( Php_1:3-11 )

(1) The Christian Joy ( Php_1:3-11 )

1:3-11 In all my remembrance of you I thank my God for you, and always in every one of my prayers, I pray for you with joy, because you have been in partnership with me for the furtherance of the gospel from the first day until now, and of this I am confident, that he who began a good work in you will complete it so that you may be ready for the day of Jesus Christ. And it is right for me to feel like this about you, because I have you in my heart, because all of you are partners in grace with me, both in my hands, and in my defence and confirmation of the gospel. God is my witness how I yearn for you all with the very compassion of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love for each other may continue to abound more and more in all fulness of knowledge and in all sensitiveness of perception, that you may test the things which differ, that you may be yourselves pure and that you may cause no other to stumble, in preparation for the day of Christ, because you have been filled with the fruit which the righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ produces, and which issues in glory and praise to God.

It is a lovely thing when, as Ellicott puts it, remembrance and gratitude are bound up together. In our personal relationships it is a great thing to have nothing but happy memories; and that was how Paul was with the Christians at Philippi. To remember brought no regrets, only happiness.

In this passage there are set out the marks of the Christian life.

There is Christian joy. It is with joy that Paul prays for his friends. The Letter to the Philippians has been called The Epistle of Joy. Bengel in his terse Latin commented: "Summa epistolae gaudeo--gaudete." "The whole point of the letter is I do rejoice; do you rejoice." Let us look at the picture of Christian joy which this letter paints.

(i) In Php_1:4 there is the joy of Christian prayer, the joy of bringing those we love to the mercy seat of God.

George Raindrop in his book No Common Task tells how a nurse once taught a man to pray and in doing so changed his whole life, until a dull, disgruntled and dispirited creature became a man of joy. Much of the nurse's work was done with her hands, and she used her hands as a scheme of prayer. Each finger stood for someone. Her thumb was nearest to her, and it reminded her to pray for those who were closest to her. The second finger was used for pointing and it stood for all her teachers in school and in the hospital. The third finger was the tallest and it stood for the V.I.P.s, the leaders in every sphere of life. The fourth finger was the weakest, as every pianist knows, and it stood for those who were in trouble and in pain. The little finger was the smallest and the least important and to the nurse it stood for herself.

There must always be a deep joy and peace in bringing our loved ones and others to God in prayer.

(ii) There is the joy that Jesus Christ is preached ( Php_1:18 ). When a man enjoys a great blessing surely his first instinct must be to share it; and there is joy in thinking of the gospel being preached all over the world, so that another and another and another is brought within the love of Christ.

(iii) There is the joy of faith ( Php_1:25 ). If Christianity does not make a man happy, it will not make him anything at all. There is a certain type of Christianity which is a tortured affair. The Psalmist said, "They looked to him and were radiant." When Moses came down from the mountain top his face shone. Christianity is the faith of the happy heart and the shining face

(iv) There is the joy of seeing Christians in fellowship together ( Php_2:2 ). As the Psalmist sang ( Psalms 133:1):

Behold how good a thing it is,

And how becoming well,

Together such as brethren are

In unity to dwell!

There is peace for no one where there are broken human relationships and strife between man and man. There is no lovelier sight than a family linked in love to each other or a Church whose members are one with each other because they are one in Christ Jesus their Lord.

(v) There is the joy of suffering for Christ ( Php_2:17 ). In the hour of his martyrdom in the flames Polycarp prayed, "I thank thee, O Father, that thou hast judged me worthy of this hour." To suffer for Christ is a privilege, for it is an opportunity to demonstrate beyond mistake where our loyalty lies and to share in the upbuilding of the Kingdom of God.

(vi) There is the joy of news of the loved one ( Php_2:28 ). Life is full of separations, and there is always joy when news comes to us of those loved ones from whom we are temporarily separated. A great Scottish preacher once spoke of the joy that man can give with a postage stamp. It is worth remembering how easily we can bring joy to those who love us and how easily we can bring anxiety, by keeping in touch or failing to keep in touch with them.

(vii) There is the joy of Christian hospitality ( Php_2:29 ). There is the home of the shut door and there is the home of the open door. The shut door is the door of selfishness; the open door is the door of Christian welcome and Christian love. It is a great thing to have a door from which the stranger and the one in trouble know that they will never be turned away.

(viii) There is the joy of the man in Christ ( Php_3:1 ; Php_4:1 ). We have already seen that to be in Christ to live in his presence as the bird lives in the air, the fish in the sea, and the roots of the trees in the soil. It is human nature to be happy when we are with the person whom we love; and Christ is the lover from whom nothing in time or eternity can ever separate us.

(ix) There is the joy of the man who has won one soul for Christ ( Php_4:1 ). The Philippians are Paul's joy and crown, for he was the means of bringing them to Jesus Christ. It is the joy of the parent, the teacher, the preacher to bring others, especially the child, into the love of Jesus Christ. Surely he who enjoys a great privilege cannot rest content until he shares it with his family and his friends. For the Christian evangelism is not a duty; it is a joy.

(x) There is the joy in a gift ( Php_4:10 ). This joy does not lie so much in the gift itself, as in being remembered and realizing that some one cares. This is a joy that we could bring to others far oftener than we do.

(2) The Christian Sacrifice ( Php_1:3-11 Continued)

In Php_1:6 Paul says that he is confident that God who has begun a good work in the Philippians will complete it so that they will be ready for the day of Christ. There is a picture here in the Greek which it is not possible to reproduce in translation. The point is that the words Paul uses for to begin (enarchesthai, G1728) and for to complete (epitelein, G2005) are technical terms for the beginning and the ending of a sacrifice.

There was an initial ritual in connection with a Greek sacrifice. A torch was lit from the fire on the altar and then dipped into a bowl of water to cleanse it with its sacred flame; and with the purified water the victim and the people were sprinkled to make them holy and clean. Then followed what was known as the euphemia ( G2162) , the sacred silence, in which the worshipper was meant to make his prayers to his god. Finally a basket of barley was brought, and some grains of the barley were scattered on the victim, and on the ground round about it. These actions were the beginning of the sacrifice, and the technical term for making this beginning was the verb enarchesthai ( G1728) which Paul uses here. The verb used for completing the whole ritual of sacrifice was the verb epitelein ( G2005) which Paul uses here for to complete. Paul's whole sentence moves in an atmosphere of sacrifice.

Paul is seeing the life of every Christian as a sacrifice ready to be offered to Jesus Christ. It is the same picture as he draws when he urges the Romans to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God ( Romans 12:1).

On the day when Christ comes it will be like the coming of a king. On such a day the king's subjects are bound to present him with gifts to mark their loyalty and to show their love. The only gift Jesus Christ desires from us is ourselves. So, then, a man's supreme task is to make his life fit to offer to him. Only the grace of God can enable us to do that.

(3) The Christian Partnership ( Php_1:3-11 Continued)

Php_1:10 , Php_1:11

In this passage the idea of Christian partnership is strongly stressed. There are certain things which Christians share.

(i) Christians are partners in grace. They are people who owe a common debt to the grace of God.

(ii) Christians are partners in the work of the gospel. Christians do not only share a gift; they also share a task; and that task is the furtherance of the gospel. Paul uses two words to express the work of Christians for the sake of the gospel; he speaks of the defence and the confirmation of the gospel. The defence (apologia, G627) of the gospel means its defence against the attacks which come from outside. The Christian has to be ready to be a defender of the faith and to give a reason for the hope that is in him. The confirmation (bebaiosis, G951) of the gospel is the building up of its strength from within, the edifying of Christians. The Christian must further the gospel by defending it against the attacks of its enemies and by building up the faith and devotion of its friends.

(iii) Christians are partners in suffering for the gospel. Whenever the Christian is called upon to suffer for the sake of the gospel, he must find strength and comfort in the memory that he is one of a great fellowship in every age and every generation and every land who have suffered for Christ rather than deny their faith.

(iv) Christians are partners with Christ. In Php_1:8 Paul has a very vivid saying. The literal translation is, "I yearn for you all with the bowels of Jesus Christ." The Greek word for bowels is splagchna ( G4698) . The splagchna were the upper intestines, the heart, the liver, and the lungs. These the Greeks believed to be the seat of the emotions and the affections. So Paul is saying: "I yearn for you with the very compassion of Jesus Christ himself. I love you as Jesus loves you." The love which Paul feels towards his Christian friends is nothing other than the love of Christ himself. J. B. Lightfoot, writing on this passage says, "The believer has no yearnings apart from his Lord; his pulse beats with the pulse of Christ; his heart throbs with the heart of Christ." When we are really one with Jesus, his love goes out through us to our fellow-men whom he loves and for whom he died. The Christian is a partner in the love of Christ.

(4) The Christian Progress And The Christian Goal ( Php_1:3-11 Continued)

It was Paul's prayer for his people that their love would grow greater every day ( Php_1:9-10 ). That love, which was not merely a sentimental thing, was to grow in knowledge and in sensitive perception so that they would be more and more able to distinguish between right and wrong. Love is always the way to knowledge. If we love any subject, we want to learn more about it; if we love any person, we want to learn more about him; if we love Jesus, we will want to learn more about him and about his truth.

Love is always sensitive to the mind and the heart of the one it loves. If it blindly and blunderingly hurts the feelings of the one it claims to love, it is not love at all. If we really love Jesus, we will be sensitive to his will and his desires; the more we love him; the more we will instinctively shrink from what is evil and desire what is right. The word Paul uses for testing the things that differ is dokimazein ( G1381) , which is the word used for testing metal to see that it is genuine. Real love is not blind; it will enable us always to see the difference between the false and the true.

So, then, the Christian will become himself pure and will cause no other to stumble. The word used for pure is interesting. It is eilikrines ( G1506) . The Greeks suggested two possible derivations, each of which has a vivid picture. It may come from eile, sunshine, and krinein ( G2919) , to judge, and may describe that which is able to stand the test of the sunshine, without any flaw appearing. On that basis the word means that the Christian character can stand any light that is turned upon it. The other possibility is that eilikrines ( G1506) is derived from eilein which means to whirl round and round as in a sieve and so to sift until every impurity is extracted. On that basis the Christian character is cleansed of all evil until it is altogether pure.

But the Christian is not pure; he is also aproskopos ( G677) , he never causes any other person to stumble. There are people who are themselves faultless, but who are so austere that they drive people away from Christianity. The Christian is himself pure, but his love and gentleness are such that he attracts others to the Christian way and never repels them from it.

Finally, Paul sets down the Christian aim. This is to live such a life that the glory and the praise are given to God. Christian goodness is not meant to win credit for a man himself; it is meant to win praise for God. The Christian knows, and witnesses, that he is what he is, not by his own unaided efforts, but only by the grace of God.

THE BONDS DESTROY THE BARRIERS ( Php_1:12-14 )

1:12-14 I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has resulted rather in the advancement of the gospel, because it has been demonstrated to the whole Praetorian Guard and to all the others that my imprisonment is borne for Christ's sake and in Christ's strength; and the result is that through my bonds more of the brothers have found confidence in the Lord the more exceedingly to dare fearlessly to speak the word of God.

Paul was a prisoner but so far from his imprisonment ending his missionary activity it actually expanded it for himself and for others. In fact, the bonds destroyed the barriers. The word Paul uses for the advancement of the gospel is a vivid word. It is prokope, ( G4297) ; the word which is specially used for the progress of an army or an expedition. It is the noun from the verb prokoptein ( G4298) , which means to cut down in advance. It is the verb which is used for cutting away the trees and the undergrowth, and removing the barriers which would hinder the progress of an army. Paul's imprisonment, so far from shutting the door, opened the door to new spheres of work and activity, into which he would never otherwise have penetrated.

Paul, seeing that there was no justice for him in Palestine, had appealed to Caesar, as every Roman citizen had the right to do. In due time he had been despatched to Rome under military escort, and, when he had arrived there, he had been handed over to "the captain of the guard" and allowed to live by himself under the care of a soldier who was his guard ( Acts 28:16). Ultimately, although still under guard, he had been allowed to have his own hired lodging ( Acts 28:30), which was open to all who cared to come to see him.

In the King James Version we read that Paul said his bonds were manifest in all the palace. The word translated palace is praitorion ( G4232) which can mean either a place or a body of people. When it has the meaning of a place, it has three meanings. (i) Originally it meant a general's headquarters in camp, the tent from which he gave his orders and directed his campaign. (ii) From that it very naturally moved on to mean a general's residence; it could, therefore, mean the Emperor's residence, that is, his palace, although examples of this usage are very rare. (iii) By another natural extension it came to mean a large house or villa, the residence of some wealthy or influential man. Here praitorion ( G4232) cannot have any of these meanings, for it is clear that Paul stayed in his own hired lodging and it does not make sense that his hired lodging was in the Emperor's palace.

So we turn to the other meaning of praitorion ( G4232) , a body of people. In this usage it means the Praetorian Guard, or very much more rarely, the barracks where the Praetorian Guard were quartered. The second of these meanings we can leave on one side, for Paul would not likely have a hired lodging in a Roman barracks.

The Praetorian Guard were the Imperial Guard of Rome. They had been instituted by Augustus and were a body of ten thousand picked troops. Augustus had kept them dispersed throughout Rome and the neighbouring towns. Tiberius had concentrated them in Rome in a specially built and fortified camp. Vitellius had increased their number to sixteen thousand. They served for twelve, and later for sixteen, years. At the close of their term they received the citizenship and a grant of more than L250. Latterly they became very nearly the Emperor's private bodyguard; and in the end they became very much a problem. They were concentrated in Rome, and there came a time when the Praetorian Guard became nothing less than king-makers; for inevitably it was their nominee who was made Emperor every time, since they could impose their will by force, if need be, upon the populace. It was to the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard, their commanding officer, that Paul was handed over when he arrived in Rome.

Paul repeatedly refers to himself as a prisoner or as being in bonds. He tells the Roman Christians that, although he had done no wrong, he was delivered a prisoner (desmios, G1198) into the hands of the Romans ( Acts 28:17). In Philippians he repeatedly speaks of his imprisonment ( Php_1:7 ; Php_1:13-14 ). In Colossians he speaks of being in bonds for the sake of Christ, and bids the Colossians to remember his bonds ( Colossians 4:3; Colossians 4:18). In Philemon he calls himself a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and speaks of the bonds of the gospel ( Philemon 1:9; Philemon 1:13). In Ephesians he again calls himself the prisoner for Jesus Christ ( Ephesians 3:1).

There are two passages in which these bonds are more closely defined. In Acts 28:20 he speaks of himself as being bound with this chain; and he uses the same word (halusis, G254) in Ephesians 6:20, when he speaks of himself as an ambassador in chains. It is in this word halusis ( G254) that we find our key. The halusis ( G254) was the short length of chain by which the wrist of a prisoner was bound to the wrist of the soldier who was his guard, so that escape was impossible. The situation was this. Paul had been delivered to the captain of the Praetorian Guard, to await trial before the Emperor. He had been allowed to arrange a private lodging for himself; but night and day in that private lodging there was a soldier to guard him, a soldier to whom he was chained by his halusis ( G254) all the time. There would, of course, be a rota of guardsmen assigned to this duty; and in the two years one by one the guardsmen of the Imperial Guard would be on duty with Paul. What a chance was there! These soldiers would hear Paul preach and talk to his friends. Is there any doubt that in the long hours Paul would open up a discussion about Jesus with the soldier to whose wrist he was chained?

His imprisonment had opened the way for preaching the gospel to the finest regiment in the Roman army. No wonder he declared that his imprisonment had actually been for the furtherance of the gospel. All the Praetorian Guard knew why Paul was in prison; many of them were touched for Christ; and the very sight of this gave to the brethren at Philippi fresh courage to preach the gospel and to witness for Christ.

Paul's bonds had removed the barriers and given him access to the flower of the Roman army, and his bonds had been the medicine of courage to the brethren at Philippi.

THE ALL-IMPORTANT PROCLAMATION ( Php_1:15-18 )

1:15-18 Some in their preaching of Christ are actuated by envy and strife; some by goodwill. The one preach from love, because they know that I am lying here for the defence of the gospel; the other proclaim Christ for their own partisan purposes, not with pure motives, but thinking to make my bonds gall me all the more. What then? The only result is that in every way, whether as a cloak for other purposes, or whether in truth, Christ is proclaimed. And in this I rejoice--yes, and I will rejoice.

Here indeed the great heart of Paul is speaking. His imprisonment has been an incentive to preaching. That incentive worked in two ways. There were those who loved him; and, when they saw him lying in prison, they redoubled their efforts to spread the gospel, so that it would lose nothing because of Paul's imprisonment. They knew that the best way to delight his heart was to see that the work did not suffer because of his unavoidable absence. But others were moved by what Paul calls eritheia ( G2052) and preached for their own partisan motives. Eritheia ( G2052) is an interesting word. Originally it simply meant working for pay. But the man who works solely for pay works from a low motive. He is out solely to benefit himself. The word, therefore, came to describe a careerist, out for office to magnify himself; and so it came to be connected with politics and to mean canvassing for office. It came to describe self-seeking and selfish ambition, which was out to advance itself and did not care to what methods it stooped to attain its ends. So there were those who preached the harder now that Paul was in prison, for his imprisonment seemed to present them with a heaven-sent opportunity to advance their own influence and prestige and lessen his.

There is a lesson for us here. Paul knew nothing of personal jealousy or of personal resentment. So long as Jesus Christ was preached, he did not care who received the credit and the prestige. He did not care what other preachers said about him, or how unfriendly they were to him, or how contemptuous they were of him, or how they tried to steal a march upon him. All that mattered was that Christ was preached. All too often we resent it when someone else gains a prominence or a credit which we do not. All too often we regard a man as an enemy because he has expressed some criticism of us or of our methods. All too often we think a man can do no good because he does not do things in our way. All too often the intellectuals have no truck with the evangelicals, and the evangelicals impugn the faith of the intellectuals. All too often those who believe in the evangelism of education have no use for the evangelism of decision, and those who practise the evangelism of decision have no use for those who feel that some other approach will have more lasting effects. Paul is the great example. He lifted the matter beyond all personalities; all that mattered was that Christ was preached.

THE HAPPY ENDING ( Php_1:19-20 )

1:19-20 For I know that this will result in my salvation, because of your prayer for me, and because of the generous help the Holy Spirit of Christ gives to me, for it is my eager expectation and my hope that I shall never on any occasion be shamed into silence, but that on every occasion, even as now, I shall speak with all boldness of speech, so that Christ will be glorified in my body, whether by my life or by my death.

It is Paul's conviction that the situation in which he finds himself will result in his salvation. Even his imprisonment, and even the almost hostile preaching of his personal enemies, will in the end turn out to his salvation. What does he mean by his salvation? The word is soteria ( G4991) , and here there are three possible meanings.

(i) It may mean safety, in which case Paul will be saying that he is quite sure that the matter will end in his release. But that can hardly be the meaning here, since Paul goes on to say that he cannot be sure whether he will live or die.

(ii) It may mean his salvation in heaven. In that case Paul would be saying that his conduct in the opportunity which this situation provides will be his witness in the day of judgment. There is a great truth here. In any situation of opportunity or challenge, a man is acting not only for time, but also for eternity. A man's reaction to every situation in time is a witness for or against him in eternity.

(iii) But soteria ( G4991) may have a wider meaning than either of these. It can mean health, general well-being. Paul may well be saying that all that is happening to him in this very difficult situation is the best thing for him both in time and in eternity. "God put me in this situation; and God means it, with all its problems and its difficulties, to make for my happiness and usefulness in time, and for my joy and peace in eternity."

In this situation Paul knows that he has two great supports. (i) He has the support of the prayers of his friends. One of the loveliest things in Paul's letters is the way in which he asks again and again for his friends' prayers. "Brethren," he writes to the Thessalonians, "pray for us." "Finally, brethren," he writes, "pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph" ( 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2). He says to the Corinthians "You must help us by prayer." ( 2 Corinthians 1:11). He writes that he is sure that through Philemon's prayers he will be given back to his friends ( Philemon 1:22). Before he sets out on his perilous journey to Jerusalem, he writes to the Church at Rome asking for their prayers ( Romans 15:30-32).

Paul was never too big a man to remember that he needed the prayers of his friends. He never talked to people as if he could do everything and they could do nothing; he always remembered that neither he, nor they, could do anything without the help of God. There is something to be remembered here. When people are in sorrow, one of their greatest comforts is the awareness that others are bearing them to the throne of grace. When they have to face some back-breaking effort or some heart-breaking decision, there is new strength in remembering that others are remembering them before God. When they go into new places and are far from home, it is an upholding thing to know that the prayers of those who love them are crossing continents to bring them before the throne of grace. We cannot call a man our friend unless we pray for him.

(ii) Paul knows that he has the support of the Holy Spirit. The presence of the Holy Spirit is the fulfilment of the promise of Jesus that he will be with us to the end of the world.

In all this situation Paul has one expectation and one hope. The word he uses for expectation is very vivid and unusual; no one uses it before Paul and he may well have coined it himself. It is apokaradokia ( G603) . Apo ( G575) means "away from," kara, "the head," dokein ( G1380) "to look"; and apokaradokia ( G603) means the eager, intense look, which turns away from everything else to fix on the one object of desire. Paul's hope is that he will never be shamed into silence, either by cowardice or a feeling of ineffectiveness. Paul is certain that in Christ he will find courage never to be ashamed of the gospel; and that through Christ his labours will be made effective for all men to see. J. B. Lightfoot writes, "The right of free speech is the badge, the privilege, of the servant of Christ." To speak the truth with boldness is not only the privilege of the servant of Christ; it is also his duty.

So, then, if Paul courageously and effectively seizes his opportunity, Christ will be glorified in him. It does not matter how things go with him. If he dies, his will be the martyr's crown; if he lives, his will be the privilege still to preach and to witness for Christ. As Ellicott nobly puts it, Paul is saying, "My body will be the theatre in which Christ's glory is displayed." Here is the terrible responsibility of the Christian. Once we have chosen Christ, by our life and conduct we bring either glory or shame to him. A leader is judged by his followers; and Christ is judged by us.

IN LIFE AND IN DEATH ( Php_1:21-26 )

1:21-26 For living is Christ to me, and death is gain. And yet--what if the continuance of my life in the flesh would produce more fruit for me? What I am to choose is not mine to declare. I am caught between two desires, for I have my desire to strike camp and to be with Christ, which is far better; but for your sake it is more essential for me to remain in this life. And I am confidently certain of this, that I will remain, and I will be with you and beside you all to help you along the road, and to increase the joy of your faith, so that you may have still further grounds for boasting in Christ because of me, when once again I come to visit you.

Since Paul was in prison awaiting trial, he had to face the fact that it was quite uncertain whether he would live or die; and to him it made no difference.

"Living," he says, in his great phrase, "is Christ to me." For Paul, Christ had been the beginning of life, for on that day on the Damascus road it was as if he had begun life all over again. Christ had been the continuing of life; there had never been a day when Paul had not lived in his presence, and in the frightening moments Christ had been there to bid him be of good cheer ( Acts 18:9-10). Christ was the end of life, for it was towards his eternal presence that life ever led. Christ was the inspiration of life; he was the dynamic of life. To Paul, Christ had given the task of life, for it was he who had made him an apostle and sent him out as the evangelist of the Gentiles. To him Christ had given the strength for life, for it was Christ's all-sufficient grace that was made perfect in Paul's weakness. For him Christ was the reward of life, for to Paul the only worthwhile reward was closer fellowship with his Lord. If Christ were to be taken out of life, for Paul there would be nothing left.

"For me," said Paul, "death is gain". Death was entrance into Christ's nearer presence. There are passages in which Paul seems to regard death as a sleep, from which all men at some future general resurrection shall be wakened (1Cor 16:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:16); but at the moment when its breath was on him Paul thought of death not as a falling asleep but as an immediate entry into the presence of his Lord. If we believe in Jesus Christ, death for us is union and reunion, union with him and reunion with those whom we have loved and lost awhile.

The result was that Paul was swayed between two desires. "I am caught," he says, "between two desires." As the Revised Standard Version has it: "I am hard pressed between the two." The word he uses is sunechomai ( G4912) , the word which would be used of a traveller in a narrow defile, with a wall of rock on either hand, unable to turn aside and able only to go straight on. For himself he desired to depart and to be with Christ; for the sake of his friends and of what he could do with them and for them he desired to be left in this life. Then comes the thought that the choice is not his but God's.

"My desire is to depart," says Paul, and the phrase is very vivid. The word he uses for to depart is analuein ( G360) .

(i) It is the word for striking camp, loosening the tent ropes, pulling up the tent pins and moving on. Death is a moving on. It is said that in the terrible days of the war, when the Royal Air Force stood between Britain and destruction and the lives of its pilots were being sacrificially spent, they never spoke of a pilot as having been killed but always as having been "posted to another station." Each day is a day's march nearer home, until in the end camp in this world is for ever struck and exchanged for permanent residence in the world of glory.

(ii) It is the word for loosening the mooring ropes, pulling up the anchors and setting sail. Death is a setting sail, a departure on that voyage which leads to the everlasting haven and to God.

(iii) It is the word for solving problems. Death brings life's solutions. There is some place where all earth's questions will be answered and where those who have waited will in the end understand.

It is Paul's conviction that, he will "remain and continue with them. There is a word-play in the Greek that can not be reproduced in the English. The word for to remain is menein ( G3306) ; and that for to continue is paramenein ( G3887) . Lightfoot suggests the translation bide and abide. That keeps the word-play, but does not give the meaning. The point is this; menein ( G3306) simply means to remain with; but paramenein ( G3887) (para, G3844, is the Greek for beside) means to wait beside a person ever ready to help. Paul's desire to live is not for his own sake, but for the sake of those whom he can continue to help.

So, then, if Paul is spared to come and see them again they will have in him grounds to boast in Jesus Christ. That is to say, they will be able to look at him and see in him a shining example of how, through Christ, a man can face the worst erect and unafraid. It is the duty of every Christian so to trust that men will be able to see what Christ can do for the man who has given his life to him.

CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM ( Php_1:27-30 )

1:27-30 One thing you must see to whatever happens--live a life that is worthy of a citizen of the Kingdom and of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you, or whether I go away and hear how things go with you, the news will be that you are standing fast, united in one spirit, fighting with one soul the battle of the gospel's faith, and that you are not put into fluttering alarm by any of your adversaries. For your steadfastness is a proof to them that they are doomed to defeat, while you are destined for salvation--and that from God. For to you has been given the privilege of doing something for Christ--the privilege of not only believing in him, but also of suffering for him, for you have the same struggle as that in which you have seen me engaged, and which now you hear that I am undergoing.

One thing is essential--no matter what happens either to them or to Paul the Philippians must live worthily of their faith and profession. Paul chooses his words very carefully. The King James Version has it: "Let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ." Nowadays this is misleading. To us conversation means talk; but it is derived from the Latin word conversari, which means to conduct oneself. In the seventeenth century a person's conversation was not only his way of speaking to other people; it was his whole behaviour. The phrase means: "Let your behaviour be worthy of those who are pledged to Christ."

But on this occasion Paul uses a word which he very seldom uses in order to express his meaning. The word he would normally use for to conduct oneself in the ordinary affairs of life is peripatein ( G4043) , which literally means to walk about; here htope uses politeuesthai ( G4176) , which means to be a citizen. Paul was writing from the very centre of the Roman Empire, from Rome itself; it was the fact that he was a Roman citizen that had brought him there. Philippi was a Roman colony; and Roman colonies were little bits of Rome planted throughout the world, where the citizens never forgot that they were Romans, spoke the Latin language, wore the Latin dress, called their magistrates by the Latin names, however far they might be from Rome. So what Paul is saying is, "You and I know full well the privileges and the responsibilities of being a Roman citizen. You know full well how even in Philippi, so many miles from Rome, you must still live and act as a Roman does. Well then, remember that you have an even higher duty than that. Wherever you are you must live as befits a citizen of the Kingdom of God.

What does Paul expect from them? He expects them to stand fast. The world is full of Christians on the retreat, who, when things grow difficult, play down their Christianity. The true Christian stands fast, unashamed in any company. He expects unity; they are to be bound together in one spirit like a band of brothers. Let the world quarrel; Christians must be one. He expects a certain unconquerability. Often evil seems invincible; but the Christian must never abandon hope or give up the struggle. He expects a cool, calm courage. In times of crisis others may be nervous and afraid; the Christian will be still serene, master of himself and of the situation.

If they can be like that, they will set such an example that the pagans will be disgusted with their own way of life, will realize that the Christians have something they do not possess, and will seek for very self-preservation to share it.

Paul does not suggest that this will be easy. When Christianity first came to Philippi, they saw him fight his own battle. They saw him scourged and imprisoned for the faith ( Acts 16:19). They know what he is now going through. But let them remember that a general chooses his best soldiers for the hardest tasks, and that it is an honour to suffer for Christ. There is a tale of a veteran French soldier who came in a desperate situation upon a young recruit trembling with fear. "Come, son," said the veteran, "and you and I will do something fine for France." So Paul says to the Philippians: "For you and for me the battle is on; let us do something fine for Christ."

-Barclay's Daily Study Bible (NT)

Gann's Commentary on the Bible

Philippians 1:21

2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23

V. 21 - Single Minded

Fill in: "For me to live is _ _ _ _ _, to die is _ _ _ _."

    money -- leave it all

    fame -- to be forgotten

    power -- to lose it all.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

For to me to live is Christ,.... Christ was his life "efficiently", the efficient cause and author of his spiritual life; he spoke it into him, produced it in him, and disciplined him with it: and he was his life, objectively, the matter and object of his life, that on which he lived; yea, it was not so much he that lived, as Christ that lived in him; he lived by faith on Christ, and his spiritual life was maintained and supported by feeding on him as the bread of life: and he was his life, "finally", the end of his life; what he aimed at throughout the whole course of his life was the glory of Christ, the good of his church and people, the spread of his Gospel, the honour of his name, and the increase of his interest; and this last seems to be the true sense of the phrase here;

and to die is gain; to himself, for death is gain to believers: it is not easy to say what a believer gains by dying; he is released thereby, and delivered from all the troubles and distresses of this life, arising from diseases of body, losses and disappointments in worldly things; from the oppressions and persecutions of wicked men; from indwelling sin, unbelief, doubts, and fears, and the temptations of Satan; he as soon as dies enters into the presence of God, where is fulness of joy, and is immediately with Christ, which is far better than being here, beholding his glory and enjoying communion with him; he is at once in the company of angels and glorified saints; is possessed of perfect holiness and knowledge; inherits a kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world, and wears a crown of life, righteousness, and glory; enters upon an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled; is received into everlasting habitations, into mansions of light, life, love, joy, peace, and comfort; is at perfect rest, and surrounded with endless pleasures. This is the common interpretation, and is countenanced by the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, which read, "to die", or "if I die, it is gain to me": but instead of reading the words as consisting of two propositions, they may he considered as one, and the sense be either this; Christ is gain to me living or dying in life or in death; for Christ is the believer's gain in life; he is all in all, his righteousness, his wisdom, his sanctification, his redemption, his life, his light, his food, his raiment, his riches, his joy, peace, and comfort; he is everything to him he wants, can wish for, or desire: and he is his gain in death; the hope he then has is founded on him, and the triumphs of his faith over death and the grave arise from redemption by him; his expectation is to be immediately with him; and the glory he will then enter into will lie in communion with him, in conformity to him, and in an everlasting vision of him: or thus, for me to live and to die is Christ's gain; his life being spent in his service, in living according to his will, in preaching his Gospel, serving his churches, and suffering for his sake, was for his glory; and his death being for his sake, in the faith of him, and the steady profession of it, would be what would glorify him, and so be his gain likewise; and this seems to be the genuine sense of the words, which contain a reason of the apostle's faith, why he was persuaded Christ would be magnified or glorified in his body, whether by life or by death.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.   22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.   23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:   24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.   25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;   26 That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.

      We have here an account of the life and death of blessed Paul: his life was Christ, and his death was gain. Observe, 1. It is the undoubted character of every good Christian that to him to live is Christ. The glory of Christ ought to be the end of our life, the grace of Christ the principle of our life, and the word of Christ the rule of it. The Christian life is derived from Christ, and directed to him. He is the principle, rule, and end of it. 2. All those to whom to live is Christ to them to die will be gain: it is great gain, a present gain, everlasting gain. Death is a great loss to a carnal worldly man; for he loses all his comforts and all his hopes: but to a good Christian it is gain, for it is the end of all his weakness and misery and the perfection of his comforts and accomplishment of his hopes; it delivers him from all the evils of life, and brings him to the possession of the chief good. Or, To me to die is gain; that is, "to the gospel as well as to myself, which will receive a further confirmation by the seal of my blood, as it had before by the labours of my life." So Christ would be magnified by his death,Philippians 1:20; Philippians 1:20. Some read the whole expression thus: To me, living and dying, Christ is gain; that is, "I desire no more, neither while I live nor when I die, but to win Christ and be found in him." It might be thought, if death were gain to him, he would be weary of life, and impatient for death. No, says he,

      I. If I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour (Philippians 1:22; Philippians 1:22), that is, Christ is. He reckoned his labour well bestowed, if he could be instrumental to advance the honour and interest of the kingdom of Christ in the world. It is the fruit of my labour--karpos ergou--operæ pretium. It is worth while for a good Christian and a good minister to live in the world as long as he can glorify God and do good to his church. Yet what I shall choose I wot not; for I am in a strait betwixt two. It was a blessed strait which Paul was in, not between two evil things, but between two good things. David was in a strait by three judgments--sword, famine, and pestilence: Paul was in a strait between two blessings--living to Christ, and being with him. Here we have him reasoning with himself upon the matter.

      1. His inclination was for death. See the power of faith and of divine grace; it can reconcile the mind to death, and make us willing to die, though death is the destruction of our present nature and the greatest natural evil. We have naturally an aversion to death, but he had an inclination to it (Philippians 1:23; Philippians 1:23); Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, Observe, (1.) It is being with Christ which makes a departure desirable to a good man. It is not simply dying, or putting off the body, it is not of itself and for its own sake a desirable thing; but it may be necessarily connected with something else which may make it truly so. If I cannot be with Christ without departing, I shall reckon it desirable on that account to depart. (2.) As soon as ever the soul departs, it is immediately with Christ. This day shalt thou be with me in paradise,Luke 23:43. Absent from the body and present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8), without any interval between. Which is far better, pollo gar mallon kreisson--very much exceeding, or vastly preferable. Those who know the value of Christ and heaven will readily acknowledge it far better to be in heaven than to be in this world, to be with Christ than to be with any creature; for in this world we are compassed about with sin, born to trouble, born again to it; but, if we come to be with Christ, farewell sin and temptation, farewell sorrow and death, for ever.

      2. His judgment was rather to live awhile longer in this world, for the service of the church (Philippians 1:24; Philippians 1:24): Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. It is needful for the church to have ministers; and faithful ministers can ill be spared when the harvest is plenteous and the labourers are few. Observe, Those who have most reason to desire to depart should be willing to continue in the world as long as God has any work for them to do. Paul's strait was not between living in this world and living in heaven; between these two there is no comparison: but his strait was between serving Christ in this world and enjoying him in another. Still it was Christ that his heart was upon: though, to advance the interest of Christ and his church, he chose rather to tarry here, where he met with oppositions and difficulties, and to deny himself for awhile the satisfaction of his reward.

      II. And, having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith,Philippians 1:25; Philippians 1:25. Observe here, 1. What a great confidence Paul had in the divine Providence, that it would order all for the best to him. "Having this confidence that it will be needful for you that I should abide in the flesh, I know that I shall abide." 2. Whatsoever is best for the church, we may be sure God will do. If we know what is needful for building up the body of Christ, we may certainly know what will be; for he will take care of its interests, and do what is best, all things considered, in every condition it is in. 3. Observe what ministers are continued for: For our furtherance and joy of faith, our further advancement in holiness and comfort. 4. What promotes our faith and joy of faith is very much for our furtherance in the way to heaven. The more faith the more joy, and the more faith and joy the more we are furthered in our Christian course. 5. There is need of a settled ministry, not only for the conviction and conversion of sinners, but for the edification of saints, and their furtherance in spiritual attainments.

      III. That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me, by my coming to you again,Philippians 1:26; Philippians 1:26. They rejoiced in the hope of seeing him, and enjoying his further labours among them. Observe, 1. The continuance of ministers with the church ought to be the rejoicing of all who wish well to the church, and to its interests. 2. All our joys should terminate in Christ. Our joy in good ministers should be our joy in Christ Jesus for them; for they are but the friends of the bridegroom, and are to be received in his name, and for his sake.

Spurgeon's Verse Expositions of the Bible

The Good Man's Life and Death

A Sermon

(No. 146)

Delivered on Sabbath Morning, August 16, 1857, by the

REV. C. H. Spurgeon

at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.

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"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21 .

HOW OMINOUSLY these words follow each other in the text "live," "die." There is but a comma between them, and surely as it is in the words so is it in reality. How brief the distance between life and death! In fact there is none. Life is but death's vestibule, and our pilgrimage on earth is but a journey to the grave. The pulse that preserves our being beats our death march, and the blood which circulates our life is floating it onward to the deeps of death. To-day we see our friends in health, to-morrow we hear of their decease. We clasped the hand of the strong man but yesterday, and to-day we close his eyes. We rode in the chariot of comfort but an hour ago, and in a few more hours the last black chariot must convey us to the home of all living. Oh, how closely allied is death to life! The lamb teat sporteth in the field must soon feel the knife. The ox that loweth in the pasture is fattening for the slaughter. Trees do but grow that they may be felled. Yea, and greater things than these feel death. Empires rise and flourish, they flourish but to decay, they rise to fall. How often do we take up the volume of history, and read of the rise and fall of empires. We hear of the coronation and the death of kings. Death is the black servant who rides behind the chariot of life. See life! and death is close behind it. Death reacheth far throughout this world, and hath stamped all terrestrial things with the broad arrow of the grave. Stars die mayhap; it is said that conflagrations have been seen far off in the distant ether, and astronomers have marked the funerals of worlds, the decay of those mighty orbs that we had imagined set for ever in sockets of silver to glisten as the lamps of eternity. But blessed be God, there is one place where death is not life's brother, where life reigns alone; "to live," is not the first syllable which is to be followed by the next, "to die." There is a land where deathknells are never tolled, where winding-sheets are never woven, where graves are never digged. Blest land beyond the skies! To reach it we must die. But if after death we obtain a glorious immortality, our text is indeed true: "To die is gain."

If you would get a fair estimate of the happiness of any man you must judge him in these two closely connected things, his life and his death. The heathen Solon said, "Call no man happy until he is dead; for you know not what changes may pass upon him in life." We add to that Call no man happy until he is dead; because the life that is to come, if that be miserable, shall far outweigh the highest life of happiness that hath been enjoyed on earth. To estimate a man's condition we must take it in all its length. We must not measure that one thread which reacheth from the cradle to the coffin. We must go further; we must go from the coffin to the resurrection, and from the resurrection on throughout eternity. To know whether acts are profitable, I must not estimate their effects on me for the hour in which I live, but for the eternity in which I am to exist. I must not weigh matters in the scales of time; I must not calculate by the hours, minutes and seconds of the clock, but I must count and value things by the ages of eternity.

Come, then, beloved; we have before us the picture of a man, the two sides of whose existence will both of them bear inspection; we have hi life, we have his death: we have it said of his life, "to live is Christ," of his death, "to die is gain;" and if the same shall be said of any of you, oh! ye may rejoice! Ye are amongst that thrice happy number whom the Lord hath loved, and whom he delighteth to honor.

We shall now divide our text very simply into these two points, the good man's life, and the good man's death.

I. As to HIS LIFE, we have that briefly described thus: "For me to live is Christ." The believer did not always live to Christ. When he was first born into this world he was a slave of sin, and an heir of wrath, even as others. Though he may have afterwards become the greatest of saints, yet until divine grace hath entered his heart, he is "in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity." He only begins to live to Christ when God the Holy Spirit convinceth him of his sin, and of his desperate evil nature, and when by grace he is brought to see the dying Saviour making a propitiation for his guilt. From that moment when by faith he sees the slaughtered victim of Calvary, and casts his whole life on him, to be saved, to be redeemed, to be preserved, and to be blest by the virtue of his atonement and the greatness of his grace, from that moment the man begins to live to Christ.

And now shall we tell you as briefly as we can what living to Christ means.

It means, first, that the life of a Christian derives its parentage from Christ. "For me to live is Christ." The righteous man has two lives. He has one which he inherited from his parents; he looks back to an ancestral race of which he is the branch, and he traces his life to the parent stock; but he has a second life, a life spiritual, a life which is as much above mere mental life, as mental life is above the life of the animal or the plant; and for the source of this spiritual life he looks not to father or mother, nor to priest nor man, nor to himself, but he looks to Christ. He says, "O Lord Jesus, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace, thou art my spiritual parent; unless thy Spirit had breathed into my nostrils the breath of a new, holy and spiritual life, I had been to this day "dead in trespasses and sins." I owe my third principle, my spirit, to the implantation of thy grace. I had a body and a soul by my parents, I have received the third principle, the spirit from thee, and in thee I live, and move, and have my being. My new, my best, my highest my most heavenly life, is wholly derived from thee. To thee I ascribe it. My life is hid with Christ in God. It is no longer I that live, but Christ that liveth in me." And so the Christian says, "For me to live is Christ," because for me to live is to live a life whose parentage is not of human origin, but of divine, even of Christ himself. Again he intended to say, that Christ was the sustenance of his life, the food his newborn spirit fed upon. The believer hath three parts to be sustained. The body, which must have its proper nutriment; the soul, which must have knowledge and thought to supply it; and the spirit which must feed on Christ. Without bread I become attenuated to a skeleton, and at last I die; without thought my mind becomes dwarfed, and, and dwindles itself until I become the idiot, with a soul that hath just life, but little more. And without Christ my newborn spirit must become a vague shadowy emptiness. It cannot live unless it feeds on that heavenly manna which came down from heaven. Now the Christian can say, "The life that I live is Christ," because Christ is the food on which he feeds and the sustenance of his new-born Spirit.

The apostle also meant, that the fashion of his life was Christ. I suppose that every man living has a model by which he endeavors to shape his life. When we start in life, we generally select some person, or persons, whose combined virtues shall be to us the mirror of perfection. "Now," says Paul, "if you ask me after what fashion I mould my life, and what is the model by which I would sculpture my being, I tell you, it is Christ. I have no fashion, no form, no model by which to shape my being, except the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the true Christian, if he be an upright man, can say the same. Understand, however what I mean by the word "upright." An upright man mean" a straightt up man a man that does not cringe and bow, and fawn to other men's feet; a man that does not lean for help on other men, but just stands with his head heavenward, in all the dignity of his independence, leaning nowhere except on the arm of the Omnipotent. Such a man will take Christ alone to be his model and pattern. This is the very age of conventionalities. People dare not now do a thing unless everybody else does the same. You do not often say, "Is a thing right?" The most you say is, "Does so-and-so do it?" You have some great personage or other in your family connection, who is looked upon as being the very standard of all propriety; and if he do it, then you think you may safely do it. And oh! what an outcry there is against a man who dares to be singular, who just believes that some of your conventionalities are trammels and chains, and kicks them all to pieces and says, "I am free!" The world is at him in a minute; all the ban-dogs of malice and slander are at him, because he says, "I will not follow your model! I will vindicate the honor of my Master, and not take your great masters to be for ever my pattern." Oh! I would to God that every statesman, that every minister, that every Christian were free to hold that his only form, and his only fashion for imitation, must be the character of Christ. I would that we could scorn all superstitious attachments to the ancient errors of our ancestors; and whilst some would be for ever looking upon age and upon hoary antiquity with veneration, I would we had the courage to look upon a thing, not according to its age, but according to its rightness, and so weigh everything, not by its novelty, or by its antiquity, but by its conformity to Christ Jesus and his holy Gospel; rejecting that which is not, though it be hoary with years, and believing that which is, even though it be but the creature of the day, and saying with earnestness, "For me to live is not to imitate this man or the other, but 'for me to live is Christ.'"

I think, however, that the very center of Paul's idea would be this: The end of his life is Christ. You think you see Paul land upon the shores of Philippi. There, by the river-side, were ships gathered and many merchant men. There you would see the merchant busy with his ledger, and overlooking his cargo, and he paused and put his hand upon his brow, and said as he griped his money-bag, "For me to live is gold." And there you see his humbler clerk, employed in some plainer work, toiling for his master, and he, perspiring with work mutters between his teeth, "For me to live is to gain a bare subsistence." And there stands for a moment to listen to him, one with a studious face and a sallow countenance, and with a roll full of the mysterious characters of wisdom. "Young man," he says, "for me to live is learning." "Aha! aha!;" says another, who stands by, clothed in mail, with a helmet on his head, "I scorn your modes of life, for me to live is glory." But there walks one, a humble tent-maker, called Paul; you see the lineaments of the Jew upon his face, and he steps into the middle of them all and says, "For me to live is Christ." Oh! how they smile with contempt upon him, and how they scoff at him, for having chosen such an object! "For me to live is Christ." And what did he mean! The learned man stopped, and said, "Christ! who is he? Is he that foolish, mad fellow, of whom I have heard, who was executed upon Calvary for sedition?" The meek reply is, "It is he who died, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." "What?" says the Roman soldier, "and do you live for a man who died a slave's death? What glory will you get by fighting his battles?" What profit is there in your preaching, chimes in the trader. Ah! and even the merchant's clerk thought Paul mad; for he said, "How can he feed his family? how will he supply his wants if all he liveth for is to honor Christ?" Ay, but Paul knew what he was at. He was the wiser man of them all. He knew which way was right for heaven, and which would end the best. But, right or wrong, his soul was wholly possessed with the idea "For me to live is Christ."

Brethren and sisters, can you say, as professing Christians, that you live up to the idea of the apostle Paul? Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? I will tell you my opinion of many of you. You join our churches you are highly respectable men; you are accepted among us as true and real Christians; but in all honesty and truth I do not believe that for you to live is Christ. I see many of you whose whore thoughts are engrossed with the things of earth; the mere getting of money; the amassing of wealth, seems to be your only object. I do not deny that you are liberal, I will not dare to say that you are not generous, and that your cheque-book does not often bear the mark of some subscription for holy purposes, but I dare to say, after all, that you cannot in honesty say that you live wholly for Christ. You know that when you go to your shop or your warehouse, you do not think, in doing business, that you are doing it for Christ; you dare not be such a hypocrite as to say so. You must say that you do it for self-aggrandisement, and for family advantage. "Well!" says one, "and is that a mean reason?" By no means; not for you, if you are mean enough to ask that question, but for the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ; then how IS it he dares to profess to live for his Master, and yet does not do so, but lives for mere worldly gain? Let me speak to many a lady here. You would be shocked if I should deny your Christianity. You move in the highest circles of life, and you would be astonished if I should presume to touch your piety, after your many generous donations to religious objects; but I dare to do so. You what do you do? You rise late enough in the day: you have your carriage out, and call to see your friends, or leave your card by way of proxy. You go to a party in the evening; you talk nonsense, and come home and go to bed. And that is your life from the beginning of the year to the end. It is just one regular round. There comes the dinner or the ball, and the conclusion of the day; and then Amen, so be it, for ever. Now you don't live for Christ. I know you go to church regularly, or attend at some dissenting chapel; all well and good. I shall not deny your piety, according to the common usage of the term, but I deny that you have got to anything like the place where Paul stood when he said, "For me to live is Christ." I, my brethren, know that with much earnest seeking I have failed to realize the fullness of entire devotion to the Lord Jesus. Every minister must sometimes chasten himself and say, "Am I not sometimes a little warped in my utterances? Did I not in some sermon aim to bring out a grand thought instead of stating a home truth? Have I not kept back some warning that I ought to have uttered, because I feared the face of man?" Have we not all good need to chasten ourselves, because we must say that we have not lived for Christ as we should have done? And yet there are, I trust, a noble few, the elite of God's elect, a few chosen men and women on whose heads there is the crown and diadem of dedication, who can truly say, "I have nothing in this world I cannot give to Christ I have said it, and mean what I have said

'Take my soul and body's powers,

All my goods and all my hours,

All I have, and all I am.'

Take me, Lord, and take me for ever." These are the men who make our missionaries; these are the women to make our nurses for the sick, these are they that would dare death for Christ; these are they who would give of their substance to his cause; these are they who would spend and be spent, who would bear ignominy, and scorn, and shame if they could but advance their Master's interest. How many of this sort have I here this morning? Might I not count many of these benches before I could find a score? Many there are who do in a measure carry out this principle; but who among us is there (I am sure he standeth not here in this pulpit) that can dare to say he hath lived wholly for Christ, as the apostle did? And yet, till there be more Pauls, and more men dedicated to Christ, we shall never see God's kingdom come, nor shall we hope to see his will done on earth, even as it is in heaven.

Now, this is the true life of a Christian, its source, its sustenance, its fashion, and its end, all gathered up in one word, Christ Jesus; and, I must add, its happiness, and its glory, is all in Christ. But I must detain you no longer.

II. I must go to the second point, THE DEATH OF THE CHRISTIAN. Alas, alas, that the good should die; alas, that the righteous should fall! Death, why dost thou not hew the deadly upas? Why dost thou not mow the hemlock? Why dost thou touch the tree beneath whose spreading branches weariness hath rest? Why dost thou touch the flower whose perfume hath made glad the earth? Death, why dost thou snatch away the excellent of the earth, in whom is all our delight? If thou wouldest use thine axe, use it upon the cumber-grounds, the trees that draw nourishment, but afford no fruit; thou mightest be thanked then. But why wilt thou cut down the cedars, why wilt thou fell the goodly trees of Lebanon? O Death, why dost thou not spare the church? Why must the pulpit be hung in black; why must the missionary station be filled with weeping? Why must the pious family lose its priest, and the house its head? O Death, what art thou at? touch not earth's holy things; thy hands are not fit to pollute the Israel of God. Why dost thou put thine hand upon the hearts of the elect? Oh stay thou, stay thou; spare the righteous, Death, and take the bad! But no, it must not be; death comes and smites the goodliest of us all; the most generous, the most prayerful, the most holy, the most devoted must die. Weep, weep, weep, O church, for thou hast lost thy martyrs; weep, O church, for thou hast lost thy confessors, thy holy men are fallen. Howl, fir tree, for the cedar hath fallen, the godly fail, and the righteous are cut off. But stay awhile; I hear another voice. Say ye thus unto the daughter of Judah, spare thy weeping. Say ye thus unto the Lord's flock, Cease, cease thy sorrow thy martyrs are dead, but they are glorified; thy ministers are gone, but they have ascended up to thy Father, and to their Father, thy brethren are buried in the grave, but the archangel's trumpet shall awake them, and their spirits are ever now with God.

Hear ye the words of the text, by way of consolation, "To die is gain." Not such gain as thou wishest for, thou son of the miser, not such gain as thou art hunting for, thou man of covetousness and self-love; a higher and a better gain is that which death brings to a Christian.

My dear friends, when I discoursed upon the former part of the verse, it was all plain. No proof was needed; ye believed it, for you saw it clearly. "To live is Christ," hath no paradox in it. But "To die is gain," is one of the Gospel riddles which only the Christian can truly understand. To die is not gain if I look upon the merely visible, to die is loss, it is not gain. Hath not the dead man lost his wealth? though he had piles of riches, can he take anything with him? Hath it not been said, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither." "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." And which of all thy goods, canst thou take with thee? The man had a fair estate and a goodly mansion; he hath lost that. He can no more tread those painted halls, nor walk those verdant lawns. He had abundance of fame and honor; he hath lost that, so far as his own sense of it is concerned, though still the harp string trembles at his name. He has lost his wealth, and buried though he may be in a costly tomb, yet is he as poor as the beggar who looked upon him in the street in envy. That is not gain, it is loss and he hath lost his friends: he hath left behind him a sorrowing wife and children, fatherless, without his guardian care; he hath lost the friend of his bosom, the companion of his youth. Friends are there to weep over him, but they cannot cross the river with him; they drop a few tears into his tomb, but with him they must not and cannot go. And hath he not lost all his learning, though he hath toiled ever so much to fill his brain with knowledge? What is he now above the servile slave, though he hath acquired all knowledge of earthly things? Is it not said,

"Their memory and their love are lost

Alike unknowing and unknown?"

Surely death is loss. Hath he not lost the songs of the sanctuary and the prayers of the righteous? Hath he not lost the solemn assembly, and the great gathering of the people? No more shall the promise enchant his ear, no more shall the glad tidings of the gospel wake his soul to melody. He sleeps in the dust, the Sabbath-bell tolls not for him, the sacramental emblems are spread upon the table, but not for him. He hath gone to his grave, he knoweth not that which shall be after him. There is neither work nor device in the grave, whither we all are hastening. Surely death is loss. When I look upon thee, thou clay-cold corpse, and see thee just preparing to be the palace of corruption and the carnival for worms, I cannot think that thou hast gained. When I see that thine eye hath lost light, and thy lip hath lost its speech, and thine ears have lost hearing, and thy feet have lost motion, and thy heart hath lost its joy, and they that look out of the windows are darkened, the grinders have failed, and no sounds of tabret and of harp wake up thy joys, O clay-cold corpse, than hast lost, lost immeasurably. And yet my text tells me it is not so. It says, "To die is gain." It looks as if it could not be thus, and certainly it is not, so far as I can see. But put to your eye the telescope of faith, take that magic glass which pierces through the veil that parts us from the unseen. Anoint your eyes with eyesalve, and make them so bright that they can pierce the ether and see the unknown worlds. Come, bathe yourself in this sea of light, and live in holy revelation and belief, and then look, and oh how changed the scene! Here is the corpse, but there the spirit; here is the clay, but there the soul, here is the carcase, but there the seraph. He is supremely blest; his death is gain. Come now, what did he lose? I will show that in everything he lost, he gained far more. He lost his friends, did he? His wife, and his children, his brethren in church fellowship, are all lea to weep his loss. Yes, he lost them, but, my brethren what did he gain? He gained more friends than e'er he lost. He had lost many in his lifetime, but he meets them all again. Parents, brethren and sisters who had died in youth or age, and passed the stream before him, all salute him on the further brink. There the mother meets her infant, there the father meets his children, there the venerable patriarch greets his family to the third and fourth generation, there brother clasps brother to his arms, and husband meets with wife, no more to be married or given in marriage, but to live together, like the angels of God. Some of us have more friends in heaven than in earth. We have more dear relations in glory, than we have here. It is not so with all of us, but with some it is so; more have crossed the stream than are left behind. But if it be not so, yet what friends we have to meet us there! Oh, I reckon on the day of death if it were for the mere hope of seeing the bright spirits that are now before the throne; to clasp the hand of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, to look into the face of Paul the apostle, and grasp the hand of Peter; to sit in flowery fields with Moses and David, to bask in the sunlight of bliss with John and Magdalene. Oh how blest! The company of poor imperfect saints on earth is good; but how much better the society of the redeemed. Death is no loss to us by way of friends. We leave a few, a little band below, and say to them, "Fear not little flock," and we ascend and meet the armies of the living God, the hosts of his redeemed. "To die is gain." Poor corpse! thou hast lost thy friends on earth; nay, bright spirit, thou hast received a hundred fold in heaven.

What else did we say he lost? We said he lost all his estate, all his substance and his wealth. Ay, but he has gained infinitely more. Though he were rich as Crþsus, yet he might well give up his wealth for that which he hath attained. Were his fingers bright with pearls, and hath he lost their brilliancy? The pearly gases of heaven glisten brighter far. Had he gold in his storehouse? Mark ye, the streets of heaven are paved with gold, and he is richer far. The mansions of the redeemed are far brighter dwelling places than the mansions of the richest here below. But it is not so with many of you. You are not rich, you are poor. What can you lose by death? You are poor here, you shall be rich there. Here you suffer toil, there you shall rest for ever. Here you earn your bread by the sweat of your brow but there, no toil Here wearily you cast yourself upon your bed at the week's end, and sigh for the Sabbath, but there Sabbaths have no end. Here you go to the house of God, but you are distracted with worldly cares and thoughts of suffering; but there, there are no groans to mingle with the songs that warble from immortal tongues, Death will be gain to you in point of riches and substance.

And as for the means of grace which we leave behind, what are they when compared with what we shall have hereafter? Oh, might I die at this hour, I think I would say something like this, "Farewell Sabbaths, I am going to the eternal Sabbath of the redeemed. Farewell minister; I shall need no candle, neither light of the sun, when the Lord God shall give me light, and be my life for ever and ever. Farewell ye songs and sonnets of the blessed; farewell, I shall not need your melodious burst; I shall hear the eternal and unceasing hallelujahs of the beatified. Farewell, ye prayers of God's people; my spirit shall hear for ever the intercessions of my Lord, and join with the noble army of martyrs in crying, 'O Lord, how long?' Farewell, O Zion! Farewell, house of my love, home of my life! Farewell, ye temples where God's people sing and pray; farewell, ye tents of Jacob, where they daily burn their offering!-I am going to a better Zion than you, to a brighter Jerusalem, to a temple that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God!" O my dear friends, in the thought of these things, do we not, some of us, feel as if we could die!

"E'en now by faith we join our hands

With those that went before,

And greet the blood-besprinkled bands

Upon th' eternal shore.

One army of the living God,

At his command we bow,

Part of the host have crossed the flood,

And part are crossing now."

We have not come to the margin yet, but we shall be there soon: we soon expect to die.

And again, one more thought. We said that when men died they lost their knowledge, we correct ourselves. Oh, no, when the righteous die they know infinitely more than they could have known on earth.

"There shall I see and hear and know

All I desired or wished below;

And every power find sweet employ,

In that eternal world of joy."

"Here we see through a glass darkly, but there face to face." There, what "eye hath not seen nor ear heard" shall be fully manifest to us. There, riddles shall be unravelled, mysteries made plain, dark texts enlightened, hard providences made to appear wise. The meanest soul in heaven knows more of God than the greatest saint on earth. The greatest saint on earth may have it said of him, "Nevertheless he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." Not our mightiest divines understand so much of theology as the lambs of the flock of glory. Not the greatest master-minds of earth understand the millionth part of the mighty meanings which have been discovered by souls emancipated from clay. Yes, brethren, "To die is gain." Take away, take away that hearse, remove that shroud; come, put white plumes upon the horse's heads and let gilded trappings hang around them. There, take away that fife, that shrill sounding music of the death march. Lend me the trumpet and the drum. O hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah; why weep we the saints to heaven; why need we lament? They are not dead, they are gone before. Stop, stop that mourning, refrain thy tears, clap your hands, clap your hands.

"They are supremely blest,

Have done with care and sin and woe;

And with their Saviour rest."

What! weep! weep! for heads that are crowned with coronals of heaven? Weep, weep for hands that grasp the harps of gold? What, weep for eyes that see the Redeemer? What, weep for hearts that are washed from sin, and are throbbing with eternal bliss! What, weep for men that are in the Saviour's bosom?-No, weep for yourselves, that you are here. Weep that the mandate has not come which bids you to die. Weep that you must tarry. But weep not for them. I see them turning back on you with loving wonder, and they exclaim, "Why weepest thou?" What, weep for poverty that it is clothed in riches? What, weep for sickness, that it hath inherited eternal health? What, weep for shame, that it is glorified; and weep for sinful mortality, that it hath become immaculate? Oh, weep not, but rejoice. "If ye knew what it was that I have said unto you, and whither I have gone, ye would rejoice with a joy that no man should take from you." "To die is gain." Ah, this makes the Christian long to die makes him say,

"Oh, that the word were given!

O Lord of Hosts, the wave divide,

And land us all in heaven!"

And now, friends, does this belong to you all? Can you claim an interest in it? Are you living to Christ? Does Christ live in you? For if not, your death will not be gain. Are you a believer in the Saviour? Has your heart been renewed, and your conscience washed in the blood of Jesus? If not, my bearer, I weep for thee. I will save my tears for lost friends; there, with this handkerchief I'd staunch mine eyes for ever for my best beloved that shall die, if those tears could save you. O, when you die, what a day! If the world were hung in sackcloth, it could not express the grief that you would feel. You die. O death! O death! how hideous art thou to men that are not in Christ! And yet, my hearer, thou shalt soon die. Save me thy bed of shrieks, thy look of gall, thy words of bitterness! Oh that thou couldst be saved the dread hereafter! Oh! the wrath to come! the wrath to come! the wrath to come! who is he that can preach of it? Horrors strike the guilty soul! It quivereth upon the verge of death; no, on the verge of hell. It looketh over, clutching hard to life, and it heareth there the sullen groans, the hollow moans, and shrieks of tortured ghosts, which come up from the pit that is bottomless, and it clutcheth firmly to life, clasps the physician, and bids him hold, lest he should fall into the pit that burneth. And the spirit looketh down and seeth all the fiends of everlasting punishments, and back it recoileth. But die it must. It would barter all it hath to coin an hour; but no, the fiend hath got its grip, and down it must plunge. And who can tell the hideous shriek of a lost soul? It cannot reach heaven; but if it could, it might well be dreamed that it would suspend the melodies of angels, might make even God's redeemed weep, if they could hear the wailings of a damned soul. Ah! you men and women, ye have wept; but if you die unregenerate, there will be no weeping like that, there will be no shriek like that, no wail like that. May God spare us from ever hearing it or uttering it ourselves! Oh, how the grim caverns of Hades startle, and how the darkness of night is frighted, when the wail of a lost soul comes up from the ascending flames, whilst it is descending in the pit. "Turn ye, turn ye; why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Christ is preached to you. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." Believe on him and live, ye guilty, vile, perishing; believe and live. But this know if ye reject my message, and depise my Master, in that day when he shall judge the world in righteousness by that man, Jesus Christ, I must be a swift witness against you. I have told you tat your soul's peril reject it. Receive my message, and you are saved; reject it take the responsibility on your own head. Behold, my skirts are clear of your blood. If ye be damned, it is not for want of warning. Oh God grant, ye may not perish.

Kelly Commentary on Books of the Bible

There is no epistle in the New Testament which gives so little space to the development of. doctrine as this to the Philippians. Need it be said that it has not the less its own proper office on that account? And what is this but the unfolding of the truth in the heart and in the ways of the Christian? Hence it is that, although doctrine is sparse, if not almost excluded, nevertheless what little appears comes in as ancillary to the main purpose. It is interwoven with practical appeal, and indeed the chief development of doctrine (namely, in the second chapter) forms a ground of exhortation.

Accordingly, from the very starting-point, we are prepared for a difference of tone and character. The apostle drops entirely his official status in addressing the saints at Philippi. He associates Timothy with himself, not merely, as elsewhere, himself apostle and Timothy in some other relation, but here conjointly "Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ." He thus takes a common place with his beloved son in the gospel. This place throughout is one of promoting, enlarging, deepening, and purifying the experience of the saints themselves in that which filled his own heart with joy in the Lord. We shall see the importance of this elsewhere. It is what enabled him to look at the saints, as he called them to look at one another, esteeming others, as he says, better than themselves. Had it been a question of his apostolic dignity, this could not have been; but an apostle even could, and did, and loved to, take the place of one that served others whom he viewed directly in their relationship to Christ. His own place toward them was but to serve them in love. Such did, such was, Christ. There is nothing so high as that which we all have been made in our blessed Lord.

So here at the beginning he simply takes the place of servant with Timothy, owning all the saints as well as the officials in their place: "To all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons." This last is but a confirmation of the same truth. It is not at all a question of ecclesiastical order, in which naturally the chief guides would have front rank. The apostle is here contributing to that which shall never pass away, and hence begins with the "saints in Christ Jesus" as such. These Philippians will not be less saints in heaven, where there can be no such charges as "bishops or deacons." I do not say that the fruits of the loving service of any one of them will be forgotten there; nor that even glory will not bear the impress of that which has been really of the Holy Ghost here. Nevertheless there is that which is suited only to the conditions of time; there is that which, given here, survives all change. The apostle loved to give God's place and value to everything; and here it is the mingling of Christ with the circumstances of every day. It is the forming of the heart with the affections and the judgments of the Lord. It is the imbuing of the Christian with that which is life everlasting, but the life that he is now living by "the faith of the Son of God, who loved him and gave himself for him." Hence he at once begins, not with a doctrinal preparation after the introduction, but the introduction brings us as usual into the general spirit if not special object of the epistle. "I thank my God for my whole remembrance of you," says he, after his usual salutation and wish, "always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy."

There is no epistle that so abounds in joy. This is the more remarkable because it is so intensely practical. For we can all understand joy in believing; we can readily feel how natural is joy to the Christian who dwells on his eternal portion. The trial is to keep that joy undimmed in the midst of the difficulties and sorrows that every day may bring. This epistle treats of daily sorrows and difficulties, yet does it manifestly overflow with joy, which all the dangers, sufferings, and trials only made the more triumphant and conspicuous.

So he brings before them another remarkable feature of it their fellowship; and this fellowship too with the gospel. Their happy and bright state in Christ did not dim their fellowship with the gospel. But whatever might be their own proper joy, whatever might be their delight in that which God works in the church, they had full and simple-hearted fellowship with His good news. It had always been so, as the apostle gives us to learn. It was not some sudden fit, if one may so say, nor was it the influence of passing circumstances. It was a calm, fixed, cordial habit of their souls, which indeed had distinguished them from the first. This was now among the last outpourings of the apostle's heart, as he himself had almost arrived at the end of his active labours, if indeed it was not absolutely their end. He was in prison, long shut out from that which had been his joyful service, though in constant toil and suffering for so many years. But his spirit was as bright as ever, his joy perfectly fresh, deep, and flowing. And now he would have them looking to Christ, that no damp should gather round their hearts from anything that might befall him, that nothing which happened, whether to themselves, to other saints, or even to the apostle, should interfere for a moment with their unclouded and abounding confidence in the Lord. So he tells them that he always thus remembered them for their "fellowship with the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that he who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."

There is not even the allowance of the possibility of their turning aside from the bright career both of possessing a Saviour they knew, and of enjoying Him increasingly. He had no theory that first love must necessarily wane and cool down, but the very reverse. Himself the striking witness to the contrary, he looked for nothing less in the saints he so dearly loved. Indeed that which had drawn out the epistle was the proof that the trying circumstances of the apostle had but called out their affections. His being out of sight rather made the remembrance of his words and ways the more distinct, and imparted a chastened earnestness to their desires of pleasing the Lord. "Being confident," he therefore says, "of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ, even as it is meet for me to think this of you all." It is not one who cherished a trust in the Lord's fidelity spite of what was visible. This counting on the Lord the apostle might have even where things were wrong. It was so as to the Corinthians; nay, it was not wholly wanting for the Galatians, though that which they allowed imperilled the foundations of grace and faith. But the practical ways and spirit of the Philippians were the living evidence not only of life, but, so to speak, of vigorous health in Christ. So it was right for him to anticipate good and not evil, not as in the authorized version and other translations, because "I have you in my heart," which would be no ground of assurance for them, but because "ye have me in your heart," which showed their spiritual feelings to be true and sound. This seems to me the real meaning, which the margin gives rightly.

It is a thing more important in practice than many suppose. There is no more common device of Satan than to seek the destruction of the power of testimony by the allowance of evil insinuations against him who renders it. Of course, the enemy would have desired above all and at any cost to lower such an one as the apostle Paul in the loving esteem of God's saints, more particularly where all had been sweet and happy; but, notwithstanding every effort, grace hitherto had prevailed, and these saints at Philippi felt the more for the apostle when he was a prisoner. When God does not interpose, men are apt to allow reflections and reasonings. Not seldom do they begin to question whether it can be possible that such a one is really of value to the church of God. Would God in this case let His servant be so long kept away from the gospel or the church? Surely there must have been something seriously wrong to judge in him!

It was not thus that the true-hearted Philippians felt; and spiritual feeling is worth more than all reasoning. Their affections were right. Reasonings on such matters are in general miserably wrong. Their sympathies, drawn out by the afflictions of the apostle in his work, were the workings of the Holy Spirit in their souls at least the instincts of a life that was of Christ, and that judged in view of Him, and not according to appearances. They had him in their heart, as he says, "Inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers with me of grace," or "of my grace." "For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ." For his was a heart deeply sensible of love, and consequently he was not one that had sought either to make the saints dependent upon him, and still less did the apostle depend on the saints for anything that was the fruit of grace in them. He desired not anything for himself, but only what should abound to their account in the day of Jesus Christ. This he must wish for them, if he wished them well. Accordingly he prays for them, that as they had shown this true and unabated love for himself as Christ's servant, so their love might abound yet more and more, and this too in knowledge and in all judgment.

This is the great value of Christian experience. It is not love growing less but more, and this abounding in intelligence and knowledge, which could not be looked for in saints just beginning their career. There is no necessity and where is the epistle that more thoroughly disproves the thought of any necessity? that a saint should decline. To abound in love is far from declension. To "abound yet more and more," to have that love tempered by divinely given wisdom and divinely exercised judgment, is the very reverse of going back. Their true and constant progress was what the apostle had before his own soul in prayer for them, instead of coolly giving up the saints, as if the new nature must grow feebler day by day as if the things of the world must overcome faith, and the things which are seen outweigh those which are unseen and eternal. Is this your measure of the love of Christ? Is He really so far from any of those that call upon Him?

Thus, then, he prays for them, and to this end, not that they might become more intelligent merely not that they might grow more able to discourse of divine things, though I doubt not that there would be growth in these respects also; but all here has an eminently practical form, "that ye may approve things that are more excellent; that ye may be pure and without offence till the day of Christ." Such is the thought that the apostle had before his soul of that which became the Christian. He would have one who begins with Christ to (so on with Christ, have nothing but Christ before his eyes, and pursue this path without a stumble till the day of Christ. It is a blessed and refreshing picture even in thought. Oh that the Lord might make it true of His own! This is certainly what the apostle here puts before these saints. "Filled," says he, "with the fruit of righteousness, which is by Jesus Christ;" for it is all supposed to be fruit, not isolated fruits here and there, but as a whole, which adds greatly to the strength of it. It should be "the fruit of righteousness, which is by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God."

Then he turns, not to doctrine after this opening, but to circumstances, to circumstances, however, illumined with Christ The most ordinary details are taken out of their own pettiness (though it is really a little mind which counts them petty), and are made simple and genuine, and this through Christ Jesus intermingled with them. Oh, it is a blessed thing, that in the midst of the sorrows of this world, the Holy Spirit knows how thus to blend the name of Christ, as the sweetest balm, with the sorrow, however bitter, and to make the very memory of the grief pleasant because of Christ, who deigns to let Himself into it all. It was this that so cheered the apostle's heart in his loneliness often, in his desertion sometimes, when the sight of a brother would have given fresh courage to his heart. Looking to the Lord, as it is the life-breath of love, so it adds to the value of brotherly kindness in its season. Thus we know how on approaching Rome Paul was lifted up and comforted, as he saw those who came to greet him. But there he was soon to experience the faltering of brethren; there he was to see not one standing by him in the hour of his shame and need. He must be conformed to his Master in all things; and this was one of them. But out of the midst of bitter experience he had learned Christ, as even he had never known Him before. He had proved long the power and the joy of Christ for every day, and for every circumstance of it.

It was such an one, truly the servant of Jesus Christ, and so much the more their servant because His, even their servant for Jesus' sake it was such an one that wrote from Rome to the tried saints at Philippi. Nor was he in that which he was about to write without deep feeling; but he had learned Christ for all; and this is the key-note of the epistle from the first, though only uttered distinctly at the last. He had learned practically what Christ is, and what He does, and what He can enable even the least to do, (as he says himself, "less than the least of all saints,") and so much the more, because the least in his own eyes.

Thus then he writes, telling them, "I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel." He knew well how much they might be tried by the report of his own imprisonment, and no deliverance coming as yet. But he had himself gone through the trial; he had weighed it all; he had brought it into the presence of God. He had put all, as it were, into the hands of Christ, who had Himself given him His own comfort about it. "I would, then, that ye should understand, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel." Once you are right about Christ, you are right about everything while He is before you. There is nothing assuredly right, on the other hand, where Christ is not the object of the soul. With Him you will be right about the gospel, right about the church, right about doctrine, walk, and service. There is not one of these things but may in itself become the veriest snare; and so much the more dangerous because each looks fair. What looks and sounds better than the saints of God? what than the ministry of Christ? what than the testimony for God? Yet there is not one of these things that has not become the ruin of souls; and there are none that ought to know this better than those I am addressing this night. Who have had more mournful proofs of the danger of putting saints practically in the place of Christ? Who have had more palpable witness that service may become the object rather than Christ? Has it not been the rock on which many a gallant bark has made shipwreck?

But now the apostle was shut out from every labour apparently. Surely he, most of all, must have felt the change the heart that took in the Gentiles, that swept the circle of lands from Jerusalem to Illyricum, that yearned over Spain, ever going out farther and farther, boundless in his desires for the salvation of souls. He was for a considerable time a prisoner. He is at Rome, where he desired to be, no doubt, but which he had never expected to visit as one in bonds. And that he ever was anything but a prisoner there, man at least cannot say. A prisoner he was; and such is all that Scripture tells about him there. We may see the moral harmony of that lot with his testimony, and how suitable it seems that he, who was above all men identified with the gospel of the glory of Christ, should be a prisoner, and nothing but a prisoner in Rome. At any rate, such is the picture that the Holy Spirit gives of him there. And now as he had Christ before his soul, in this way the gospel itself, he can feel, is only promoted so much the more. Far from him was the vanity of being the man first to preach Christ in the great metropolis. He forgot himself in the gospel. His desire above all was that Christ's name might go forth. This was very dear to him, let God use whom he would. The things that happened to him he could therefore judge calmly and clearly. What seemed to some the death of the gospel was in point of fact distinctly for the furtherance of it.

The manner, too, in which these things happened seemed to make all as remote as possible from furthering the gospel; but here again he brings in Christ. This disperses all clouds from the soul. This filled Paul with sunshine; and he would have others to enjoy the same bright light which the name of Christ cast on every object. And mark, it is not the anticipation of light with Christ in heaven, but His light now while He is in heaven shining on the heart, and on the circumstances of the pathway here below. He says that they had happened rather for the furtherance of the gospel, "so that my bonds in Christ are manifest;" for this is the way in which he looks at it "my bonds in Christ." Oh, how honourable, how sweet and precious, to have bonds in Christ! Other people would have merely thought of or seen bonds under the Roman emperor, the bonds of that great city that ruled over the kings of the earth. Not so Paul. They were bonds in Christ; how then could he be impatient under them? How could any murmur who believed they were really bonds in Christ? "My bonds in Christ," he says, "are manifest in all the palace." Strange way of God! but so it was that thus the gospel, the glad tidings of His grace, should reach the highest quarters. They were "manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; and many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by, my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear."

Blessed is this confidence in Christ, and wondrous are His ways! Who would have expected that the timid man Nicodemus, and the honourable councillor Joseph of Arimathea, would have been brought out at the very time when even the apostles themselves had fled trembling with fear? Yet they were the witnesses of Christ whom God had put forth at the close; for it was manifestly of Him. God never can fail; and the very trials that would seem to crush all hope for the glory of Christ on the earth are the precise occasions in which God proves that after all it is He alone who triumphs, while man always fails even if he be an apostle. But the weakest of saints (how much more this greatest of the apostles!) cannot but be conqueror, more than conqueror, where the heart is filled with Christ. There was victory to his faith by the grace of God. And so, too, he could now read and interpret all things in that bright light around him. Had he occupied himself with the persons that were so preaching the gospel, how disconsolate he must have been! What might you and I have thought of such? Is it too much to say that many a groan would have gone forth from us that are here? Instead of this a song of joy and thanks comes from the blessed man of God at Rome; for, as he says here, "Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will. The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely," nor was this all, but "supposing to add affliction to my bonds."

Not only was an utterly wrong spirit indulged in the work itself, and toward others engaged actually in it; but even as to the apostle, shut out from such service, a desire to pain and wound was not wanting. "The one preach Christ of contention supposing to add affliction to my bonds: but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached." Christ is the sovereign balm for every wound; and it was the apostle's joy, whatever men's spirit might be, not only to enjoy Christ himself, but that His name was being proclaimed far and wide by many lips, that souls might hear and live. Whatever the motives, whatever the manner, the Lord would surely deal with these in His own day; but, at any rate, Christ was now preached, and God would use this both for His own glory and for the salvation of souls.

Hence, says he, "I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Christ Jesus." We must carefully remember throughout all this epistle that "salvation" never means acceptance. If this be borne in mind a large part of the difficulty that some have found completely disappears. Impossible that anything done by other saints should turn to one's acceptance any more than what is done by himself The apostle uses salvation throughout his letter to the Philippians (nor is it confined to this scripture only) in the sense of the complete and final triumph over all the power of Satan. Hence it may be remarked that in the epistle to the Philippians it is not a question of lusts of the flesh; the flesh is not so much as named here, except in a religious way; not in its gross sins, as man would judge, but in its pretensions to religion. See for instance Philippians 3:1-21. Hence the conflict is never with internal evil, but rather with Satan. For such conflict we need the power of the Lord and the whole armour of God. But that power displays itself not in our strength, or wisdom, or any conferred resources. The supply of the Spirit of Christ Jesus shows itself in dependence, and this expresses itself therefore in prayer to God. And observe, too, that the apostle felt the value of others' prayers. They contributed to his. victory over the foe. How lovely that even such a man should speak, not merely of his own prayers, but of theirs, turning all to such account. "This shall turn," says he, "to my salvation through your prayers, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." There is nothing so unaffectedly humble as real faith, and, above all, that character of faith which lives on Christ, and which consequently lives Christ. Such was the apostle's faith. To him to live was Christ.

"According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed." If he desired for them that they should be without one stumble till the day of Christ, it was the purpose to which grace had girded up his own loins. But "that in nothing I shall be ashamed." What a word, and how calculated to make us ashamed! It is not a question of acceptance in Christ. No; it is practical. It is his state and experience every day, as to which his hope was that in nothing he should be ashamed; "but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ. shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death."

And what is it that gave such a hope to one that owns himself the chief of sinners and less than the least of all saints? There was but one spring of power even Christ. And, let me observe, it is not merely that Christ is my life. Sweet and wondrous word to say that Christ is our life; but the question is, how are we living? Are we living out that life which we have? Is this the life that is practically exercised? or are there mingled ways and mixed motives? Is there the struggle of the old with the appearance sometimes of the new? Does this content our hearts? Or is it, on the settled judgment of the old as altogether and only self and sin, that we are habitually manifesting Christ? Have we that one blessed person as the hope, motive, beginning, end, way, and power of all that occupies us from day to day? It was so with the apostle. May it be so with us! " To me," may each say truly, "to live is Christ."

Habitually, indeed throughout this epistle, we find the word " me," and a very different "me" from the "me" of Romans 7:1-25. There it was an unhappy "me," though distinct from the flesh: "O wretched man that I am" Here it would be, O happy man that I am! He is one who has his joy exclusively from and in Christ. When first he tasted it, he found it so sweet that he cared for none other. And thus it was the power of the Spirit of God that gave him to look out in the midst of all that he passed through day by day, that all, whatever it might be, should be done to Christ, and so too all by Christ, the Holy Ghost working it, so to speak, in his soul to give him simply and settledly in everything that occurred an opportunity of having Christ Himself as the substance of his living and serving, no matter what might come in the course of duty. "To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." In any case, indeed, to the Christian, death is gain; but he could best say it who could say, "To me to live is Christ," who could say it not merely as the faith of Him, but as a matter of simple, unconstrained, spontaneous enjoyment of Christ in practical ways.

Now he proceeds to give his reason. It is his own personal experience; and this is the reason why we have "I" so often here. It is not legal experience, for which you must turn to the chapter spoken of inRomans 7:1-25; Romans 7:1-25, the only bit of a saint's experience under law, as far as I know, that the New Testament affords (certainly in the epistles). But here is the proper experience of a Christian. It is the apostle giving us what his heart was occupied with when he could not go forth in the activities of work, and when it seemed as if he had nothing to do. Now we all know that when a man is carried on the top of the wave, when the winds fill the sails and all goes prosperously, when hearts are gladdened in sorrow, when one witnesses the joy of fresh deliverance from day to day, it is a comparatively easy thing. But to one cut off from such work it was, in appearance at least, a heavy burden and an immense trial; but Christ changes all for us. His yoke is easy, and His burden light. It is Christ, and Christ only, that thus disposes of grief and pressure. And so accordingly His servant says here, "If I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour."

It is needless to recount the comments on these words. They really mean, this is worth my while, a well-known phrase in Latin too. He puts it as a matter left for him to judge of and decide by Christ. "if I live in the flesh, it is worth my while." But if not, what then? Why, it was gain. As far as he was concerned, therefore, why could he choose? In a certain sense too he could not, and in another he would not choose. Christ was so truly before his heart, that in fact there was no self left unjudged to warp the choice. This is what brings him, if one may so say, into the dilemma of love. If he left this world, he would be with Christ; if he lived longer in this, world, Christ was with him. In short, he was so living Christ, that it was only a question of Christ here, and of Christ there. After all it was better for Christ to choose, not for him. But the moment he has Christ before him thus, he judges according to the affections of Christ, and he looks at the need of saints here below.

The question is at once settled as a matter of faith. Though he wist not to choose what between the two before, when the need of souls rises before him, he says that he shall live, and is not yet going to die. Through the wonderful sight of the love of Christ, this answered the question to his faith, leaving all circumstances entirely aside. Witnesses, prosecutors, judges, emperor, everybody, became, in point of fact, nothing to him. "I can do all things," as he says elsewhere, "through him that strengtheneth me." So he could settle now about his life and death. "Therefore," says he, though I am in a strait betwixt two," as he had said before, "having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; that your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again."

Only he desires that their conversation should be as it became the gospel of Christ. It was not merely their calling in Christ, their being Christians, that was before him, but a walk as it became the gospel of Christ. It is not at all as the objects of the gospel, but as having fellowship with it, their hearts bound up and identified with all the trials and difficulties that the gospel was sustaining in its course throughout the world. "Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ." Thus fervour of desire for others is the happy index of this whenever coupled with adequate knowledge of ourselves. But how can this be unless the heart is perfectly at ease as to itself? "Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ." Let me press this, because alas! there is no small tendency whenever people know the gospel well, if this be all, to settle down, thinking they have nothing more to do with the matter. It was not so with the Philippians. They had so much the more to do because Christ had done all for their souls. They were coupled with the gospel in all its conflict and progress. It was not because of their own personal interest, though this was great and fresh, but they loved that it should go forth. They identified themselves, therefore, with all who were declaring it throughout the world. Hence he desired that their conversation should be as became such zeal; "that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; and in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God."

This is the more important, because such fear is the main weapon of Satan. It is always the power of Satan that is in view here. He is regarded as the true adversary, working, of course, by human means; but none the less is it his power. It may be remarked here, that from an expression often misunderstood in Philippians 2:1-30 it might seem as if the apostle wished somehow to weaken their confidence. So unbelief interprets, but most assuredly it is wrong. The apostle does call for "fear and trembling" on the part of the saints in that chapter; but there is not an atom of dread or doubt in it. He would have them realize the solemnity of the strife that is going on. He desires for them, not anxiety about the issue of it, but true gravity of spirit, because of feeling that it is a question between God and the devil, and that we have to do with that struggle in the most direct way. We need to draw from God, the spring and the only supplier of power that can resist the devil; but, at the same time, that we have the devil to resist in His power is a conviction that may well demand "fear and trembling;" and this, lest in such a conflict we should let in anything of self, which would at once give a handle to the devil. In Him, we, know, who was the perfect model in the same warfare, which He fought single-handed, conquering for God's glory and for us, the prince of this world came, and had nothing in Him, absolutely nothing. With us it is far otherwise; and only as we live on Christ do we remove, as it were, from the enemy's hand that which would furnish him abundant occasion.

In rich measure did the apostle live thus himself it was the one thing he did; and he would have the saints to be living in it too. "In nothing," says he, "terrified by your adversaries [this is the other side]: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake." Thus the very suffering which unbelief might interpret wrongly, and regard as a severe chastening, and so cause the heart to be cast down, instead of taking comfort before God, the suffering for Christ's sake is a gift of His love, as much a gift as the believing in Christ for the salvation of the soul. For, in point of fact, through this epistle salvation is seen as going on from first to last, and not yet complete, being never viewed as such till the conflict with Satan is altogether closed. Such is the sense of it here. Hence he speaks of the conflict which they once saw to be in him, and now heard to be in him.

Next, not only did he exhort them not to be terrified by the power of Satan, which is itself an evident and solemn sign of perdition to those that oppose the saints of God; but he calls on them to cast out the sources of disunion among themselves; and this he does in the most touching way. They had been manifesting their mindful love for the apostle, who on his part was certainly not forgetful of its least token. If, then, they really loved him, "If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if there be any comfort of love, any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies," he would venture to seek another proof of it. That there was all this abundantly in these saints he did not doubt; they had just shown him the fruit of love personally. Did he want more for himself? Far from it. There was another way which would best prove it to his heart; it was not something future secured to Paul in his need, which would be the way of nature, not of love or faith. Not so: Christ is always better; and so says he, "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory." There is always danger of these, and the more so where there is activity among souls. There was evidently energy among these Philippians. This commonly is apt to give occasion for strife as well as vain-glory. No saints are outside the danger.

Nothing, then, would the apostle have done in strife or vain-glory; "' but in lowliness of mind each esteeming other better than themselves." Let me look at another as he is in Christ. Let me think of myself as one that is serving Him (oh, how feebly and failingly!) in this relationship, and it is an easy thing to esteem others better than myself. It is not sentiment, but a genuine feeling, thus "looking not each at his own things, but each also at the things of others." Now the saint that has Christ Himself before him looks abroad with desires according to the activity of divine love.

"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself." There are two chief stages of His humiliation flowing out of His perfect love. First of all He emptied Himself, becoming a slave and a man; and having thus come down, so as to take His place in the likeness of men, He, found in figure as a man, humbled Himself, becoming obedient even to the lowest point of degradation here below. He "became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

It will be observed that there is no such thing in the first instance as "to the glory of God," when we hear of all bowing in the name of Jesus. To the confession of His Lordship is added "to the glory of God the Father." The reason is, in my judgment, perfectly beautiful. "Jesus" is His own name, His personal name. Jesus is Jehovah, although a man; consequently the bowing in that name to the glory of God the Father does not occur to the apostle. Why, then, is it so in the next instance? Because he looks at Jesus, not in His own personal right and glory, where necessarily all must bow, but rather at Him in His official place as Lord the place He has righteously acquired as man. This is wholly distinct from His own intrinsic eternal glory. He was made Lord and Christ. The moment you look at what He is made, then it is to the glory of Him who thus exalted Him. It was God the Father that made Him Lord and Christ, but God the Father never made Him Jehovah. He was Jehovah, equal with God the Father. Impossible that He could be made Jehovah. Reason and sense are out of the question, though reason must reject a creature's becoming God. Such a notion is unknown to scripture, and revolting to the spiritual mind. Hence we see the great importance of this truth. All error is founded on a misuse of a truth against the truth. The only safeguard of the saints, of those that love the truth and Himself, is simple subjection to the word of God to the whole truth He has revealed in scripture.

Evidently, therefore, two glories of Jesus are referred to here. There is His own personal glory; and this first. The other is what suits it, but a conferred position. If Jehovah so served, it was but natural that He should be made Lord of all, and so He is. It was due to His humiliation and obedience; and so it is here treated.

Thus, in both parts of the history of Christ, presented to us in no obscure contrast with the first Adam, we have first of all His own glory, who humbled Himself to become a servant. The very fact, or way of putting it, supposes Him to be a divine person. Had He not been God in His own being and title, it would have been no humiliation to be a servant, nor could it be indeed a question of taking such a place. The archangel is at best but a servant; the highest creature, far from having to stoop in order to become a servant, can never rise above that condition. Jesus had to empty Himself to become a servant. He is God equally with the Father. But having deigned to become a servant, He goes down lower still. He must retrieve the glory of God in that very death which confessedly had brought the greatest shame on God outwardly. For God had made the world full of life; He "saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good," and Satan apparently won the victory over Him in it. All here below was plunged under the sentence of death through Adam's sin; and God's word could but seal it till redemption.

The Lord Jesus not only comes down into the place of servant in love among men, but goes down into the last fortress of the enemy's power. He breaks it completely, becomes conqueror for ever, wins the title for God's grace to deliver righteously every creature, save only those who, far from receiving Christ, dare to reject Him because of that very nature which He took on Him, and that infinite work on the cross which had caused Him suffering to the utmost in working all out for the glory of God. Oh, is it not awful to think, that the best proof of the love of Christ and of His glory is the very ground which the base heart of man turns into a reason for denying both His love and His glory? But so it is; and thus the food of faith becomes the poison of unbelief. But the day is coming when every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." Not that all shall be delivered and centred in Him, but that all must bow. All who believe shall surely shine in His glory; and the universal creation, which, belonging to Him as His inheritance, He will share with His own, shall be reconciled and delivered in due time. But there are the things, or if you will, the persons under the earth which can never be delivered. Yet these shall bow, no less than those in heaven, or on earth. In His name all must bow. Thus the difference between reconciliation and subjection is manifest. The lost must bow; the devils must bow; the lake of fire must own the glory of Him who has power to cast them there, as it is said, "unto the glory of God the Father." But all in heaven and on earth shall be in reconciliation with God and headed up in Christ, with whom the Church shall share the unbounded inheritance. (Compare Ephesians 1:1-23 and Colossians 1:1-29) But all, even these in hell, must confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

But now the apostle turns to the use that he makes of so blessed a pattern, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence." It was the exact reverse in good of what the Galatians were in evil, for they had been cordial and bright when the apostle was with them; but directly his back was turned, their hearts were alienated. Even he who knew them well marvelled that they were so soon shifting, not only from him, but from the gospel, after he left them. But with the Philippians there was increased jealousy for Christ. They were more obedient in his absence than in his presence. Hence he calls upon them, as one that could not be with them to help them in the conflict, to work out their own salvation. Such is the force of the exhortation. This epistle is therefore eminently instructive to those who could not have an apostle with them. God was pleased, even whilst the apostle was alive, to set him aside and to prove the power of faith where he was not.

Hence he says, "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." It is not the dread of losing the Saviour of their souls, but because they felt for His name; "for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." Therefore he intreated them to "do all things without murmurings and reasonings, that they might be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom they shone as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life." It is a description that might almost do for Christ himself, so high is the standard for those that belong to Christ. Christ was surely blameless in the highest sense, as His ways were harmless, "holy, harmless, undefiled," as it is said elsewhere. Christ was Son of God in a sole and supreme sense. Christ was "without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation." Christ shone as the true light in the world the light of life. Christ held it forth; nay, more, He was it. For what believer would deny that, however close the conformity, there is always that dignity and perfection which is proper to Christ, and exclusively His? Let us uphold the glory of His person, but, nevertheless, let us not forget how the apostle's picture of the saint resembles the Master! Like, another apostle (2 John 1:8) he does not hesitate to blend with all this an appeal to their hearts for his own service in their well-being.

"That" (says he, after he had exhorted the Philippians thus to stand,) "I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith." How truly he accounted himself less than the least of them! How gladly would he be a libation upon the sacrifice of their faith! He esteemed men better than himself. He too in love still keeps up the servant-character, and gives them as it were the Christ-character. This is the unfailing secret of it all the true source of humility in service. "For the same cause also do ye joy and rejoice with me. But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state."

And now there is the most lovely picture of Christ again; for it is always Christ here, and this again practically. Timothy was very dear to him, and was then with him; but he is going to part with the one that was so much the more valued by him in his solitariness and sorrow because of his circumstances at Rome. Indeed he esteemed others better than himself. He is just about to send Timothy from himself that he might know about them. "For I have no man like-minded, who will naturally care for your state." Timothy shared the unselfishness of the apostle's heart. "For they all seek their own." It might have been thought that so much the more would Paul need his love and services. Whatever he needed, love is never itself but in unselfish action and suffering. I speak of Christian love, of course. "For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel. Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly. Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants."

He loves, we see, to couple with the relationship to himself what was related to them. Epaphroditus was his fellow-servant, and indeed more than that "my brother, and companion in labour, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness." Why? because he. himself had been sick? No; but "because that ye had heard that he had been sick." How lovely that this it was that pained him unselfish love! the love of Christ everywhere! "For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him." Was this all the apostle had to say? Not so. "And not on him only, but on me also," (what a difference is made when love interprets!) "lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be [not rejoicing here, but] the less sorrowful." He did feel it. Love feels acutely nothing so much; but it triumphs. "Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation" (he would turn it again to practical profit as to others): "because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me."

This chapter then looks for the working of the gracious feelings of Christ Himself in the Christian individually, showing us, first, the fulness of them all in Christ in contrast with the first Adam. But it gives us also the effect of Christ in the saints eventually of Paul himself, of Timothy, of Epaphroditus, and indeed of the Philippian saints. It shows us grace practically in different measures and forms. But the (trace of Christ wrought in them all; and that was the great joy and delight of the apostle's heart.

In Philippians 3:1-21 it is not the display of intrinsic affection in Christ, or the gracious dispositions of Christ in the saints. Not the passive side of the Christian as being in the world, but the active comes before us. Accordingly, this being not so directly the subject of the epistle though a Very important part of it, it comes in parenthetically in a large measure, not now in any wise as a question of truth or development of the mystery of Christ, as we saw in Ephesians 3:1-21, but, nevertheless, as a parenthesis; for he resumes afterwards the internal side again, as we shall see inPhilippians 4:1-23; Philippians 4:1-23. Energy is not the best or highest aspect of Christianity. There is real power, there is strength from God that works in the saint; but the feelings of Christ, the mind of Christ morally, is better than all energy. Nevertheless, energy there is, and this assuredly judges what is contrary to Christ.

Here, accordingly, it is not the outgoings of love, but the zeal that burns indignantly as to what dishonours the Lord. This is one of the main features of our chapter. "Finally," says he, "my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of doers." InMatthew 23:1-39; Matthew 23:1-39 we have woe upon woe pronounced upon scribes and Pharisees, and so it is here. As it was a true though distressing part for Christ to judge religious evil, something akin could not be absent here; but at the same time it was by no means a prominent characteristic of Christ's task here below far from it. It was a necessary duty sometimes as things are on the earth, but nothing more; and so it is still. "Beware of evil workers; beware of the concision."

"For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." This is the only allusion, as far as I know, to flesh in this epistle, but it is flesh in its religious form, and not as a source of evil lusts and passions. It is all judged, and its religious form not least, by Christ "Though," says he, "I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other" carrying on the same thought of the flesh "if any other man thinketh that he hath matter of trust in the flesh, I more. Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless." And what did the apostle do with all this roll of fleshly advantages? It was seen laid in the grave of Christ. "What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ." Will it be said that this is what the apostle felt, and did, and suffered in the freshness of his first acquaintance with Christ? It was also what he carried up to the moment of writing to the Philippians as ardently as ever. "Yea," said he, "and I count all things but loss." It is not only his reckoning in the first fervour of love for the Saviour. "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord."

Such experience is both a real and a precious boon. Let us not mistake in this; let us not be driven from it by a too common misuse. That which men call by this name is really the trial of what flesh is under law much more than experience of Christ. But let us not be turned aside, and think that it is merely a question of believing and of knowing our place secure; but let us live of that very Christ who is our life. This is what he did, and accordingly this is the source, not merely of a firm faith and confidence as to the issue, but of present joy and all-overcoming power. This is what gives force to our affections, and rivets them on Christ. This is, accordingly, what flows forth in praise from himself, and in calling out praise from other hearts. So he says here, "For the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung." Thus the two things are repeated the past judgment and the present power: "and do count them but dung, that I may, win Christ." This will be, no doubt, at the end of the journey: the faithful win Christ where He is. For it is not meant looking to Him now, or having Him as one's life: to win Christ means having Him at the other side. He always looks there in Philippians.

It is not at all a question of what one has here. This has its most weighty place elsewhere; but when it is a question of experience, the end cannot be here. There is the present joy of Christ; but this does not content the soul. The more one enjoys Christ here, the more one wants to be with Him there. "That I may win Christ," therefore he says; "and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law." This was precisely what he desired when a Jew. Now, having seen Christ, if he could even bring his own righteousness into heaven, he would not. It would be mere independence of Christ if he could have stood without a single flaw, as blameless, in fact, as in a certain sense outwardly he was under the law, until the Spirit of God gave him to see what he was in God's mind. Then he found himself a dead man condemned and powerless. But supposing it possible to be clothed with the righteousness of the law, he would not have it now. He had got a better righteousness, and he desired nothing so much as to be found in Christ, having that which is through faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Nothing but the righteousness that was of God as its source satisfied him. It is the only place in Scripture where the phrase means, not simply the righteousness of God in point of character, but the righteousness of God in point of source. Such is the meaning here. Elsewhere it is God's or divine righteousness. Here the object seems to be to make its difference from legal obedience more felt the contrast with the law more complete.

"That I may know him." Now here we have what is present; so that the passage presents some difficulty to souls because of intermingling the present with the future. Thus easily do we fall into error, because the human mind likes to have either one thing or another, and thus avoid all difficulty in Scripture, having each squared according to our notions. But it is not so that God has written His word. Nevertheless, God will surely teach His own, and knows how to clear up what is hidden from them. He has written His word not to perplex, but to enlighten. Thus the true bearing of the passage is, that from the first the eye of faith is fixed steadily on the end of the journey. "That I may win Christ, and be found in him" where not a vestige of self remains, but all will be Christ, and nothing but Christ. This is the righteousness whose source is in God; it is also by faith of Christ, and not through the law, which, of course, would have man's righteousness if it could.

But now he adds, "That I may know him" (speaking of entrance by faith into communion with Christ)" that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection." This is open to the heart now. "And the fellowship of his sufferings" again and certainly a present thing, not relating to heaven. "Being made conformable to his death:" this too is clearly in the world now. "If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection from the dead."* Clearly we here look out of the world and into a state to come, when we have the consummation of our hopes and the end of the journey. This is what he calls "salvation." It cannot be till the Christ is risen according to the pattern of Christ Himself.

*There is no reasonable doubt that the received text is wrong, followed by the Authorised Version ("of," instead of "from" the dead). The Alexandrian, Vatican, Sinai, Clermont, and St. Germain Uncials, supported by some ten cursives, very many versions, and the chief Greek and Latin ecclesiastical writers read τὴν ἐξανάσταιν τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν . Codd. F and G, by manifest error, read τῶν ἐκ , and this seems to have been corrected (or rather corrupted) in order to make sense into τῶν (omitting ἐκ ) in K and L and the mass of cursives. But in my opinion the sense, and even the Greek, seems bad; for on the one hand both ἐξανάστασιν and the drift of the argument point to a resurrection of favour and blessedness, not to that in which the unjust must rise to judgment; while on the other hand τῶν νεκρῶν would imply the dead, i.e. all the dead, as a class. Hence I cannot but consider it a surprising error in Griesbach that he edited the received text in this place. Alter and Matthaei followed according to their plan the manuscripts before them; but the latter was too good a scholar not to feel the difference, though he appears to impute it to a corrector for the sake of elegance in his second edition. Long before them, Mill had given his judgment in favour of the more ancient reading; and Wetstein repeated it apparently with approval. Bengel hesitated; but Dr. Wells in this, as in many other instances, showed his sound judgment and quiet courage in rejecting the common text, and adopting that which has by far the best authorities.

Dr. S. T. Bloomfield indeed (Addit. Annotations in loc.) admits that the external testimony is quite in its favour, though it is hard to see what he means by the internal evidence being in this case denied; for he suggests himself that τὴν ἐκ may have been a correction proceeding from those who thought that the sense which the context requires, "the resurrection from the dead," could not be extracted from ἐξαν . τῶν νεκρῶν . The critical reading he owns has force and propriety; but he does "not see why ἐξανάστ . τῶν νεκρῶν should not of itself have the same sense as that conveyed, with more propriety of expression (and for that reason likely to be adopted in the early Uncial MSS.), ἐξαν . τὴν ἐκ νεκρῶν . Little probable is it that the reading, ἐξανάστ . τὴν ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν should have been altered to ἐξ τῶν νεκρ . There is great reason to think that the ἐξ arose from those who thought it necessary to the sense, and did not see that it could be fetched from the ἐξ in ἐξανάστ . Hence I am inclined to retain ἐξαν . τῶν νεκρ . as a popular and familiar mode of expression (suitable to the persons addressed), according to which the expressions ἐξαν . τῶν advert as at Romans 4:16, and elsewhere to the state of the persons in question, that state or kind of resurrection unto life of those who have died in the Lord, and whose resurrection will be a resurrection unto life and glory, their bodies being raised incorruptible, and both body and soul united for ever with the Lord. See 1 Thessalonians 4:6-18."

I have transcribed this note at length, because it is a fair sample of Dr. B.'s critical, scholastic, and exegetic manner. Enough has been already said above, before I even knew of his reasoning, to prove how unfounded it is in every point of view. The internal evidence ( i.e. the scope of the context) is as decidedly for τὴν ἐκ as the weightiest external witnesses. How the text got gradually changed from the most correct form (not correction) in the early Uncials has been explained. When the distinction of the resurrection of the just from that of the unjust got lost in Christendom, and all were merged in the error of one general indiscriminate resurrection, one can understand that people would not feel the impropriety of substituting τῶν for τὴν ἐκ (for as to τὴν ἐκ τῶν , of which Dr. B. speaks, it exists in no document whatever). There is therefore not the slightest ground to countenance the rather dangerous idea, that the apostle did not employ a phrase analogous to the correct one which is found elsewhere in the New Testament, and adopted "a popular and familiar mode of expression," i.e. a really inaccurate mode. And why should our Lord adopt a correct form to the Sadducees (Luke 20:1-47 repeated inActs 4:1-37; Acts 4:1-37), and Paul an incorrect one to the Philippians? Who can understand why it should be "suitable to the persons addressed," on Dr. B's showing? Of the two, the converse would be more intelligible; but my conviction is that both the Lord and His apostle used similar and correct phraseology, as did the Holy Spirit elsewhere. And as to Romans 4:17 (which was probably meant rather than 16), it has no bearing on the matter, as it is there merely a question of God's power displayed in quickening the dead, and calling things that are not in being as in being, and in no way distinguishing the resurrection of life from that of judgment. When the state or kind of resurrection is meant to be expressed, the anarthrous form is requisite, as we see in verse 24 of this very chapter, and regularly so. (See Romans 1:4.) I believe, therefore, that ἐξανάστασιν , especially if ἐκ be supposed to be fetched (as Dr. B. says) from ἐξανάστ , is incompatible with τῶν νεκρῶν , the one conveying the notion of a selected company, and the other of the dead universally. Modern editors of value, however differing in their system of recension agree in the ancient as against the received reading; so Scholz, Lachmann, Tischendorf, Ellicott, Alford, Tregelles, Wordsworth, etc.

Thus we see here the power of a risen and a heavenly Christ, not now treated doctrinally as in 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 or 2 Corinthians 5:1-21 and elsewhere, but as that which bears on the Christian for the constant experience of every day. Hence that which judged and put aside religion after the flesh, righteousness after the law, all that was now left completely and for ever behind, and the saint is set on the road that nothing can satisfy him but being in the same glorious condition with Christ Himself. Hence he says, "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind." This, carefully remember, does not mean forgetting sins. Far from losing sight of our past ways, it is a very wholesome thing indeed to remember them: we are never safe in forgetting what we are and have been. What he means by forgetting the things that are behind is, that we should not think of any progress we may have made in following Christ, that we should lose sight of everything calculated to give us self-satisfaction. This were to spoil all, because it would please the flesh.

It is our progress then that we are to forget. Let us be humbled on account of our sins. Self-judgment, where grace is known, is a most wholesome exercise of soul; and we shall have it in perfection even in heaven itself before the judgment-seat of Christ. One of the elements of heavenly happiness will be the calm and settled knowledge of all that we have been here below. This will not detract for an instant from the perfect enjoyment of Christ, but rather promote it so much the more, making it more evidently and always pure grace even in glory. Thus "forgetting those things which are behind" refers to the progress that we may make. True experience is still the great theme which the apostle has in hand here as well as in his own personal history. He was too much bent on what was before to be occupied with calling to mind what was behind him; it must have impeded him in the race. "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise [ i.e. differently] minded, this also will God reveal to you." Differences there may be among the saints, and especially when we come to the question of experience. But in truth it may betray itself in doctrine and practice in various shapes.

And what is the true divine rule? Is it agreeing to differ? This is but a poor human resource, as unworthy of the saints as of the truth of God, who would not have us to wink at any mistake. It is no rule, but an evasion. There is, however, a sure and only divine standard: as far as we have attained, our call is to walk in the same path. And this is true from the first moment of our career as God's children. For, let me ask, what is our title to communion? What is it that brings us into the blessed fellowship that we enjoy? There is but one title, there can be no sufficient ground but the name of Christ Christ known and confessed in the Holy Ghost; and where He is simply before us, the progress is most real, if not always easy and sensible. It is not meant that there are no difficulties, but that Christ makes the burden light and all happy to the praise of God's grace; whereas any other means or measure detracts from His glory and draws attention to self.

Supposing, for instance, we mingle with Christ knowledge or intelligence about this truth or that practice, does it not give a necessary prominence to certain distinctive points, which so far must make Christ of less account? Even, therefore, if you could have (what is impossible) ever so much real spiritual knowledge along with Christ, who would so much as notice these acquisitions in comparison with Christ? Let us merely take up a single point of the primary ground of fitness for fellowship, which is often a difficulty with the saints. Yet the truth as to this abides, not only at the starting-point, but all the way through. What is there that you can rightly plead but Christ's own name? And this ground is one which always brings in the strength of the Holy Ghost, as it is based on God's mighty work of redemption. If right here, we are at one, so to speak, with His present purposes. What is the Spirit now doing? He is exalting Christ. It is not merely exalting His work, or His cross; it is not so much His blood, as Christ Himself. The name of Christ Himself is the true centre of the saints; unto this the Spirit gathers. As he had said elsewhere before, so he says here, "Be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ." Thus, as at the beginning of the chapter, there was the energy that went out against the evil workers, with a religious mind after the flesh, so now there is the energy that bursts forth against those that were misusing Christianity, making it an earthly system, setting their mind on things here below, under the name of the Lord Jesus; and between the two, is set forth the positiveness, if one may so speak, of Christ Himself.

It is plain, then, that inPhilippians 2:1-30; Philippians 2:1-30 the great spring of power is the love and the glory of Him who came down; who, even when He did so come, went down still lower, where none could accompany Him. Yet we may follow, and seek conformity unto His death; but there was that in His death on the cross which could be His alone.

In Philippians 3:1-21 there is no coming down from glory in the power of divine love, resulting in His exaltation by and for the glory of God the Father after a new sort. Here we see One who is in glory, and on whom the eye of the believer is set; and accordingly the judgment of evil is from the side of heaven. The one thing that suits is to pursue the glory before him, till he is in the same glory along with Christ. This is the object set before us inPhilippians 3:1-21; Philippians 3:1-21. The one therefore, I say, is the passive side of the Christian; the other is his activity. The passive shines in Christ coming down; the active is realized by the eye that is fixed on Christ, who is actually in glory. This separates from all, and judges the best of man to be dung, as the former conforms the heart after His love.

Philippians 4:1-23 is founded on both. The apostle takes up, no doubt, the sweet affections of chapter 2, but then they are strengthened by the energy that Christ seen in glory imparts, as in chapter 3. Hence he thus opens, "Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown." One cannot overlook the amazing strength with which he speaks even of his affections. "My joy and crown," "my dearly beloved." Not that there were not difficulties; there were many. "I beseech Evodia" (we may just notice the true form in passing; Euodias sounds like a man's name, whereas here it is really a woman). "I beseech Evodia, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. Yea [not and], I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which labour with me." According to the true meaning it is not others, but those very sisters that he commends to Epaphroditus in desire for their blessing, "which labour with me in the gospel [or seeing that they shared the conflict of the gospel with me]." "Laboured" gives a wrong sense. Many hence have wrongly gathered that they were preachers. There is really no reason to suppose that they preached at all. What they did seems a much more proper thing, in my judgment, for a woman. They shared the conflict of the gospel; they partook of the reproach that covered those who preached it. This is lost in the idea of labouring in it. We must think rather of the conflict of the gospel: there was often for all concerned disgrace, and pain, and scorn.

Let nobody suppose me to insinuate that a woman is not in place when exercising, according to the Scripture, any gift God has given her. Women may have gifts as well as men. We are not to suppose that, because we are men, we monopolise all the gifts of Christ. Let us see to it that we walk according to the place which God has given us. At the same time, God's word is to me plain as to the manner in which the gifts are to be exercised. And is there not evidently a path of unobtrusiveness (for the veil or sign of power on the woman's head is no vain figure) which most befits a woman? I believe that a woman shines most where she does not appear. Hers is a more delicate place than that which becomes the man, and one which a man attempting it would awkwardly fill. But while a man is quite unfit to do a woman's work, can it be doubted that a woman brings no honour to herself, or to the Lord, by attempting to do a man's task? The Lord has laid down their places respectively with distinctness. It is ignorance and absurdity to answer such scriptures by the text, that in Christ there is neither male nor female. We do not speak of standing in Christ now, but of their allotted services. In this we hear of difference; and scripture does not obliterate but contrariwise asserts it, and treats the practical denial of it as a scandal brought in by Corinthian headiness. No doubt the new creation is essentially neither male nor female; it is not a race perpetuated in a fleshly way; but all things are of God and in Christ. Notwithstanding, it has been already explained that the man has a relative place as the image and glory of God, being set in a remarkable position between God and the woman in matters of outward decorum.

Returning, however, to the women Evodia and Syntyche, they had devoted themselves to an exceedingly happy and prized service. They joined with those who preached the truth and partook of their obloquy. They helped them, and in that sense "laboured" if you will. At any rate they endured the conflicts of the gospel in its earlier days at Philippi. Why should women expose, themselves? Why go in the way of crowds of soldiers or civil officers? Why should such as they face the unmannerly officials that took advantage of the imperial government to treat with injury those identified with the gospel? Love does not calculate these costs and dangers, but goes calmly forward, come what will, trouble, scorn, or death. No wonder the apostle was grieved to think of differences among such women as these. "Help them" (says he) "with Clement also, and with my other fellow-labourers, whose names are in the book of life."

Finally, he calls them again to rejoice, and now with more emphasis than ever. "Rejoice in the Lord alway." in sorrow? Yes. In affliction, in prison, everywhere. "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice." He did not make a mistake. He did not forget, but meant what he said. "Again I say, Rejoice." Let your moderation go along with it, because along with this joy there might be a certain enthusiastic spirit that would hinder calm judgment. But this is not the character of Christian joy. "Let your moderation be known unto all men;" that is, the meekness and gentleness which bends to the blow, instead of resisting it in the spirit that ever asserts its rights and fights for them. Have rather that spirit which counts nothing as a right to be claimed, but all one has as gifts of grace to be freely used in this world, because one has Christ in view. "Let your moderation be known unto all men," strengthened by this consolatory truth, "the Lord is at hand."

And this nearness of Christ I take simply to be the blessed hope here made a practical power. It is not the Lord at hand to succour one now and here from time to time. No one denies this, which is, or ought to be, no new thing for a Christian. He means the Lord, really, personally, at hand; as he had said in the end of the last chapter, that this was what we look for. "Our conversation is in heaven; from whence we wait for the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour" for this is the true meaning of it. And this puts the doctrine, as far as there is doctrine in the epistle, in a very clear light. There is no looking at Him as Saviour on the cross merely; but when He comes for us, there will be in the filial sense (as ever in our epistle) "salvation." Thus he anticipates the removal of the last trace of the first Adam; he looks for our being brought fully, even as to the body, into the likeness of the Second Man, the last Adam. This is salvation in truth. Hence he says, "We look for the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour: who shall change our vile. body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself." It does not matter how unlike they may be, or how opposed; it does not matter what vessels of shame and misery they may have been now; "He is able to subdue all things unto himself."

Then, as to our practical every-day expectation, "the Lord is at hand." And, accordingly, why should one be a prey to care, if this be really so? "Be anxious [or be careful] for nothing; but in everything" this is the resource "in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." Better not make them known to men; it is a dangerous snare. By all means let them be made known unto God. There is something which ought to be made known unto men, namely, the not fighting for your rights. "Let your moderation be made known unto men." "Let your requests be made known unto God." It is not that you have failed, perhaps, or broken down in some particular. Certainly this is painful and humbling. But it is better for you to lose your character, than for Christ through you to lose His; for you are responsible to display the character of Christ. "Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand." "Let your requests," whatever they may be, "be made known unto God;" and not only so, but "with thanksgiving." You may be perfectly sure of an answer when you make known your requests: therefore let it be with thanksgiving. And what is the result? "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus," feeling, judgment, everything, guarded and governed by this precious peace of God. The peace which God has in everything He will communicate to keep you in everything; and not only so, but the heart, being free from care, will enter into what pleases Him. And therefore, "whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Instead of occupying oneself with all one hears that would cast down, now that we have committed all. that is miserable to God, we can go on delighting in the goodness of God, as well as in its fruits. In God there is ample supply. All we want is, that the eye of faith be a little open; but it is only Christ before the eye that keeps it open.

Then he turns to what had drawn out the epistle. "I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity." So tender, so delicate is his sense, that he would not spare what was needful if there had been any want of thought, but at the same time he hastens to make whatever apology love could suggest. "Not," says he, "that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am," this is the great design of the epistle; it was not truth that was made known simply, but experience that was grown into "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through him who strengtheneth me." At the same time he intimates his value for their love, and takes care that his was independence founded on dependence, an independence of circumstances which finds its strength in simple and absolute dependence upon God.

So the apostle lets them know that he owned their hearty love; "not," he says, "because I desire a gift." For no personal end did he mention their grace; "but I desire fruit that may abound to your account." It was not that he wanted more. We know well that as men have sarcastically said, gratitude is a kind of fishing for fresh favours. There was the very reverse in Paul's case. As he tells them, fruit that might abound to their account was all that his heart really yearned after. Their gift to him was "an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God." What a God is ours, so to treat that which, connected with the world, Christ Himself calls "unrighteous mammon!" His goodness can even take this up and thus make it fragrant even to Himself. "But my God shall supply all your need." How rich and full he was of the goodness of the God he had proved so long and could recommend so well! And there is not now merely His riches of grace, but he looks forward into the glory where he was going, and can say, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Thus with salutations of love he closes this most characteristic and cheering even of Paul's epistles.