Christ Shall Even Now, As Always, be Exalted Whether by Life or by Death

Phil 1:20-21
“According to my earnest expectations and hope, that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

A Divine Revelation

At first glance, this passage of Scripture seems to refer to the eternal security of the believer. Death for the believer is to gain eternity with God in heaven. However, in context, it had a much deeper meaning for Paul and proves to be quite the challenge for us, as believers, today.

Paul is imprisoned in Rome as he writes this letter of encouragement to those in Philippi. Before he makes this bold statement, he exhorts the brethren to have an attitude of rejoicing when they encounter “those who are proclaiming Christ from selfish ambition rather than from pure motive, thinking to cause him distress due to his imprisonment.” Let me bring that into the realm of today and how this exhortation might apply to your life and mine.

Has your desire to minister for the Lord ever been hindered or overshadowed by the agenda of others? Have you ever found yourself in a difficult circumstance, and others use it as an opportunity to disqualify or invalidate your ministry because of it?

For Paul, his ministry was about Christ, and with all boldness, he would allow Christ to be exalted even if it meant losing his life. Why? For Paul, the only importance or value he put upon his life was that it be used to glorify the Lord, and however the Lord sought to accomplish that was fine with Paul. So, when others attempted to invalidate his ministry, Paul’s response was, “Whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed and in this, I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice!” How others viewed him, or his circumstances, had no power to shame him, and the criticism of others and their motives had no power to deter him from his mission. WOW, what a legacy he leaves for us to follow!

A Divine Challenge

How true is that of us who are involved in ministry? What would we be willing to die to, so that Christ can be exalted? Would we be willing to die to the need for approval and acceptance of others? Would we be willing to die to what exalts us, our desires, our dreams, rather than Christ? When others persecute us for the sake of Christ because they don’t understand what God is doing in and through our circumstances, do we shrink back from serving the Lord? Or do we rejoice as Paul did, allowing Christ to be exalted by our godly response? To live for Christ was life to Paul, and “he counted all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, his Lord.” 

Call to Action

Persecution will come, and when it does, we will learn if our service to the Lord is from a heart of selfish ambition or pure motives. If it is from pure motives, then fellow believer, you have found the secret to true joy, and you can boldly say with Paul, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Father, send Your Holy Spirit to convict us if anything we do for Christ is from selfish ambition rather than from pure motives. May we also consider our relationship with You to be of the greatest gain so we can proclaim with Paul, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen!