Philippians - Verse-by-Verse Biblical Exegesis

face-to-face with Christ. So either way you look at it, whether living or dying, he anticipates the
prospect of happiness with Jesus Christ. The ethical dative or dative of advantage “for me” is Paul’s
way of telling the Philippians that this statement can be applied to his current spiritual status. It may
or may not be a true statement for you. If you are a growing, maturing believer you may insert your
name in a parenthesis and make this verse your own; if you are a carnal, reversionistic believer, you
may not apply this verse to yourself. Are you occupied with Christ? Are His thoughts your thoughts?
Is your soul saturated with the Word of God?
If yes, then this verse is yours. “Gain” is a financial term that means interest earned on the principal.
Occupation with Christ during our life on earth is the principal. If you have not reached the stage of
spiritual growth where your soul is saturated with Bible doctrine, you are not occupied with Christ
and you do not have the principal. And if you do not have the principal, you most certainly will not
receive any “interest” (return on investment) at the point of death. “Gain” or interest on the principal
is a reference to being face-to-face with Jesus Christ after death and obtaining rewards at the
Judgment Seat. Dying, therefore, is only a benefit to those believers who have attained spiritual
maturity. If you have not reached spiritual maturity yet, it is better to stay alive longer so you have
the opportunity to get there! Paul has reached occupation with Christ, so he may correctly say it is a
benefit to him whichever avenue the Lord has planned for him: life or death.
REVELANT OPINIONS
Doctrine leads to fellowship and fellowship to the riches of the Christian life ... one does not want to
give up life when this fellowship is attained ... But like Martha, we think our service is needful and
our fellowship with God in the Word dispensable. We need to learn that nothing can be a substitute
for the cultivation of the presence of God. (J.M Boice) A mature relationship with God is by far the
most valuable escrow blessing for the Christian’s life on earth. Awe and gratitude toward God
animate the mature believer’s attitude in everything he does. In his soul he has capacity to be happy,
capacity to understand and benefit from divine blessings, capacity to endure suffering, capacity to
maintain the initiative in his own life. He has a personal sense of destiny. Worship becomes a
profound responsiveness in a soul inculcated with truth and filled with the Spirit (John 7:38).
Personal love for God becomes occupation with the person of Christ (Gal. 2:20, Phil. 1:21). (R.B.
Thieme, Jr.)
Through a series of contrasting statements that may be arranged in parallelism Paul sets down the
alternatives facing him: life or death, departing and being with Christ or remaining and fulfilling his
pastoral responsibilities towards the Philippians ... There is an antithesis between bodily existence on
earth and death. But both are oriented towards Christ, as the paragraph makes plain. Paul’s living is
wholly directed towards him, while the apostle’s death means a departure and being with his Lord
forever. If Christ is the object, motive, inspiration, and goal of all that Paul does, as well as the
sphere in which he lives, then the “gain” in the light of verse 23 has to do with the personal benefit
for Paul of being in his Lord’s presence. (P. O’Brien) Death, for the Christian, will usher him into
the immediate presence of his Lord who fulfills His promise to every soul who dies safely because
he dies believing. (R. Martin)