Philippians 1:19-26

Philippians 1:19-26

Online Articles relating to this section of Philippians:

Faith's Four Prison Positions (Homiletics Online, Sept. 1993)

Paul's attitude toward Life & Death

Paul transitions from describing the joy he has because the Gospel is being preached, regardless of the motives (v. 15-18a) and indicates that he personally will continue to rejoice (charesomai=1st person singular future passive indicative) even though he is in prison.

The reason Paul will be able to rejoice is because he knows (oida) that this, his imprisonment, will turn out for my "deliverance." The word "deliverance" is the Greek word soteria. It can be translated either:

"deliverance" - physical release from prison or other forms of difficulty or circumstances or
"salvation" - the fact that Jesus Christ has saved each of us from the penalty of sin and we will one day live forever with Christ

In this particular instance, I think the translation "salvation" would be more appropriate. Similar to those given in the textbook by Frank Thielman (pp. 75-78), Moises Silva (75-78) identifies five reasons for soteria meaning theological salvation, not physical deliverance from prison.

Paul specifically says that the adversity will result in salvation. It seems unlikely that the imprisonment could be the cause of his release.
The "deliverance/salvation" Paul experiences will be irrespective of what happens to him in prison (v. 20 "...whether through life or death...").
Many commentators recognize that Paul is alluding to Job 13:13-18 from the Septuagint and this passage deals with Job's eternal destiny.
Paul's words "according to my eager expectation and hope" speak more of eternal salvation than physical deliverance (cf. Romans 8:19, 22)
Paul expresses his hope in terms of eternal importance (v. 20 "...that Christ will be glorified in my body..."

Thus, Paul believes that even his imprisonment will enable him to experience the full benefit of his salvation through Christ - sooner or later.

There are two ways that Paul expects this "deliverance/salvation" to be administered to him. This is not saying that this is how he will be saved for the first time, but how he will experience the full benefits of his salvation.

The first way is through the prayers of the Philippians. The great missionary/church planter, the apostle Paul, indicates that he will experience the full experience of salvation through the means of the Philippians praying for him while he is in prison. As Paul explains in the next verse, the Philippians are to pray that Christ will be exalted in his body and that he will not be ashamed to preach the Gospel. He wants to finish well. He doesn't want to lose all the benefits of suffering for Christ. When the going gets tough, Paul wants to keep going. And its through the prayers of his brothers & sisters in Christ in Philippi that he will be able to stand firm and faithful.

The second way Paul is confident that this will turn out for his deliverance is because of the "provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." The word epichoregia can means "help, supply, furnish, or give." The help and provision of God in giving Paul the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of him as a follower of Jesus, will enable the apostle to get through this difficult time. As the textbook notes (p. 76) the connection between the prayers of the Philippians and the provision of the Holy Spirit is strong in the original Greek. "In some mysterious way, those prayers are linked with God's furnishing of the Spirit to him, and together they provide the help he needs to face the Roman tribunal with courage."

Verse 20 presents why Paul desires and in fact, requires, the Philippians prayers and the provision of the Holy Spirit. Paul realizes that in order for his desire that first of all, " I would not be put to shame in anything..." but that "Christ would be exalted in my body..." to happen, he will need the Spirit's strength and boldness. Paul's "eager expectation and hope," the first part of verse 20 is that this would indeed be true of his life. Paul is very honest with the Philippians. You can almost hear him pleading:

"I don't want to lose out at the end. I don't want to be ashamed of my Lord when the crunch comes. Please, pray for me that I will be strong, be bold, and preach the Gospel right to the end. Pray that as a human being, I won't worry about what they, the Romans, do to me. Pray that I'll be willing to be a martyr for the Gospel if that's what the Lord chooses."

Verse 21 explains this plea in concise form.

Verses 22 and 23 begin with the contrast word "but." On the one hand, if Paul lives, he will enable him to continue working (labor=ergon) and this will bear fruit. On the other hand, if Paul's trial does result in his death, he has full assurance that he will be with Christ in heaven, experiencing the full benefit of his salvation. Paul knows that would be far better! Paul genuinely faces this dilemma saying "I don't know what to choose." He is not saying that he will choose when and if he dies. Nonetheless, trusting that the Lord is sovereignly in control, from a human standpoint Paul can see the benefits of both options.

Verse 24 seems to indicate Paul's tentative conclusion that for the sake of the Philippian believers, he will be temporarily satisfied to remain on earth if this is the Lord's will. Again, the only purpose for which Paul wants to stay on earth is so that the Philippian church will "progress and [experience] joy in the faith" (v. 25).

If the Lord so chooses to keep Paul alive and allow him to return to Philippi and visit the saints, Paul will be glad to see them again so that he personally can continue to spread the Gospel and so that the Church will grow and see God's hand upon them and their friend Paul.

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Conclusion: Death is not the end of life - just life on earth. For the believer, we are guaranteed that when our physical body dies, our life is really just beginning. We have all eternity to spend with Christ.

Applications

Do you eagerly, excitedly, passionately, want to leave this earth and be with Christ?
If not, what are we living for? Are we living so that the name of Christ is known and the Gospel progresses? Or are we living to finish a degree, to get a job, to have a spouse and 2-3 kids, and settle down and life a comfortable life? Are we living to have a good ministry, to build a big church, to be a popular teacher?

Bibliography
F. F. Bruce. Philippians, New International Bible Commentary. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1989.
Moises Silva. Philippians, Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody, 1988.