by Larry Ferrell | December 22, 2017
There is a great deal of disappointment in this life, and everyone has experienced it. Yet there is no disappointment with God. The verse in the Epistle to the Philippians to which we now come is a great expression of this truth. Paul had carried the gospel of Jesus Christ through much of the Roman empire and now he was imprisoned in Rome itself. From a human point of view, everything seemed to be going against him. But despite this, Paul remained confident that God’s purpose for his life would not be shaken (vv. 19-20).

Many Christians divide their lives into two compartments. One they label “sacred,” and the other they label “secular.” The sacred part of life consists of what they do on Sundays and when they are praying, witnessing, or reading their Bible during the other days of the week. The secular part of life involves nearly everything else. There is almost no connection between the two. Jesus Christ knew no division of His life, for everything He did pleased His heavenly Father. Jesus said, “I always do what pleases Him” (John 8:29). So it was with Paul. Paul knew that the child of God is called to live all of life under the eye of his heavenly Father and to do all things to His glory.

The second half of Philippians 1:21 moves from the subject of life in Christ to death in Him and teaches that there are great benefits in death for Christians (v. 23). How vividly those words express the triumphant outlook of Christians as they look toward eternity. Unfortunately, it is necessary to say that although death holds benefits for Christians, it certainly does not hold benefits for unbelievers. A Christian may experience much hell on earth – although in God’s grace it is always mingled with a taste of heaven. But beyond that is the bliss of heaven and unbroken fellowship with God. On the other hand, all that the unbeliever will know of heaven is the heaven he makes for himself on earth. After that his future is condemnation and suffering. Subconsciously the non-Christian knows this. Thus death looms large as a dreadful enemy.

Death for the Christian is never pictured in the Bible as a gain over the worst in this life. Instead it is portrayed as an improvement on the best. Certainly it is in this sense that Paul intends his words to the Philippians. We might imagine that Paul was suffering in prison and was anxious for a speedy release, even by the portal of death. But this is just the opposite of what Paul experienced. Paul’s life was full; he had been enriched by fellowship with Christ (v. 21). He was confident that Christ would be magnified in the way he led his life. He speaks of his earnest expectation and hope that “as always Christ will be exalted in my body (v. 20). He was filled with delight that his work at Philippi had prospered; he even saw evidence of the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ at Rome. These facts fulfilled his deepest desires. Consequently, the statements that surround his circumstances at Rome are optimistic. What are the benefits of death to those who trust in Jesus? There are at least these: freedom from evil of this world, conformity to the image of Christ, and fellowship with Jesus Christ forever.

The first great benefit of death for Christians is that death brings a permanent freedom from evil. The unsaved person may not desire this, preferring to wallow in his sin, but the Christian who has tasted the delight of God’s righteousness longs for purity that he will never have on earth. He longs to be free of sin, pain, care, and anxiety. And he knows that death brings freedom.

The second great benefit of death to believers is that they will be like Jesus. It’s not enough to say that death brings freedom from evil. It is true, but it is a negative thing. The Bible teaches that death brings a final perfection of the sanctification of the believer that has begun on earth. We shall be like Him. That means we shall be like Him in righteousness, for Paul speaks of the “crown of righteousness (2 Tim. 4:8). We don’t know that righteousness now; we have only tasted is slightly. But the day is coming when we shall be what we should be. We also shall be like Him in knowledge. Now we see things imperfectly. We know in part, and our knowledge (even of spiritual things) is always mixed with error. In that day we shall know as God knows us, and all that has puzzled us in this life will become clear. We will also be like Christ in love. What a joy to be like Him in this. There is so much of self in everything we do, but Christ’s love was selfless and self-sacrificing. It was a love that reached to us when we were sinners and saved us for this life and for eternity. How wonderful that God’s love stooped low enough to reach us and that it will yet carry us beyond the highest star into His presence.

Death is always a separation, even for the Christian. For the unbeliever, death is the separation of the soul and the spirit from God. For the Christian, death is the separation of the soul and the spirit from the body. But there is one respect in which death is no separation at all for those who trust Jesus: there is no separation from Him. You and I can look forward to that union, but we must live for others now. It is true that death holds benefits for believers, but this was never intended to make Christians flee from duties of this life, as some has claimed. In a few brief words Paul acknowledges that if in God’s wisdom he remains in this life, then that is more needful for others (vv. 25-26). So it must be with us. We must lift our minds to contemplate the joys of heaven, but if we see them rightly we will turn back once more to those for whom our life in Christ and our witness to Him are needful.

Philippians 1:19-26 Reflection Questions:
Do you divide your life into two compartments or do you do all things to the Father’s glory?
Do you remain confident of God’s purpose for your life when disappointments come?
How are you doing on living a selfless life? Are you fleeing from your Christian duty in this life?

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