Paul's Life Purpose - Exaltation of Christ

Philippians 1:20-21

“according to my earnest expectation 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.”

Paul’s statement here, as well as other similar statements in this book, reveals to us his purpose in life “to glorify Christ”. It was his prayerful desire that regardless of what happened to him, including death, Christ would be exalted. Because Paul has written so much of the New Testament we get to know him quite well as we study God’s Word. Although he uses the personal pronouns “I”, “me”, and “my” many times in the books he wrote they are carefully wrapped in language that reveals to us a selfless attitude and one of glorifying Christ.

As Paul sits in prison he realizes he potentially faces imminent death. Because of the cold, difficult circumstances death could come through illness or at the hands of his captors. We talked about attitude earlier and here we see that Paul had adopted the attitude of regardless of what would be done to him physically, he was going to glorify Christ. He was so dedicated to that purpose in life that nothing, including death, was going to distract him from it.

The statement in verse 21 “for to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” reveals his attitude that his enemies could do him a favor by killing him, because that would bring him into an even deeper relationship with Christ. I’m reminded of Psalm 116:15 which says “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones”. God looks at death differently than do we, because He knows we will enter an enhanced relationship with Him that we cannot realize while living on this earth. I’m confident that Paul understood that and knew he would be rid of all the ravages of sin that buffeted his mind and body.

These verses help me to see how purposefully Paul walked through life and challenges me to do the same. Because of this attitude Paul had a joy and inner peace that is not realized by many. As we began to study this book I mentioned one of the themes was joy. I pray that you will clearly see God’s purpose for your life and carry it out with joy.