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Truthcaster: Is it gain if someone loses his or her life?
A guest in our Bible Exposition in Tacloban City (province in the Philippines) asked Bro. Eli Soriano, "Is it gain if someone loses his or her life?" Bro. Eli Soriano answers this question straight from the verses of the Holy Scriptures.
For to me, to live is Christ [He is my source of joy, my reason to live] and to die is gain [for I will be with Him in eternity].
Philippians 1:21
He, Paul, loved the Lord with an abounding love and yearned for his company. Yet, over against all that, he writes three words (two in Greek) which change the whole picture; “on your account” (verse 24). As far as personal enrichment was concerned, death would win hands down. But there is also the Philippian church and all the others who feel the loving imagination of Paul. What of them? They still need, as he sees it, his apostolic ministry. Paul believes it to be the will of the Lord that this need should be considered as paramount (verse 25). Furthermore, such is his love for his fellow-believers and his desire for their spiritual advantage that he is ready for it to be so. What a man the apostle was! The fruitfulness of remaining in this life could sway him as against the joy of living with Christ; the needs of the church were met by a love which, for the present, was willing to postpone heavenly glories. But for him, it all came down to two dominating motives: I live on so that others may grow in Christ and that Christ may be glorified in me.
J. A. Motyer
[Paul] weighs up in his mind now the two alternatives and can rejoice in both. To go on living in this world is to live in constant enjoyment of Christ Himself, and there will be further fruitful toil in his Master’s service. He knows, on the other hand, that death is sheer gain, because beyond death is immediate presence of Christ.
The New Bible Commentary Revised
What does Philippians chapter 1 mean? How should I understand Philippians chapter 1? How does Philippians chapter 1 fit with the surrounding context?
The striking words ‘to live, Christ [Christos]; to die, gain [kerdos]’ epitomizes Paul’s life since Damascus. Once Paul was apprehended by Christ Jesus, Christ became the singular pursuit of his life … Such singular focus does not make Paul otherworldly; rather it gives heart and meaning to everything he is and does as a citizen of two worlds, his heavenly citizenship determining his earthly.
IVP New Testament Commentary
