God’s Word for You

Philippians 1:23 Better by far

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Friday, February 27, 2026

23 I am hemmed in by the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;

Paul presents a Christian view of death: it is a thing to be desired, not to give up on life, for life is a good gift from God, but it means to be with Christ, which “is better by far.” Therefore whatever comes, the Christian can be content.

As for his dilemma, however, Paul explains his feelings with the word synechomai, “to be stressed, hemmed in, suffering.” When Luke uses this word, it’s often a medical term: “How distressed I am!” (Luke 12:50). “Suffering from a high fever” (Luke 4:38; Acts 28:8). Paul’s way of speaking shows more of a physical context, like a battle, “pressed, hemmed in,” or like facing an irresistible force like a wave of the sea, a tumbling boulder, or the love of God: “Christ’s love compels us” (2 Corinthians 5:14). Here, Paul is pressed or hemmed in by “the two,” that is, by the prospects of living for Christ or dying for Christ.

He says, “I desire to depart.” This word (ἀναλῦσαι ) means “return, come home.” Paul uses it in the sense of to depart in death, but the undercurrent of the word in Greek is that we are arriving at our true home when we die.

The definition of death is debated even today among medical experts. Is it the stopping of the heart, or of the breath, or of the brainwaves, or of all the electrical activity of the body and mind? The Bible gives another answer: “The man goes to his eternal home, and mourners go about the streets… the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Ecclesiastes 12:5,7).

Peter used the imagery of stepping out of a tent: “I live in the tent of this body (but) I know that I will soon put it aside” (2 Peter 1:13-14). His point is that this life is temporary, a mere tent, but our eternal home is a permanent home in the palace of our God.

Twice Paul uses the imagery of a drink offering being poured out. We will encounter this later in Philippians 2:17, but he also uses this description in 2 Timothy 4:6. When an offering was made at an altar, the animal was slaughtered, the flesh burned or roasted, depending on the type of offering. Bread, vegetables, eggs, salt, fruit, and other things were prepared and taken aside to where the fellowship meal would be shared between the priest and his family and the worshiper who brought the sacrifice and his family. Then, to show that the sacrifice was completed, a drink of wine was poured out on the altar. This libation was the drink offering, the conclusion of the matter. Paul sees the death of a man as his drink offering, the end of his lifetime of service to God on earth, with the happy banquet to follow. It is not merely that he feels his life slipping or pouring away, but his life’s work ended with the seal of worship and dedication to God. It is significant to me, for one, that Paul uses this imagery only twice: nearing the end of his first Roman imprisonment (here in Philippians), and at the end of his second Roman imprisonment (in 2 Timothy). He thought that his life might well end soon on both occasions, and the second time he was right.

The physical act of dying is often compared with rest or sleep. God told Moses, “You are going to sleep with your fathers” (Deuteronomy 31:16). The prophet told king David, “When your days are over you will rest with your fathers” (2 Samuel 7:12; 2 Kings 2:10). But these terms are speaking of the body and the flesh, but not the soul. The soul certainly departs. The believer’s soul is carried to heaven by angels (Luke 16:22). The soul of the unbeliever is sent directly to hell.

There is sometimes a question asked when I teach catechism class about this (what greater anvil is there for a theologian than constant questions from young people about the meaning of the Word of God? Teach the catechism for a decade or two if you wish to begin to think of yourself as a theologian). The question runs like this: “Why doesn’t God have this process of changing the dead body to the perfect risen body right away at the death of each person?”

First, Scripture does not give a direct answer, and that must be enough of an answer for us.

Second, for some believers—the very last ones on earth, still alive on judgment day—“We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51).

Third, if I may be bold: The resurrection is presented in the Bible for the Christian’s hope. It is what we look forward to. If there were no separation of soul and body, the meaning of the soul, the identity of the soul, and even the very concept of the soul would be vague to us; we might mistake “soul” for “life,” and nothing more. But the soul is a spirit, just as God is a spirit and the angels are spirits. Yet our soul in heaven is not an angel; it is a human soul. It will be reunited with the body, while the angels will remain spirits. Each is a blessed state, but they are different.

Like the body of man, the soul is also corrupted and marred by sin in the life. Like the body, the soul must be cleansed and healed by Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. The body of Jesus lay in the tomb, coming alive when its time there was finished just as ours will be. And the spirit of Jesus? It returned to the Father just as ours will until the time comes to be reunited with the body, just as Christ’s spirit did.

This life in the body is a great blessing! It is the time God has given to us to live and breathe and to seek him, to come to faith, and to hand our faith down to our children and grandchildren (2 Timothy 1:5). But to depart, to go home and be with Christ? When the Lord calls? Better by far.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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