“For I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.”
Paul is on the horns of a dilemma. He has a desire to be with Christ in eternity which is the better of the two options. He also has a desire to continue to have an effective ministry in time. In this verse he gives the first side of the dilemma.
“For I am hard pressed between the two”
Paul is in a squeeze. He is pressured in his mind. His is pressure of two (v. 21) excellent options: to have full fellowship with the Lord Jesus and to have a productive ministry.He perceives death from two viewpoints: 1) a departing 2) being with Christ.
“having a desire to depart”
The word “depart” is used as a nautical term–a loosing of the anchor prior to setting sail. A term with the same root is used in II Timothy 4:6, “…the time of my departure is at hand” (his death was immanent). Death is an embarking upon a voyage; it is to leave the body. So death is more than leaving this life it is a separation from the body, “I have a desire to leave this body.”The soul and spirit do not remain in the body at death. They leave the body. When a Christian goes to a grave side service, he only takes the “remains” of his loved one. His loved one is not there; he has loosed the anchor of his soul and departed into the presence of the Lord Jesus.
“and be with Christ”
This is the second description of death. It is one thing to visit a friend, it is another to live with him permanently. It is one thing to fellowship with the Lord Jesus, it is another to fellowship with him perpetually! Heaven is to be with Christ.That was Paul’s “desire” (yearning, longing). He wanted to be “in conjunction with” Christ. cf. 3:10.
“which is far better.”
It is far better for a Christian to die than to live, although few of us believe it. In this verse Paul says that the “gain” of verse 21 “to die is gain” is “far better,” not just “better” but “far better.”To be absent from the body for the believer is “to be present with the Lord,” not present with the worms in the grave! It is better because the soul departs the body at death and goes into the presence of the Lord.
Principle:
Death for the Christian is no bleak, black, terminus of existence; it is a separation from the physical body and an entrance into fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Application:
Do you look upon death with dread or as a “departure” from planet earth into the presence of the Lord Jesus?
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