Pastor of Peace PRC in Dyer, Indiana

According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain—Philippians 1:20-21.

Everyone has desires. Those desires relate to such things as church, marriage and family, careers, schooling, vacations, money, and even eating and drinking. But of our many desires, which one is chief? Which desire rules all the others?

The inspired apostle exemplifies what our chief desire ought to be both in life and in death: that Christ be magnified!

It may seem strange that Paul talks about his personal desire in this letter to the Philippians. But we need to understand what he wrote was inspired by the Holy Spirit for our instruction.

Although the apostle was in prison for his faith at the time of his writing, he didn’t complain or become angry about his circumstances. Instead, he rejoiced because he knew that Christ would be magnified.

Just as Paul desired, we should all desire that Christ would be magnified. He implies this desire when he says, “Christ shall be magnified” (Phil. 1:20). These words tell us what is certainly true; but they also express his own “earnest expectation and…hope” (v. 20). The apostle wanted it to be so.

“Magnified” literally means “to make greater, or cause to be greater.” When we look at something through a telescope, it becomes greater. Not that it literally grows, but we see a bigger and clearer image of it. It is one thing to see the sun with the naked eye and to appreciate its power. But if we use the right kind of telescope, we can see intense bursts of energy coming off the surface, massive eruptions of solar material, magnetic fields, and a host of other features. Magnifying the sun through a telescope allows us to see how amazing and powerful it is.

The apostle’s great desire was for Christ to be magnified. He wanted us and all the saints to see Christ more clearly. He wanted us to see how humble and obedient He was to take upon Himself a lowly human nature. He wanted us to see how exalted Christ is as He rules over all of history and our own personal circumstances. He wanted us to see how glorious Christ is in Himself and how gracious He is toward us. His desire was that Christ be magnified.

How is Christ magnified? The apostle says, “Christ shall be magnified in my body” (v. 20). Christ would be magnified in the whole of his life as that life came to expression in his body: “whether it be by life or by death” (v. 20). As Paul continued to live and respond to life’s circumstances, or whether he came face to face with death, Christ would be magnified in his body. How he responded would serve as a lens that allowed others to see Christ more clearly.

We do not know how each of us will respond to the many circumstances of life; but the principle still holds: when we respond to life and death in a godly way, Christ is magnified in our bodies. He is magnified when people see Christ’s image reflected in us.

Christ is magnified when others see humility and patience in submitting ourselves to God’s will. He is magnified when we know how to be abased and how to abound. He is magnified when others see in us the strength to do all that God has called us to do. The reason Christ is magnified in these things is that we would never do these things in our own strength. The apostle confesses, and we confess with him, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:13). Not simply that Christ does it and we remain passive. But Christ strengthens us so that we do it.

Is it our great desire in life and in death that Christ be magnified in our bodies?

In truth, Christ will be magnified in us. Every child of God can have the same confidence that the apostle Paul had. He expresses his confidence in the inspired words, “Christ shall be magnified in my body.” It mattered not whether he was set free and continued to live to preach the gospel, or whether he died by execution at the hands of Caesar, he remained confident that Christ would be magnified.

By mentioning the two extremes of life and death, the apostle means to include all the circumstances of life. No matter what we face, in the measure that we manifest love, Christ will be magnified. In the measure that we do good works to the glory of God, Christ will be magnified. In the measure that we reflect Christ’s image, He will be magnified in our bodies. In our goals, the attitudes we display, the words we speak, the things we do, at home, at work, in the church, and even on our death bed, Christ will be magnified in us.

We can be confident of this because God always causes Christ to be magnified in us His people. God works to conform us to the image of Christ. The apostle expresses that truth in Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

It is true that we have only a small beginning. So many things we say, and do, and think do not magnify Christ. But when God begins a good work in us, He will continue to work in us. He will work in us so that we are in fact conformed to the image of Christ. He will cause our love for the saints to “abound yet more and more” (Phil. 1:9), so that we look not on our own things, but “on the things of others” (Phil. 2:4). He will cause us to speak the word without fear of our adversaries (cf. Phil. 1:10, 28). He will give us boldness to be faithful witnesses. He will work in us to behave in a way “that becometh the gospel of Christ” (Phil. 1:27). He will change us so that we truly begin to reflect the image of Christ.

Our confidence that Christ will be magnified does not arise from our own strength; our confidence is in Christ. The words “as always,” indicate that God has shown Himself faithful in the past; “so now also” indicates that God will continue to be faithful to His promises in the present. Paul has an earnest expectation and hope that Jesus Christ will supply the grace of the Holy Spirit along the way. So he says, “I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ” (v. 19). The Holy Spirit will see to it that Christ is magnified in us.

When our great desire is that Christ would be magnified, that will show itself in our confession.

Having the desire to magnify Christ is what makes us say, “to live is Christ” (v. 21). To live is all about Christ. But this confession is not an abstract truth concerning Christ; our confession concerns our personal relationship to Christ. So we say with the apostle, “for to me to live is Christ.” We confess that Jesus Christ is our personal Savior.

The world says, “To me to live is all about myself. To me to live is money and pleasure and fame. Take these things away from me and life is not worth living anymore.” But by God’s grace we say, “To me to live is all about Christ. I am chosen in Him from eternity. He redeemed me with His precious blood. He gave me spiritual life by His irresistible grace. He preserves that life in me. And now I want Him to be magnified in the whole of my life.” Take Christ away and we are of all men most miserable. But if we have Christ, we have everything.

When by God’s grace we are able to confess, “For to me to live is Christ,” we will also be able to confess “to die is gain.”

The world might say in its delusion, “My life is hopeless; I am better off dead.” Or, they might take the opposite view and say, “My life is all about the present; I cannot bear the thought of dying.”

But if God has begun a good work in us, then death will by no means set us back. Rather, death will carry that glorious work to its goal. Death does away with the old man of sin. Death takes away all the pain and sorrow we experienced in this valley of tears. Death brings us into the very presence of Jesus Christ to enjoy perfect fellowship with Him. Yes, to live is Christ; but to die is great gain!

When our great desire is that Christ be magnified, we can be sure that we will one day see His glorious greatness. He will come for us and take us to be with Himself.

Until that day comes, may Christ be magnified in our bodies.

You can access the Spanish version of this article, translated by Jorge Carbajal, by clicking the following link. Magnificando a Cristo