Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Philippians 1:21

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." — Philippians 1:21 (ASV)

“For to me” stresses that Paul’s own faith was unshaken, regardless of the circumstances. No adverse decision from the court nor the alarm of his friends could alter his firm belief about his present or his future. “To live is Christ.” The very essence of Paul’s present life was Christ and all that this entailed. Paul’s identification with Christ in a vital spiritual union (Galatians 2:20) resulted in farreaching practical implications. Christ had become for him the motive of his actions, the goal of his life and ministry, and the source of his strength. “To die” after such a life could only mean “gain.” Not only would Paul’s death be the gateway to Christ’s presence (v.23), but the act itself of dying at the hands of Rome was no tragedy in his eyes. Such a death would bear added witness to the power of the Gospel.