Additional Notes §7
§7 Life or Death? (Phil. 1:18–26)
Paul contemplates death or acquittal as the outcome of his impending trial with equal equanimity. His own preference would be to depart this life and be with Christ, but he knows that it is more important for his friends’ sake that he should be spared to be with them a little longer.
1:18 / Paul’s reaction to those who are stirring up trouble for him is far removed from the anathema invoked on those agitators who, several years earlier, invaded the churches of Galatia and taught his converts a “different gospel” from that which they had heard from him. True, his ill wishers in Rome were not intruding into a sphere of missionary service that was not their own, and there is no hint of any defect or subversive element in what they preached. Whatever their motives were—whether (on the one hand) their activity was a cloak for ambitions of their own or a cover for diminishing Paul’s standing or (on the other hand) it was the outcome of a pure desire to spread the saving message—the important point was that Christ was being preached. This acknowledgment on Paul’s part sets the preachers in a different category from the type that (as he puts it elsewhere) “preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached” (2 Cor. 11:4). Even so, Paul has mellowed; he shows more of the “meekness and gentleness of Christ” than he had been able to show when he invoked these graces in his remonstrance with disaffected members of the Corinthian church (2 Cor. 10:1). Perhaps his two years of imprisonment in Caesarea, followed by a further spell under house arrest in Rome, had taught him new lessons in patience.
There is a striking similarity between Paul’s attitude here and Luther’s often-quoted words from the preface to the Letter of James in his German New Testament of 1522: “That which does not teach Christ is not apostolic, even if Peter or Paul taught it. Again, that which does preach Christ is apostolic, even if Judas, Annas, Pilate or Herod did it.” What matters is the content of the preaching, not the identity of the preacher.
Paul rejoices, then, and will go on rejoicing, not only in the fact that Christ is being preached more and more, but in all his circumstances and prospects.
1:19 / Paul sees the hand of God so manifestly at work in the situation which he has just described that he is left in no doubt that he is in the place where God wishes him to be in the fulfillment of his apostolic commission. With such confidence, he can apply to his own present state the words of Job 13:16, “this will turn out for my deliverance.” When he says that the present state of affairs will work out for his deliverance, he is not thinking so much of immediate acquittal and discharge from custody (cf. GNB) but (like Job) of his vindication in the heavenly court, his final salvation. This is assured whether he receives a favorable or an unfavorable verdict before Caesar’s tribunal (cf. the confidence expressed in 2 Tim. 4:8 in the award of “the Lord, the righteous Judge”).
It is plain, indeed, from the words that follow that his “ultimate destiny is intimately connected with his present dilemma” (R. W. Funk, in Farmer et al., eds., p. 262). He is sure that their spiritual welfare requires his survival in mortal body; he knows that he will remain on earth in order to continue his fruitful work. The prayers of his Philippian friends will contribute to this, together with the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ. But this is an expression of confidence, not the assertion of something which he has received by divine revelation or the like. He has in fact been given no revelation about the outcome of his trial.
1:20 / Paul’s eager expectation and hope is not for his own safety but for the progress of the gospel, the perseverance of his converts, and the accomplishment of God’s redeeming purpose. This is one of the two Pauline occurrences of the noun (Gk. apokaradokia) here rendered eagerly expect; in Romans 8:19 it is used for the “eager longing” with which all creation waits “for God to reveal his sons.” In that context it is coupled with repeated mentions of the realization of the hope of the ages, “that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21). Paul’s own eager expectation and hope are caught up into the prospect of that consummation; indeed, Paul knows that his ministry has a special part to play in speeding its arrival. Therefore he hopes and prays that I will in no way be ashamed. Christian hope and being put to shame are mutually exclusive (cf. Rom. 5:5). The only thing that could put Paul to shame would be failure to win his Lord’s approval; that is why he kept “the day of Christ” before him in all that he planned and did. The declaration of the gospel is the duty entrusted to him; he is eager to be faithful to that trust and to do nothing unworthy of it, especially when he stands before Caesar. Personal humiliation is not what Paul fears; he had endured plenty of that already in the service of Christ and was likely to endure more. But he knows that he will in no way be ashamed if Christ be exalted through him, and especially through his demeanor and defense of the gospel in the supreme court.
What he needs is sufficient courage to make known (the gospel) “fearlessly” (as the word is rendered with reference to the same occasion in Eph. 6:19, NIV). To proclaim the gospel courageously is the antithesis of being ashamed of it (cf. Rom. 1:16). Paul’s constant ambition is that in his body—that is, in whatever happens to him on the physical plane, whether life or death—the glory of Christ will be promoted. Should it be for the advancement of Christ’s cause that Paul is sentenced to death and executed, then welcome death! But if it is for the advancement of Christ’s cause that Paul should be acquitted and granted a further lease of mortal life, then welcome life!
1:21 / He views either prospect with equanimity. Indeed, if he had nothing but his personal choice to consider, the prospect of death might be preferable: to die could be nothing but sheer gain to anyone for whom to live meant Christ. The NIV rendering, To die is gain, prompts the question: “The gain of what?” The answer could only be, “To gain Christ.” Paul’s existence was life in Christ, with Christ living in him (cf. Gal. 2:20); death would bring no cessation or diminution of that existence but would rather enhance it with the experience of being with Christ (v. 23) in a closer communion than he had known while still in the body. If to live means Christ, it must be exhilaratingly wonderful to be alive; “yet even for such a life, precisely for such a life, to die is gain” (F. W. Beare, ad loc.). If death meant (even temporarily) less of Christ than was enjoyed in mortal life—above all, if it meant (even temporary) annihilation—it would be absurd to speak of it as gain.
Paul no doubt meant that for the man or woman in Christ to die would be gain, whatever form death took. But the death that he has specially in mind for himself in the present situation is execution in consequence of an adverse judgment in the imperial court. If such a death in the service of Christ crowned a life spent in the service of Christ, it would be gain not to Paul alone but to the cause of Christ throughout the world.
1:22 / A continuation of mortal life would mean fruitful labor for him, an opportunity to reap more fruit from the work that had been interrupted by his arrest and imprisonment, as well as from the work that he had been doing during his imprisonment. A literal rendering of his words would be, “But if [the outcome for me will be] to live in the flesh, this is the fruit of labor for me,” and this could be understood more ways than one. It could point to fruitful labor in the future (as NIV takes it) or to the fruit of labor already done (as NEB takes it, following J. B. Lightfoot: “what if my living on in the body means that I could reap the fruit of my toil!”).
So, early death and continued life alike had their attractions, and if the choice between the two were left to him, he would find difficulty in making up his mind. The choice, however, did not lie with him.
1:23 / I am torn between the two, he says; more literally, “I am hemmed in on both sides.” If he had only his own interest to consider, then it would be better by far for him to depart and be with Christ; and this was his personal desire.
Paul speaks in several of his letters of the resurrection of the believing dead at the time of Christ’s advent (cf. 3:20, 21). He has less to say about the state of the individual believer immediately after death, but what he does say is quite plain. So far as can be judged from his correspondence, he did not grapple with this question until it began to become more probable, as he viewed the situation, that he would die before the advent of Christ than that he would live to witness it. He did not pretend to know when the advent would take place, but a change of perspective can be traced as he grew older: whereas in his earlier letters he tends to identify himself with those who will survive to the coming of the Lord, in his later letters he tends to identify himself with those who will be raised from the dead then.
The change of perspective can be discerned between 1 and 2 Corinthians: in 1 Corinthians 15:52 he says that “the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we [the living] will be changed”; but in 2 Corinthians 4:14 he says that “the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you [the living] in his presence.” This shift in his viewpoint may have been due in part to the critical experience in the province of Asia that he describes in 2 Corinthians 1:8–10. At that time death seemed to be so certain that no way out could be seen, and when a way out was opened up, contrary to all expectation, he greeted the deliverance as an instance of God’s power to raise the dead.
It is against that background that he declares his conviction in 2 Corinthians 5:1–10 that when “the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” With this confidence, he says, we “would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” He claims no revelation as authority for this assurance, as in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 with regard to the resurrection or in 1 Corinthians 15:51 with regard to the bestowal of immortality on believers who are still alive; but he affirms his hope with a positiveness (“we know … we have …”) that leaves no room for doubt.
It is the same hope that finds expression here. One who enjoys the presence of Christ in this life is not to be deprived of it when this life ends, for Christ is alive on the other side of death and because he lives on, his people live on. “ ‘To die’ and ‘to be with Christ’ are therefore in large measure synonymous. Life with Christ after death is no problem for the apostle; it flows like a pure spring from the victory of Easter” (J.-F. Collange, ad loc.). No wonder, then, that Paul emphasizes how “much rather better” (piling up comparatives) it would be for him to take leave of earthly life.
1:24 / Paul, however, was the last man to put his own interests or preferences before the advantage of others. He enjoins on his readers consideration for the good of others in 2:4; the injunction would not have carried much weight if they had not known of the example that he himself set. He knew that it was “more necessary” for his converts, not least for those in Philippi, that he should continue to be available to them on earth—that he should remain in the [mortal] body (Gk. en tē sarki).
1:25 / His knowledge that his survival would be for the benefit of his fellow Christians, and his confidence that God would do whatever was necessary for their growth in grace, combined to give him good hope that he would indeed be granted a further spell of life and apostolic activity, for their progress and joy in the faith. His I know here, as in verse 19, is the expression of faith (cf. 2 Cor. 5:1). This is more probable than that he had been given a special divine revelation to this effect (E. Lohmeyer) or had just received word of a favorable verdict in his case (W. Michaelis).
The Philippian Christians already exulted in their association with such a servant of Christ as Paul was: his release and continued ministry would give them greater cause for such exultation.
The much-debated question whether or not Paul was in fact released is perhaps, on balance, to be answered in the affirmative, but it has no bearing on the interpretation of Philippians.
1:26 / If Paul should be released and have an opportunity of seeing them again, their joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on Paul’s account. Paul, who rejoiced when he was able to boast about his converts (cf. 2:16; 1 Thess. 2:19; 2 Cor. 7:4; 9:2, 3), had no objection to their boasting about him (cf. 2 Cor. 1:14). Such boasting did not conflict with his resolve to boast in nothing but the cross of Christ (Gal. 6:14), for all his relations with his converts were founded on the gospel of Christ crucified, and such boasting was a genuine boasting in Christ Jesus (cf. Phil. 3:3).
The problem of relating Paul’s hope expressed here of visiting his Philippian friends once more to his intention, declared in Romans 15:24, 29, of going on from Rome to Spain has been discussed in the Introduction.
1:18 / What does it matter? renders the question ti gar? (“for what”), which may mean either, “What does it matter? In either case Christ is being preached,” or, “What are we to say? Only this, that Christ is being preached.”
1:19 / The quotation from Job 13:16 is exact: touto moi apobēsetai eis sōtērian.
The help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ is, lit., “the … supply (Gk. epichorēgia) of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” NIV takes “of the Spirit” (pneumatos) to be subjective genitive, “that which the Spirit of Jesus Christ supplies.” It might, however, be objective genitive, the Spirit being that which is supplied, as in Gal. 3:5, “Does God give [epichorēgōn] you the Spirit …?” Cf. NEB: “the Spirit of Jesus Christ is given me for support.” If Paul, like Job, is looking forward to vindication in the heavenly court, then the Spirit “appears here in the Johannine role of advocate” (G. B. Caird, ad loc.) Cf. R. W. Funk, “The Apostolic ‘Parousia’: Form and Significance,” in W. R. Farmer, C. F. D. Moule, and R. R. Niebuhr, eds., Christian History and Interpretation, p. 262, n. 1.
1:20 / The sufficient courage that Paul desires is Gk. parrhēsia, “freedom of speech.” W. C. van Unnik (“The Christian’s Freedom of Speech in the New Testament,” BJRL 44 [1961–62], pp. 475f.) suggests the translation “in all openness” here, “because not the courage of the martyr, but Christ Himself will be revealed in all plainness.” By making Christ the subject of the clause (that Christ will be honored in my body), Paul “brings out what is the real power of ‘freedom of speech,’ the fact that not only the gospel is simply proclaimed, but that the Lord of the gospel is revealed.”
The phrase in my body (Gk. en tō sōmati mou) is appropriate, since Paul was thinking of bodily death or life. “Sōma therefore does not signify the whole ‘I’ of Paul, but only that part of him more immediately affected by the outcome of his trial and through which he bears witness to the visible world around him” (R. H. Gundry, “Sōma” in Biblical Theology: With Emphasis on Pauline Anthropology, p. 37). Cf. 1 Cor. 6:20, “honor God with your body”), where Paul is refuting the notion that bodily actions are ethically and religiously indifferent.
1:21 / On the Damascus road Christ replaced Torah as the center of Paul’s life and thought; until then he might well have said, “For to me, to live is Torah.” He was now immediately and constantly aware that his own life was summed up in Christ, but he uses similar language of his fellow Christians: “Christ, who is your life” (Col. 3:4).
1:22 / But if (Gk. ei de) may introduce the protasis* of a conditional sentence, and so it is taken by NIV, RSV, and probably the majority of versions. In that case the apodosis* may be “then I am not sure which I should choose” (so GNB) or this will mean fruitful labor for me (so NIV, with Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! as an independent clause). On the other hand, ei de might be rendered not “but if” but “but what if” (so NEB: “but what if my living on in the body may serve some good purpose?”). J. B. Lightfoot (ad loc.) proposes this last construction because “it seems to be in keeping with the abruptness of the context, and to present less difficulty than those generally adopted.”
Fruitful labor renders Gk. karpos ergou, “fruit [harvest] of work” (cf “fruit of righteousness” in v. 11). Here the reference is to the result (especially in the lives of his converts and other fellow believers) of Paul’s ministry already accomplished or yet to be accomplished.
I do not know renders Gk. ou gnōrizō. In Paul (and other NT writers) this verb is used transitively (“make known”) and not intransitively (“know”); it is best to take the present occurrence as being no exception to this rule and translate, with RSV and NEB, “I cannot tell” (meaning “I cannot make known”).
1:23 / The only other place where Paul uses synechō (“hold together,” “hem in”) is in 2 Cor. 5:14, “the love of Christ shuts us up (synechei hēmas) to this conclusion” (NIV: “Christ’s love compels us”).
I desire: (epithymia). J.-F. Collange (ad loc.) argues that since epithymia has a bad sense almost everywhere else in Paul it should be so understood here also, of a “self-centered desire,” which Paul mentions only to condemn it. But the context alone can determine whether the sense of epithymia is bad or good, and it is as likely to have its good sense here as in 1 Thess. 2:17, where it denotes the great longing of Paul and his companions to see the Thessalonian Christians again.
To depart: Gk. analysai, of a ship weighing anchor or an army striking camp.
And be with Christ, immediately on dying, he implies. Against this O. Cullmann denies that the NT countenances “the view that the dead live even before the parousia beyond time, and thus at once enjoy the fruits of the final fulfillment” (The Early Church, p. 165). It may well be that those believers who, having died, are with Christ, still await the resurrection, as he emphasizes (cf. 3:21); but he does insufficient justice to Paul’s bridging of the hiatus between death and resurrection in 2 Cor. 5:1–10. See A. Schweitzer, The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle, pp. 90–100, 109–13; L. S. Thornton, Christ and the Church, pp. 137–40; F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Free Spirit, pp. 309–13.
Which is better by far: There is a world of difference between Paul’s attitude and Jonah’s petulant “it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3, 8). G. M. Lee (NovT 12 [1970], p. 361) compares the observation of Libanius (Oration 17.29) that, in certain cases of soul sickness “it is better to depart (this life) than to live” (kreitton apelthein ē zēn), but apart from the comparative kreitton (cf. Paul’s pollō mallon kreisson) the two passages have nothing in common. J. B. Lightfoot (ad loc.) refers to the frequently quoted question of Euripides (fragment 639), tis oiden ei to zēn men esti katthanein / to katthanein de zēn (“Who knows if life be death and death be life?”) and remarks that the poet’s “sublime guess … which was greeted with ignoble ridicule by the comic poets, has become an assured truth in Christ”—but the connection, if any, is a very distant one.
1:24 / That I remain in the body: lit., “remain in the flesh” (epimenein [en] tē sarki, where the article may hark back to en sarki in v. 22, “living in the body.” For Paul to remain or to live en tē sarki, in mortal body, is a very different thing from living kata sarka, “according to the flesh”; he contrasts the two phrases in 2 Cor. 10:3. To live or act kata sarka is to live or act according to the standards of unregenerate humanity. J. B. Lightfoot (ad loc.), accepting the omission of en (with Aleph A C, etc.), suggests the translation “to abide by the flesh,” that is, “to cling to this present life, to take it with all its inconveniences.” This is somewhat strained.
1:25 / I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you: Gk. menō kai paramenō, where menō is absolute, while paramenō is relative to all of you, the dative pasin hymin being governed by the prefix para.
Your progress and joy in the faith: the phrase in the faith (Gk. genitive tēs pisteōs) qualifies both progress and joy. Joy (whether the noun chara or the verb chairein) is a dominant theme in this letter—the Philippians’ joy (as here; cf. 2:28, 29; 3:1; 4:4), Paul’s joy (cf. verses 4, 18; 2:2; 4:1, 10), and theirs and his together (cf. 2:17, 18).
1:26 / … through my being with you again: the noun parousia is used here in the nontechnical sense of “visit” (as in 2:12; cf. also 1 Cor. 16:17; 2 Cor. 7:6, 7; 10:10). It is not used in this letter with reference to the advent of Christ; in fact, the only Pauline letters where it is so used are 1 Corinthians (15:23), 1 Thessalonians (2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23) and 2 Thessalonians (2:1, 8).