John Calvin Commentary Philippians 1:22

"But if to live in the flesh, --[if] this shall bring fruit from my work, then what I shall choose I know not." — Philippians 1:22 (ASV)

But if to live in the flesh. As persons in despair feel perplexed about whether they ought to prolong their life any further in miseries, or to end their troubles by death, so Paul, on the other hand, says that he is, in a spirit of contentment, so well prepared for death or for life—because the condition of believers is blessed in either case—that he is at a loss which to choose. If it is worth while; that is, “If I have reason to believe that there will be greater advantage from my life than from my death, I do not see which of them I ought to prefer.” To live in the flesh, is an expression which he has made use of in contempt, from comparing it with a better life.