As we saw last time, Paul has just finished stating how his imprisonment resulted in the advancement and progress of the gospel. So much so that Christ was being preached even by those who had impure motives towards the gospel and Paul. But now, Paul turns to the issue of his future as a prisoner. When he tries to probe into the future, all he sees is uncertainty. He does not know whether he will be released and live, or whether he will die in his chains for Christ. However, even though he is thrust under the heavy weight of all of this uncertainty, Paul remains unshakable and steadfast. How is he able to do this? What can we learn from his life?
The reason he was able to be unshakable under uncertainty was because he had three things- 1) knowledge, 2) eager expectation and hope, and 3) focus. If we are going to survive times of uncertainty, we will need them also.
1. We Need Knowledge that God will Vindicate Us (18b-19). The ground of Paul’s rejoicing is that he knows that though he may not be acquitted and vindicated by Caesar, he will be vindicated by God. Paul knows that this trial will turn out for his salvation. This phrase is a quote out of the Septuagint from Job 13:16, and is part of Job’s response to his three friends after the first round of their speeches. Job said that he was ready to speak out no matter the consequences, even though he was held in contempt. Job look confidently at God for his vindication when he states “I know that I will be vindicated.” Like Job, Paul knows that he too will be vindicated.
Everything that has happened in the past. along with what will come in the future, will all work towards his deliverance. But what does he mean by deliverance? Is it escape from captivity? A favorable trial? Avoidance of death? The Greek word that Paul uses- "soteria"- seems to me to best be understood in this context as the believer's final deliverance from judgment on the last day. This final salvation has to do with the deliverance from the wrath of God and the endowment of glory. Therefore, Paul is not referring to an immediate acquittal from Caesar or a release from prison. Rather, like Job, he is confident that his present state of affairs will work out final vindication for him. Though Caesar may not given him a favorable decision, it does not matter. His salvation will be his ultimate vindication.
The instrument that will enable him to reach this goal is the prayers of the Philippians. The language indicates that the supply of the Spirit is the answer to the churches prayer which will result in his final vindication. The apostle who so diligently prays for his friends now entreats them to pray for him. He needed their prayers! Paul is basically saying to them, "Your prayers are helping me be supplied with the help from the Holy Spirit that I need to be able to have the confidence , hope, and power to see this through."
So how do we apply this truth to us today? Most who read this are probably not in prison suffering for their faith and living with the uncertainty of whether or not they will live or die. However, we all experience difficult circumstances that are not our own doing, but ordained by God. For example, sometimes we know that we are doing the right thing; we know we are walking with God, yet there are those people who fight against us, falsely accuse us, tell us that we are in the wrong, lie about us, are jealous over us, and twist the truth to try and sabotage us. they will say that bad things are happening to us because we have sinned against God. Now when calamity strikes, our first response should be, “Lord have I sinned in some way that has brought this on?” If the answer is "no", the next thing to do is persevere.
Furthermore, bad things will happen when we do the will of God. Sometimes, people who are not walking with God will fight against us and tell us we are wrong, however, it is really they that are deceived and blinded by sin. Yet we must be confident that God will eventually vindicate us. What do we do when people kick us when we are down? When they slander us, sin against us, question our integrity? When they are spiteful to us, wrongfully accuse us, mock us, treat us as foolish, and lie about us? We do not lash back and fight evil with evil, but we overcome evil with good and know like Job and Paul before us, God will vindicate us on the last day through our final salvation. We never need to take vengeance, for vengeance is the Lord. We must rejoice and seek the prayers of others to enable us to walk through the fire of uncertainty. How do we overcome uncertainty? By knowing that God will vindicate us. In all of our circumstances, God is working them out for our final salvation.
2. We need eager expectation and Hope (20)- Paul’s intense longing and hope in the midst of all of this uncertainty is not what we would initially think. Some in this situation would desire freedom from the chains to get back to the outside world, their jobs, family, etc. But Paul’s earnest desire and hope is quite different. In fact, it is actually two fold. First, he hopes not to be put to shame. This phrase is taken mainly from the Psalms, and Paul uses it in connection to his being vindicated. So as Paul is awaiting trial, he knows that whatever happens, he will not be put to shame. This shame has nothing to do with what other people think about him, but with his standing before God. He is confident- earnestly expectant and hopeful, that God will not let him down. Thus, the only way Paul would be ashamed is if the Lord was not glorified through him. As we now look to the second part of his desire and hope, we see why that will not happen. He hopes and prays that Christ would be exalted in his body with all boldness. Like always, Paul wants his body to be a bold instrument in which Christ can be magnified and made great in. He is not worried about the outcome. He does not care whether it is life or death; the one essential thing to Paul is that Jesus Christ be made famous through his body. If it is through his living, so be it; if it is through his death, then let it be; only that Christ be made great!
Do you have this kind of eagerness and hope in the midst of your uncertainty? When we do not know what the outcome of a certain event is going to be, it should not matter. What should matter to us, and what we should be eager about is that in a bold manner, is that Christ would be exalted through us. An incredible story of boldness in the midst of uncertainty has to do with an invasion of Napoleons army into Russia. They came to a village and found one, lonely Russian peasant who did not flee- a woodsman, still carrying his ax in his leather belt. When the French captain saw him, he ordered him shot. When the soldiers raised their guns, the man was unmoved and unafraid. Noticing this, the French captain ordered the soldiers to halt and lower their guns. He then ordered that the peasants life be spared. “But” said the captain, “we will put a mark on him-we will brand him.” So they branded the letter N on his hand. “What is that?” the peasant asked. The captain replied “This is the letter N and it stands for Napoleon; you belong to Napoleon now.” For a brief moment the peasant did not know what to say. Then an idea popped into his brain. He had always been a loyal Russian and very patriotic; now was the time to show it. He reached out his burned hand and placed it on something solid. The French soldiers were mocking and ridiculing him. The brave peasant then took out his ax, swung it high, and brought it down with such force that he severed his own hand. “There” he said to the soldiers “the hand may belong to Napoleon, but I am a Russian. If I must die, I will die a Russian”.
The only thing this Russian cared about was not losing his distinction as a Russian- he wanted to serve his country well. Paul also cared not for his own comfort and safety, but only that whether through life or death, Christ be exalted in his body. This is the spirit needed in the church today. Our Christianity has become pampered and easy. Many of us might as well be running around in diapers with a paci in our mouths. We can get so preoccupied with comfort and ease that we totally miss it. We lose all hope and eager expectation of seeing Christ glorified. Sometimes uncertainty has a way of doing that to us. We get so preoccupied with the unknown that we forget about the one essential element that is needed in discipleship- that with all boldness, Christ be exalted in our bodies. Paul had been though enough hard times in his life, and this is the essential thing that he learned- come what may, as long as Christ be glorified! Is He, my friends? Is He being exalted in your body through your uncertainty? No matter what your circumstances, stay loyal! No matter what, know that God will come through for you! No matter what, let your hope be not in the deliverance of the circumstance, but that no matter what happens, Christ is exalted through you! Your body is to be a throne for God to sit upon and show his glory through, and announce His reign in you to a watching world.
3 We need Focus (21-26)- Here, after the apostle has shown that life and death are subordinate to the main thing- the exaltation of Christ, he begins to discuss how his living or dying will affect the church. H longs to go and be with Christ, yet knows that it will be more fruitful for the church that he live. He is torn between these two desires, yet he knows that his life is bound up in the sovereignty of God. Convinced that it is better for the church that he remains alive to help them in their progress of the gospel, he notes that if he is indeed released, that their confidence in him will abound in Christ when he comes to see them again.
I want to focus in on verse 21. Paul’s focus here is daunting: to live is Christ and to dies is gain. It is this focus that has enabled him to come this far, and it is this focus that causes him to be content with whether he lives or dies. In this short little verse, Paul is telling his readers how he can have so much composure and remain unshakable in the face of possible death. "To live is Christ”- this means that Paul’s living is wholly directed towards Him.
For Paul, Christ is:
the object and inspiration;
the motive and aspiration;
the glory and exaltation of life.
He is the word and communication;
the example and admiration;
the goal and consummation of all that we live for;
He is our joy and jubilation;
our hope and preservation;
This God-man incarnation.
He is the all consuming, life giving, air breathing, worth of living, passion of life- He is Christ and Christ alone!
The sustenance of a starving soul;
The peace in a perplexing predicament;
Our comfort in a colossal catastrophe.
He is the strength of a suffering saint;
the admiration of all the ages;
the illumination of the ignorant imagination.
He is the Revelation, who knows no limitation;
the deliverer in every situation.
He is all-powerful and all sufficient;
ever present and omniscient.
He is Lord and He is God;
He is Jesus, the one and only.
Oh how He is life, and to live for him is to truly live. To be consumed by Him is to burn but never burn out. Hallelujah what a Savior. And though He is all in this life, we gain more of Him in death. This is what Paul meant. To live is Christ is to have his entire being enraptured with Him, and to die means to plunge unhindered into a depth of intimacy that cannot be experienced except after death. Oh how Christ is all of life and His glory the only thing worth tasting. The only thing worth living for; the only thing worth dying for. His glory is the only reason for existence and being.
That is it. If you are going to make any sense of life; any sense of your circumstance, and any sense of your reason for being it is this- to live is Christ! To glorify God wherever and in whatever blistering circumstance He plants us! When will we see it? When will the modern church wake up and get it. We need people like Count Von Zinzendorf, the founder of the Moravian Missionaries, who said, "I have one passion –Jesus and Jesus alone." Our desire cannot be for comfort or ease or rest or joy; it cannot be to make a name for ourselves. We cannot sleep with ambition or commit adultery with pride. We cannot keep our focus inward, but upward and outward. Our passion and hunger must be for God and God alone. Christ must be the ambition of life
If you want to endure the uncertainty of life, you must, like Paul, be certain of these three things: God will vindicate you; Jesus will be exalted through you; and that to live is Christ and to die is gain!