Magnifying Christ In Life And Death (1:19-26)
INTRODUCTION
. As we continue to look into the heart of the apostle Paul, we find a
1 man who despite difficult circumstances still maintained a strong
text for this study, we find Paul expressing that strong h
expectation, hope, and confidence concerning the future.
2. In ou
rope
a
n
Many lessons can be gleaned from this passage, but we will "zero in"
3
. on Paul's expectation and hope that "Christ will be magnified in my
re to "magnify Christ" with his life?
body, whether by life or by death." (1:20)
a. Why would Paul des
ihy would he want to "magnify Christ" by his death?
c. How would he do it?
consider the idea of Paul...]
I
[These are some of the questions we'll look at in this lesson. To begin,
let'
sMAGNIFYING CHRIST BY HIS LIFE
A. WHY WOULD PAUL WANT TO MAGNIFY CHRIST BY HIS LIFE?
2. Because of the strength Christ gave him for daily living - Ph
4:13
se of what Christ would one day do for him - Php 3:20-21
3. Beca
u
B. HOW DID PAUL MAGNIFY CHRIST BY HIS LIFE?
1. By his attitude toward Christ
b. He made Jesus the preeminen
a. Which was "to live is Chris
2. By devoting his life to serving Christ - cf. Ga 2:20
a. As long as he lived, he would offer fruitful service to Jesus
b. As long as he lived, he would so live as to promote the
1) For he knew that what one did for his brethren, he did for
Christ!
2) Cf.
C. WHAT OF OURSELVES?
1. Do we desire to magnify Christ with our lives?
2. Are we living in a manner that magnifies Christ?
a. I.e., letting Christ live in us, and we living for Him
b. I.e., so living as to promote progress and joy in the cause
of Christ among His brethren who are also our own
2) E.g., do we discourage the brethren by our apa
1) Do we encourage or discourage the brethren?
thy, our
negligence of the assemblies? - cf. Pr 18:9
3. Does not Christ provide sufficient motive to do so?
a. He loved us, and gave HIS life for us!
ill greatly bless us if we do!
[
b. He promises to help us!
c. He
wery Christian has reason to magnify Christ in his or her life! May we
t Paul was also concerned about...]
I
all seek to make better use of our lives in this area.
But remember th
aMAGNIFYING CHRIST BY HIS DEATH
A. WHY WOULD PAUL WANT TO MAGNIFY CHRIST IN HIS DEATH?
1. Certainly for some of the reasons already noted
a. Because of Christ, "to die i
2. But also because of what death would mean to Pau
ls gain" (21)
b. To die means to "be with Christ, which is far better" (23)
with the Lord! - cf.
1) Paul understood that when a Christian dies, they go to be
2) So Jesus Himself promised to the churches of Asia - cf.
3) This appears to the point of the vision seen by John and
3. In view of this wonderful hope, Paul would gladly magnify
Christ, even by his death!
1. By his willingness to die i
B. HOW WAS PAUL WILLING TO MAGNIF
Yn service to Christ and his brethren
-
a. He was determined to serve them, even if it killed him!
b. But then, what better way to die, in the service of the Lord?
2. Of course, this is how Paul eventually did magnify Christ by
his death - cf.
a. He faithfully served His Lord and his brethren
b. And he died because of his service to them (tradition says
that he was beheaded by Nero)
C. WHAT ABOUT US?
a. The assurance of eternal life
1. We have the same motives to magnify Christ by our deat
hance of being with our Lord
2. Will we magnify Christ by our deaths?
. What better way to die, in a manner which magnifies the One
a. Unless the Lord returns first, we will all die anyway
b who makes even death a blessing!
3. How can we magnify Christ today by our deaths?
termine to "wear out" in our service
a. It is unlikely we will suffer "martyrdom" for our faith
b. But we can still d
er than "rust out"!
1) Too many Christians "retire" in their service to God when
they retire from their secular jobs
fear of death to be overly cautious
2) They allow the infirmities of age or sickness to render
them virtually fruitless
3) Or they allow the
a) E.g., fear of an accident keeps many aged Christians
from coming to services
b) But wouldn't be better to die in service to the Lord,
than to just "rust" away, sitting at home?
c. More Christians need to have the attitude of Paul and other
Christians I have known - cf.
1) Who would rather be "poured out" in their service to
Christ, rather than become a "stagnant pool"
2) They are those described in
3) And they are also like those described in Ps 92:12-15
4. Indeed, the way we face impending death, whether young or old,
can be a means of magnifying Christ!
CONCLUSION
. If we are going to be able to say with Paul, "To live is Christ, to
1 die is gain", we have to magnify Christ both in life and in death!
encourage one another in both word and deed to so live, an
2. Jesus has certainly given us every motive for doing so!
3. So let's
d
to so die, that we magnify Jesus Christ!
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