Thursday, April 26, 2012

Post-Philippians-Class Ponderings

Philippians 1:21
Εμοι γαρ το ζην Χριστος και το αποθανειν κερδος.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.


Question: Does "to live" here refer to earthly life or to eternal life, or perhaps both - life in general?


My thoughts: On the one hand, it appears that Paul is contemplating whether he will die or not, in which case το ζην would refer to earthly life. This makes sense since it is the opposite of το αποθανειν (dying). However, then the other half of the equation doesn't seem to follow very cleanly: if to remain alive is Christ, then why does he call death "gain"? Wouldn't "living" be gain, since it is equated with Christ?


Or does "to live is Christ" refer more specifically to the eternal life that believers will have in Christ? Then perhaps these two statements are not to be seen as contradictory. In other words Paul is saying, "to live is to be with Christ, and that's why I consider death gain because it will bring me to Him for eternity."


Or does το ζην refer to Paul's earthly life in the following way: "If I live, the purpose of my life will continue to be Christ, and Christ will continue to be proclaimed through me to his glory and to the help and service of others. Thus, I certainly cannot complain about living" [Paul expresses this in the surrounding verses (12-14, 24-26)]. "On the other hand, if I die, that would really be a greater gain for me because then I would be with Christ" [Paul clearly expresses this as his desire in v. 23]. As I consider this anew while typing this up, I am leaning toward this latter explanation. The way v. 20 prefaces v. 21 with the statement "Christ will be magnified in my body, whether in life or death" also seems to indicate that earthly life as opposed to death is still the topic in v. 21.


Even so, "For me to live is Christ" is a rather puzzling statement, isn't it?


Another thing I'm wondering is whether Luther's translation, "Denn Christus ist mein Leben und Sterben mein Gewinn" favors one understanding over the other?


Your thoughts?

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