"To die, and be with Christ"
Philippians 1:20-24 My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better— but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
Many people stumble over these words thinking that Paul was saying the moment he died, he would be with the Lord. If this were true, then we can throw out everything that Paul taught about the resurrection, and being with the Lord.
Paul’s teachings on when we will be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So, encourage each other with these words.
Paul’s teachings on when we will be with the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:22-23 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
Scripture is very clear, Paul believed he would be with the Lord through the resurrection, not the moment he died. So, why the confusion? Because some of the ways that Paul said things can be confusing.
2 Peter 3:15-16 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
So, what was Paul talking about in Philippians 1:20-24?
Let’s take a closer look in order to make it fit with what Paul really taught, and believed.
First of all, we see in the first highlighted sentence that Paul desired to honor Christ through his life and through his death. In other words, Paul wanted his manner of life, and his manner of death, to glorify Christ. The “gain” is referring to the manner of his death, not where he would be after of his death, because where he would be after his death is the grave to await his resurrection when Messiah returned.
Philippians 1:20-21 My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Paul was torn by his desire to like or with Christ in his life, and in his death.
Philippians 1:22-24 Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ—which is far better— but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
Paul wanted to die and be with Christ, not in location, but rather, in association or in resemblance with Christ’s death. Notice how the word, “with” can be referring to association or resemblance, not location.
Strong's G4862 With “syn” by association, resemblance
Paul believed that if he suffered like Christ suffered, it would have a positive effect on his resurrection, which is what he equated to as “gain”.