{"id":2037,"date":"2022-10-09T12:40:10","date_gmt":"2022-10-09T17:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/?p=2037"},"modified":"2022-10-09T12:40:10","modified_gmt":"2022-10-09T17:40:10","slug":"to-live-is-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/09\/to-live-is-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"To Live is Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
\u201cFor to me to live is<\/em> Christ, and to die is<\/em> gain.\u201d<\/strong>
Philippians 1:21 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Paul wrote a letter to Philemon. Philemon was\na Christian and a fellow laborer with Paul and Timothy. \u201cHearing of thy love\nand faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints<\/strong>\u201d\n(Philemon 1:5). Philemon was a faithful Christian, and Paul acknowledged the\nlove and faith revealed in his life. Paul prayed for him. \u201c6. That the\ncommunication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every\ngood thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. <\/strong>7. For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the\nbowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother<\/strong>\u201d (Philemon\n1:6-7). Paul specifically wrote Philemon of the importance not only telling of\nothers of his faith in Christ, but he also encouraged him to live a life of\nfaith. By living a life that pleased Christ, he was to understand that it\nencouraged other believers. This is important for Christians to recognize\ntoday, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, Paul had written words of encouragement to help the church at\nPhilippi to live more Christ-like. These words are just\nas important for Christians, today. \u201cAnd this I pray, that your love may\nabound yet more and more in knowledge and in<\/em> all judgment<\/strong>\u201d\n(Philippians 1:9). Christians are called to love fellow Believers. However, it\nis important to understand a few things. The following definitions will help\nunderstand what Paul was trying to help them understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Knowledge<\/strong> means \u201cthe\nknowledge which enables one to avoid error<\/em>.\u201d <\/li>
  • Judgment<\/strong> means \u201cknowledge\nbased upon experience; to become cognizant of; experiential knowledge which is\nor becomes naturally manifold<\/em>.\u201d <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    It is important to avoid error, and often times that comes from becoming\naware of situations. He wanted them to know God\u2019s Word and become Christ-like\nenough to be able to avoid certain things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In these things, Paul wanted them to continue growing as they had. Why? \u201cThat\nye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without\noffence till the day of Christ<\/strong>\u201d (Philippians 1:10).\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • Approve<\/strong> means \u201cto put to the\nproof, or examine by examining and judging; to distinguish<\/em>.\u201d  <\/li>
    • Sincere<\/strong> means \u201cto discern<\/em>.\u201d\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Paul wanted the Christians at Philippi to\nrecognize the things that really mattered \u201cthings that are excellent<\/strong>.\u201d\nBy knowing them, they would be able to live more Christ-like, self-checking and\ndiscerning right from wrong, without failing. Because Paul loved them, he\nwanted to encourage and teach them. Each Christian is called to continue to\ngrow in Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Paul understood that the people at Philippi\nwere concerned for Paul and his safety. The things that had happened to Paul,\nalthough they appeared to be bad, Paul understood that they were actually good.\nRemember when Paul was in Philippi: he cast a spirit of\ndivination out of a young girl, healing her, and it cost him a beating and\nimprisonment. Nevertheless, that imprisonment, dealt with in the right spirit,\nwas beneficial for a man and his family who came to know Jesus. Because Paul\nand Silas praised God through song, and the jailer heard, they were able to be\na witness to him. Once the jailer heard about Jesus, he was saved and<\/em><\/strong>\nhis house. Paul wanted the Philippians to recall this event. \u201c12. But I\nwould ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened<\/em>\nunto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 13. So that\nmy bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places<\/em>;\n14. And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are\nmuch more bold to speak the word without fear<\/strong>\u201d (Philippians 1:12-14). As we have learned, that was not the\nonly time Paul was beaten or imprisoned. However, any thing that happened to\nPaul that the world would call \u201cbad\u201d or \u201cunlucky,\u201d God used it to further the\nGospel message in the way Paul responded in each situation. Instead of becoming\nafraid of what man could, or would, do to him, he became bolder in speaking out\nfor Jesus \u2013 \u201cwithout fear.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Paul was a mighty example. Read what he not only believed, but also lived: \u201c20. According to my earnest expectation and my<\/em> hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that<\/em> with all boldness, as always, so<\/em> now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be<\/em> by life, or by death. 21. For to me to live is<\/em> Christ, and to die is<\/em> gain<\/strong>\u201d (Philippians 1:20-21). Instead of choosing what he wanted for his life, he chose to live his life for Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Have you chosen to live for Christ, that in nothing you shall be ashamed?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Paul wrote a letter to Philemon. Philemon was a Christian and a fellow laborer with Paul and Timothy. \u201cHearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints\u201d (Philemon 1:5). Philemon was a faithful Christian, and Paul acknowledged the love and faith revealed in his life. Paul prayed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[318],"tags":[461,385,353,149,375,309,325,243,503,277,999],"class_list":["post-2037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-picture-with-verse-and-blog","tag-christ","tag-christian","tag-faith","tag-fear","tag-gain","tag-grow","tag-judgment","tag-knowledge","tag-live","tag-paul","tag-philemon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2037"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2039,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2037\/revisions\/2039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}