Hi Erik,
In reading Philippians 1:21-23, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 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 on your account.”
What does “which I shall choose I cannot tell” mean for Paul? Does he have a choice? Doesn’t he have to live because God put him on earth to do a job and he has no choice to leave even if he wants to? Choosing to leave can’t mean suicide like people do today, so what does it mean to Paul? Just wondering….
I think Paul is saying he could just give up and stop trying. At this point in his life, he had already been under a death sentence a couple of times, the most recent in Jerusalem (Ac 28:18—19). He had been dragged through litigation, imprisonment and now was over a thousand of miles from home, waiting for the decision of an egomaniacal man-child (Nero was in his mid-twenties and had already murdered his mother).
Paul was probably in his forties or early fifties, but physically he must have been a mess. He was preaching from his house in Rome, ministering against all odds. So, I think he says, “I could choose to just lay down and die; but that’s not why I am here.”
Hi Erik,
In reading Philippians 1:21-23, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 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 on your account.”
What does “which I shall choose I cannot tell” mean for Paul? Does he have a choice? Doesn’t he have to live because God put him on earth to do a job and he has no choice to leave even if he wants to? Choosing to leave can’t mean suicide like people do today, so what does it mean to Paul? Just wondering….
Thanks for your question, Linda!
I think Paul is saying he could just give up and stop trying. At this point in his life, he had already been under a death sentence a couple of times, the most recent in Jerusalem (Ac 28:18—19). He had been dragged through litigation, imprisonment and now was over a thousand of miles from home, waiting for the decision of an egomaniacal man-child (Nero was in his mid-twenties and had already murdered his mother).
Paul was probably in his forties or early fifties, but physically he must have been a mess. He was preaching from his house in Rome, ministering against all odds. So, I think he says, “I could choose to just lay down and die; but that’s not why I am here.”