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TO LIVE IS CHRIST

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

King Philip of Macadeon built the town of Philippi after gold was found in the area. Of course, like any good king, he named the town after himself. His more famous son, Alexander the Great, did the same in several places. In the Roman civil war of 42 B.C., the town of Philippi chose the winning side and was reward by Octavian, who later became Caesar Augustus, with the special status as a Roman colony with all the rights of Rome. The town became a place of retirement for Roman soldiers after years of service. It was into this background that Paul entered, preached, and was arrested and beaten (see Acts 16). The church was established and became a strong supporter of Paul’s work.

Paul would write his letter to the Philippians from a Roman prison. You see, they had heard the words before. Caesar is lord, redemption, rescue, reconciliation, all applied to Rome. But Paul used those same words and applied them to the resurrected Lord Jesus. In the minds of some, there was a conflict. To who then are these Christians loyal? With Paul in a Roman prison, these questions arose again to those in Philippi. With that in mind, there are four key texts that Paul argues around to comfort and strengthen the Philippians.

The first text is found in 1:21: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Caesar might think he is lord but in reality Paul’s future is not in his hands. Rather, Paul was looking forward to eternity. In fact, he struggled with staying or going, however that might work (vs. 23). He had his concerns for his “children” as it were, the congregations he had worked with over the years. There were those who were attempting to get Paul in trouble by preaching but Paul’s attitude was that as long as the gospel was preached, then there was no problem. The Philippians also were in some sense facing difficult times both internally and externally, the former threatening the unity of the congregation, the later the preaching of the good news.

It was time for Paul to move on and both needed to understand it. Sometimes people think that they are indispensable and must remain in position until they die. Our dependence though is not on such an attitude but in Christ. We do our best to proclaim the word of God and then we must move on trusting that those who have studied will carry on the good work. History bears out that the Philippi church became influential in the next few centuries. They came to realize that to live is Christ.

But there is more for Paul. “To die is gain.” The resurrection gave Paul that confident expectation of the future, the Eden that he looked forward to with redemptive fellowship. Prison might look harsh from the outside but from the inside it was just a matter of time before his final exodus. Death was not an end but a new beginning when redemption would be completed. Like Pharaoh in the past, Caesar would be defeated by the new Moses who would lead His people to the promised land.

The second verse that is important is found in 2:5. “In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had.” This attitude was humble service (vs. 6-8). They were not to think about themselves but about others (vs. 4). That is the mind of Christ. He was willing to leave what He had within the Godhead to come to earth. Much debate has been centered on what He gave up or emptied Himself of when He came. Whatever it was, He was willing to think of others rather than Himself. The cross was a difficult way to go, but it is the way we are to live.

Paul then expands on this to say that Jesus is Lord. This was not meant to be seen as a challenge to Roman authority, since God raises up and takes down nations, but eventually it was seen that way. Even today, many in power today see a challenge when Christians proclaim Jesus as Lord and not them. They want people’s loyalty to be to them and not someone else. Some just want votes but others want worship. This can and will lead to persecution because Jesus requires the undivided loyalty of His followers.

The Philippians were facing such a challenge and Paul was reminding them from prison that Jesus is still Lord no matter what it looks like. What about us today? It seems that Christians think that it is government that can solve our problems, ethical and otherwise, that if we do not vote for one party or the other, we are against God. We must be careful that we do not lose sight that our citizenship is in heaven and that we are pilgrims on this earth (see 3:20).

The third text is in 3:10-11. “I want to know Christ -- yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” This is one of those difficult texts, not in understanding it but in practicing it. We like the idea of knowing Christ and the resurrection. Those are ideas that are positive and hopeful. But the idea of participating in His sufferings we could well do without.

We have been blessed in this nation and the worse that we have seen today is ridicule. People often misstate our beliefs and our actions. No doubt, some of it has been fostered by television preachers who emphasize either the wrong things or only certain issues of importance. The media picks this up and speaks about this one-sidedness. What they do not see or look for is the actions of various organizations fulfilling Jesus’ words to help the poor, those in prison, and the sick.

The sufferings of Christ include ridicule but involve much more. There was betrayal, denial, and questioning of who He was and is. These can happen in overt and subtle ways. We feel betrayed when someone we trusted does not talk to us about a disagreement but acts by speaking to others or withdrawing fellowship. Labeling becomes hurtful leading to mistrust. We could list many other examples of such, both against Jesus and ourselves. There is an answer to this.

The final text is in 4:5. “The Lord is near.” That sums up for Paul what he was attempting to explain to the Philippians. The Lord is not off on a journey, nor is He sleeping. He is involved in our lives. That means that we can “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Rejoice in the sufferings of Christ. Rejoice in the present and the future. Rejoice always no matter what it looks like. Those are difficult words to put into practice.

If we keep this in mind, then in our prayers we will find God’s shalom, God’s peace, in and through our prayers. We will learn to think noble thoughts (vs. 8-9); things that are right, pure, lovely, and admirable. What are we thinking? It is often easy to think the worse of someone. We think that they are wrong and want to destroy what is good. So what comes to mind are hateful and revengeful thoughts. Jesus made it clear that what comes out of the heart are such thoughts that destructive (see Mark 7:21-22).

Realizing that the Lord is near brings contentment. It is something we learn. Ours is a very discontented age, or so it seems. People are upset at higher prices and taxes. Some are upset over who is in office and running things. We even get upset standing in lines. Studies by some have shown that Bible believing Christians handle such things of this much better than those who are not. Why? “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (4:13). This contentment was also needed by the church because of the battle between two sisters who were having conflicts (see 4:2-3).

Paul is writing to a church in a society that is increasingly hostile to them. How does one face such? The four texts that we look at gives us a foundation for living in such a situation. Our faith in Christ and our willingness to live His way will bring us peace in our hearts. The late church historian Lemoine Lewis , of Abilene Christian University, spoke of the psychology of dying among the persecuted Christians. What surprised many observers of the Roman persecution is the way Christians died. They faced wild animals and gladiators with prayer and song, oblivious to what was happening to them and around them. They lived Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

There is much more that we could at from the book of Philippians which, Lord willing, we will do one day. Until then, take courage in the words of Paul to a church facing a increasingly hostile government with the declaration of Jesus as Lord.

George B. Mearns