Philippians 1:23-24 For I am in a strait between two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:… I. PAUL IS HIS STRAIT. He would be with Christ and yet with the Philippians; he would be dissolved and yet live. He resolved, however, at last against himself. 1. For the glory of God; the prime motive of our Christian obedience. We must neither live nor die but to God's glory. 2. For the good of the brethren, wherein God's glory is greatly manifested (2 Corinthians 12:15). 3. This was only possible to a man already in Christ, and imbued by His Spirit. 4. If the same mind be in us which was in Paul we should look upon our calling as Christians as the most delightful yet most troublesome calling. II. PAUL'S DESIRE. 1. The desire carries nothing in it that hath any opposition to the will of God. It is not wrought in us by impatience or sense of injuries as is the case of Stoics. 2. This desire is from heaven, heavenly (Hebrews 4:9; 2 Timothy 4:8). We love Christ and would be where His honour dwelleth. 3. This desire — (1) is but for a dissolving of the whole into its parts, that the better part may have the better portion at once and the whole by and by. (2) Brings us to Christ, and is therefore(3) the fittest object for our desire to fasten upon. (A. Farindon, B. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: |
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