Not Merely Enjoying His Presence, but Living Christ

 Bible Verses 

Phil. 1:21  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 
(22)  But if I am to live in the flesh, if this to me is
fruit for my work, then I do not know what I will choose. 
(23)  But I am constrained between the two, having the desire
to depart and be with Christ, for this is far better.

 Words of Ministry

In verse 21 Paul says, "For to me to live is Christ, and to
die is gain." In a practical way, the gain in verse 21 is the
presence of Christ. When Paul said, "To die is gain," he
meant that to die is to enjoy Christ's presence in a better
way. In verse 23 Paul says that his desire is to depart and
to be with Christ. To be with Christ is a matter of degree,
not of place. While Paul was desiring to be with Christ in a
higher degree, he was already with Him continually. Through
his physical death, he would be with Christ to a fuller
extent than he enjoyed in this earthly life.

When Paul was in prison, he enjoyed Christ and experienced
Him in two ways. One way was to enjoy the presence of Christ,
and the other way was to live Christ. There is a vast
difference between enjoying the presence of Christ and living
Christ. For example, I may enjoy my wife's presence, but I
cannot live her. By this we see that we may enjoy a person's
presence without living that person. Paul not only enjoyed
the Lord's presence, but he also lived Him. He knew that when
he died he would have no further opportunity to live Christ,
but he would enter into a higher enjoyment of the presence of
Christ. Therefore, to die would be gain. What Paul valued was
not only the presence of Christ, but also the opportunity to
live Him.
Throughout the centuries, Christians have been encouraged to
practice the presence of the Lord. However, there has been
little encouragement, if any, to live Him. Many believers are
familiar with the famous book The Practice of the Presence of
God and have been encouraged by it to endeavor to live in
God's presence. However, the concept of practicing the

presence of God is mainly an Old Testament concept, not a New 

Testament one. Yes, according to the New Testament, we may
enjoy the Lord's presence on the one hand. But, on the other
hand, we should practice living Him. We have not only the
Lord's presence, but we also have His Person. Not only do we
need to be in His presence; we also need to be one person
with Him and live Him. To live Christ is a much deeper
experience than simply to be in His presence. Living Him goes
far beyond the enjoyment of His presence. First Corinthians
6:17 says, "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit."
We are one spirit with the Lord not only that we may enjoy
His presence, but even more that we live Him.