Length: 9 Minutes
Paul was someone who suffered quite a lot for the gospel’s sake, but even he acknowledged that Jesus had fixed this, and the death and hurt he suffered was based on his own lack of knowledge (as is always the case – 2 Cor. 4:12, 2 Tim. 1:10, Rom. 8:6). But regarding the relief of his suffering and pain, he said these famous words:
Philippians 1:21 (NKJV) For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
We’ve probably heard that verse quoted many times before. Paul is saying that there was some advantage to him dying. But why would Paul say something like “to die is gain”? That reason can be found here…
2 Corinthians 5:4, 8 (NKJV) For we who are in this tent [this mortal body] groan, being burdened… We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
Paul speaks of the burden of his mortal body. He says that due to the burdens of that mortal body, he would be well pleased to be absent from his body and be present with the Lord in heaven.
This explains what Paul meant when he said “to die is gain.” Simply said, Paul’s body was hurting, and he knew that if he died, his spirit would leave his body and be with the Lord, and he would no longer feel the suffering of that earthly body. It’s that simple. And you know what? That’s true.
If a Christian’s spirit leaves their body, they no longer feel the pain and suffering that their body was experiencing before. Their spirit has changed locations. It has left. It is with the Lord now and is not inside a suffering body anymore. And when you leave your body like that, you can’t feel the hurt of a decaying body any longer. That’s actually true.
So, in the sense of “temporary pain relief” (and only in that sense) this has advantage for a believer. It has “gain” you could say. Of course, this does not apply to an unbeliever who would end up feeling even more pain when they left their body, but this is true for a believer.
Here is the big problem that I have never heard a single person mention (outside of Reform Church). If you leave your body to be with the Lord, you may not be feeling the decay of that body anymore, but here’s the thing: You didn’t fix anything. Your body is still in a decayed, corruptible state. Your body is still broken. Your body is still dead. You didn’t fix anything. You just left.
Let me put it to you this way: if your house is in shambles and you go on vacation, you didn’t fix your house, right? You just went away and left it. Now, for as long as you’re on that nice vacation, you won’t be experiencing a house that’s falling apart. That’s true. But your house is still, in fact, falling apart. You didn’t fix anything, you just left for a while.
Now, is there some advantage or “gain” to you in all of this? Of course, there is some gain because you’re not experiencing your broken-down house anymore. You’re on vacation! But did you fix anything? Did you rectify what was wrong? Did you build up that which was broken down? Did you please your landlord? (Hear what I’m saying). No, you just temporarily left, but the only real solution is to fix the house. Then you can happily stay in the house and enjoy the comforts of it.
This is exactly what it is like for a believer to die and go to be with the Lord. In fact, our body is even called a house in the Bible. Just because there is some gain or advantage for a believer to die and go to be with the Lord, because now, they’re not feeling their broken body, the point remains that God wants to fix their broken body, not just avoid it.
Paul — the same man who saw that there was some advantage to dying and leaving his body, because he would no longer feel the burden of it — said himself that his desire was not to die and leave his body. His desire was that his broken body would be swallowed up by life!
2 Corinthians 5:4 (NKJV) For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.
When Paul says that we do not desire to be “unclothed” that is a word for death. Our bodies are called clothing, in addition to being called our house. If you are “unclothed” that means you’ve taken your body off. Your body has died, and you have left it. Paul says, we do not want this. Let those words sink in for a while. Ponder them for a minute. You may have never heard that quoted to you before. Paul said that we do not want to die.
What did Paul say that we desire? We don’t desire to die (be unclothed), but “further clothed.” That means being clothed with newness to our body that this mortal body might be swallowed up by life. To sum this up, Paul is saying that we don’t want to die, but we desire for our body to be made new, so that all that hurt, pain, and suffering can simply get swallowed up by the life of God (listen to our, ‘Revealing’ teaching for more on this verse).
You see, there may be some “pain relief” advantage for a believer to leave their body, die, and go to be with the Lord. But that’s just leaving your broken house still broken, while your spirit goes on vacation. Paul says that we don’t desire that, and we have taken this entire series to prove that your landlord, “God,” doesn’t desire that either. We desire that God would give life to the suffering in our body, to fix it.
You see? When God gives life to your body and heals it, that’s actually fixing the house. When God gives life to your body, that’s the remodel. That’s cleaning up the windows, lifting the beams, and resurfacing the door. That’s giving your house the facelift it needs. If your house is broken down, it’s better to fix it, than to just leave it and go on vacation. If your body is broken, it’s better to heal it, than to be absent from the body. Yes, I know that’s a radical statement. It’s better for your body to be healed than for it to die. That’s the will of God. That’s what Paul meant when he said, “Not that we want to be unclothed.”
God hates death. And all those who love the Word of God hate death as well (Proverbs 8:35–36). It’s Adam’s curse. Under no circumstances is it a blessing. It has no place and no dominion with a child of God. God doesn’t just want your spirit to live, but your mind and body as well (Romans 8:11). That’s a real thing. Jesus paid a very heavy price to give life to the brokenness of our flesh and bones. Let’s not forget that.
Truth be told, no one (not even people in the world) want to die. They just want pain relief, whether that be emotional or physical. The Bible says that no one hates their own body.
Ephesians 5:29 (NKJV) For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
No one hates their own body and wants it to die. No one. They want it to be nourished. They want to cherish it. When people say they want to die, they actually only want relief, and they think that leaving their body is the only way they can get it. And unfortunately, death is the only relief that even most Christians are aware of, when seeing suffering in a person’s life. Not only so, but they even assume that it’s God solution, once a person has suffered enough. But that is the furthest possible thing from the truth.
Jesus suffered our suffering, He was wounded with our wounds, He was made sick with our sicknesses, and He died our death to prove to us that He didn’t want these things for us. He proved to us that He was willing to take it Himself, so that we wouldn’t have to experience this anymore. Death is not a solution to suffering. Jesus is.
Isaiah 53:4-5 (LSV) Surely He [Jesus] has borne our sicknesses, And our pains—He has carried them… And by His scourging we are healed.
Whatever you’re feeling, Jesus has already taken it for you. You don’t need to leave your body and avoid the pain. Jesus has fixed it. There is no trouble so tormenting that cannot be swallowed up by the life of God. Jesus paid for it all!
If someone is dying and says they want to go home to be with the Lord, God is not condemning them, God is not angry with them, but I assure you, God doesn’t want people to be unclothed of their bodies. Many people may die, but it wasn’t because that was God’s solution. God wants to further clothe your body with life, to take away the suffering that Jesus already bore for you!
For anyone that is suffering, death is not a solution. It never has been. It never will be. You don’t fix hurt and decay with more decay. You won’t be left with anything but decay. God fixes hurt and decay with the life of His Spirit, paid for by the flesh of His Son. That’s the solution. That’s the fix. Death is not a solution for suffering. Jesus is.
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