With Christ once more
Due to illness—emotional or physical—life can feel dreary and sometimes we’d be happy to be done with life here. I’m not suggesting that this is a gift from God but I am saying that it’s one of the realities of human life in the world as it is.
I suppose something of that is seen in Paul’s Philippians 1:21-23 (NRSV). "For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer. I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you."
To be "with Christ" is to not be "away" from him. While he is "in the flesh" (that is, living in this present phase of human life) there is some sense in which he is not "with" Christ; but were he to die we would be "with" Christ. We’re well aware that even while living in the flesh Paul is with Christ and Christ with him (Matthew 28:20 and elsewhere) but there’s no mistaking his meaning here; dying adds a dimension to his being "with" Christ that he doesn’t experience while he’s in the flesh.
So here Paul speaks of his post-mortem state as "far better" than his present "with" Christ experience. Caution is fine in working with texts but sometimes we try too hard to "prove" what is perhaps plain enough to be rejoiced in. Paul isn’t talking about geography or spatial proximity when he says he wants to go and be "with" Christ. Questions such as, "Would he be sitting next to Christ?" or "Did he think he would be walking around with Christ as the apostles did in the days of Christ’s flesh?" are asking too much. If Paul even thought about such things we have no way of knowing but he clearly wants them to know that his present experience of Christ would be deepened and enriched if he experienced death.
I think there’s more in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 than appears at first glance, but he does speak of being "away" and about being "at home" with God. And being "at home" or "away" from God is related to his life now in the flesh and to being absent from his body. My suspicion is that Philippians 1:21-23 carries that same sense of "with" and "not with," of being "at home" and being "away".
Now here’s a text that expressly speaks of a post-mortem state for Paul that would leave his readers without his immediate assistance. He’d like to taste the "far better" but is loathe for them to experience loss at his gain. This is not talking about the day of resurrection because his readers would not then be experiencing loss or needing his assistance—they’d be glorified along with him. No, Paul is speaking of an immediate post-mortem joy of deepened fellowship with Christ.
Let me repeat, I think there’s no doubt that Paul has a relational situation in mind where he is "with" Christ in a way that is better than being "with" Christ in this present phase of living. This is a passage that explicitly deals with life after death for a believer and it describes that situation in terms of our being "with Christ." Is that vague? Does it lack assurance and promise? I’d have thought it was the opposite! Clearly the truth isn’t developed in the text but why would that mean it was vague or somehow insubstantial or lacking in warm comfort? He says, "Dying and going to be with Christ is better than this!"
Get a view of Paul’s mind as he speaks of the glory of his ministry, of the joy and satisfaction he now finds in Christ, of the privilege he feels to be a servant of Christ to the world. For all his troubles he thought life in and with Christ even now was awesome, a triumph and a life-filled adventure. In fact, he looks at his troubles and thinks they are part of the glory (2 Corinthians 4, 6 and 11). Did ever a man live such a wonder-filled life? Get a sense of all that he was and did and felt and then hear him say, "It’d please me to die and go to be with Christ. That’s far better than this."
So what do you think he expected when he died? What did that being "with" Christ have that was better than what he now had? Well, he doesn’t say anything about the specifics but we know he knew it was far better than the present! I'd say that being with Christ post-mortem would certaily include the following.
"With" Christ would speak of a felt security.
"With" Christ would speak of a deepened intimacy.
"With" Christ would speak of a deepened sense of fellowship and communion.
We don’t know and don’t have to know the psychological ins and outs of that. We’re assured that "with" Christ speaks of it all.
The word "with" doesn’t stand alone, thank God! With "Christ"—that’s who he’ll be with, so let your reverent imagination get to work on that.
"Where is he?" a beloved mother asked her daughter about the husband she sorely missed since his death. He’s with Christ and now knows that neither life nor death is a threat to him (see Romans 8:38)—security! He’s with Christ and now is closer to him than when he was here—intimacy. He’s with Christ and now experiences a fellowship and communion that is deeper and more immediate than when he was here. (For a little more, click here.)
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.
Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com.