Departing and Being with Christ
By W. H. Littlejohn
Or the Apostle Paul’s Desire to Be Translated
In Phil. 1:23, 24, the following words occur: “But I am in a strait betwixt the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ; for it is very far better: yet to abide in the flesh is more needful for your sake.” R.V. To the minds of the majority of those who believe in the natural immortality of the soul, the foregoing text furnishes a striking confirmation of that tenet. Indeed, they seem to regard it as a triumphant vindication of their favorite dogma. While admitting that the subject is not without its difficulties, let us see if, as claimed, the text actually teaches the consciousness of the soul in death. Those who insist that it does, reason on this wise: When the apostle Paul declares that he has a desire to depart and to be with Christ, he means that he is anxious to die, in order that through death, his soul, being released from the body, may ascend at once to heaven and enter into the immediate presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. The reader will observe that the correctness of the foregoing logic turns upon two points; first, the certainty that the word “depart” in the text signifies death in this connection; and, secondly, that the soul of the saint goes directly to heaven at death. Let us take these propositions up in their order. Does “Depart” Mean Death?
To begin with, the declaration that the word “depart” necessarily signifies death in this passage, finds no defense in Scripture usage. The original Greek word translated “depart” is analusai, the infinitive form of the verb analuo. The latter word is defined in Liddell and Scott’s Greek Lexicon as follows: “To unloose, undo again; also to set free, release. II. To undo in various senses. 1. To dissolve matter into its elements; dissolve snow, etc. Plut. 2. To do away, get rid of, especially of blame, faults, etc. . . . 3. To stop, put an end to, as frost stops hunting. . . . 4. To solve a difficulty, a problem, etc. Plut. Also to break a spell. . . . 5. To investigate a subject analytically, analyze. . . . III. Intr. to loose for departure, weigh anchor, like Latin solvere, and so in general, to depart, return.” The reader will observe that in Phil. 1:23, the word “depart” is used intransitively or in the exact manner in which the lexicon represents that it could be properly translated, “To loose for departure, weigh anchor, . . . to depart, return,” etc. He will not fail to observe also that in the foregoing definitions, that of dying is nowhere found. Not only is this the case, but it is also true that one of the most prominent significations of the word is that of “departing or going somewhere,” without any necessary reference to the dependence of such a departure upon physical death. This thought is brought out clearly in the illustration of the ship given by the lexicographer in these words: “To loose for departure, weigh anchor.” An instance in which the verb analuo is employed in the sense of returning, and is applied to the action of an individual where death is the very opposite of the thought conveyed, is found in Luke 12:35, 36, where these words occur: “Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.” Must Christ Die Again to Return?
The allusion in the foregoing is to the coming back of the Saviour from heaven to this earth at the time of the second advent. The word “return,” employed in the connection, is in the original analusei, or a form of the same verb translated “depart” in Phil. 1:23. Assuredly no one will insist that the Lord Jesus Christ, in returning a second time to this earth, will do so by passing through the experience which we call death. He is to come literally, personally, and visibly. Acts 1:10, 11; Matt. 25:31-46. As, therefore, the apostle Paul, in speaking of the manner in which he himself desired to be united with the Lord, applied to that experience on his part the same verb which Luke employs in describing the second advent, why may it not be true that the departing through which the great apostle expected to be joined to his Saviour, was similar to that by which the Saviour expected to be restored once more to His saints; namely, by going to heaven bodily, without ever passing through the portals of the tomb at all? In such a case, the verb analuo must be understood as referring to the union of Paul with Christ either through the return of Christ, or through the departure of Paul himself by means of translation from this world to the presence of Christ in heaven. That he could not have reference to the second advent becomes manifest after a moment’s reflection. Paul foregoes the privilege of being with Christ for the reason that it was more needful for the disciples that he should remain with them. Verse 24. There would be no force in this logic if he had in mind the return of Christ, since that would not only have been to his own personal advantage, but equally so to that of his fellow believers, doing away with the need of his ministration to their necessities. Look at the other side for a moment. There are two ways in which Paul might have been enabled to be joined to Christ. One was by immediate bodily translation. The other was by translation similar to that which the saints will experience at the return of their Lord; namely, a translation after the body has been changed from the mortal to the immortal condition. Do you say that it would have been impossible for the apostle to go to heaven bodily, or in precisely the same condition in which he was at the time that he wrote the epistle to the Philippians? The reply is, We should not be overwise in this matter. Read this verse, if you please, which was written by the great apostle to the Gentiles: “And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I can not tell: God knoweth;) how that he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” 2 Cor. 12:3, 4.
Paradise is in heaven. Rev. 2:7. It was not impossible, therefore, according to Paul’s own conception of the situation, for a man like himself to be caught up into9heaven bodily. There is, however, one thought which renders it quite certain that Paul had in his own mind the idea of a union with Christ through a translation which would involve the change from mortality to immortality. That thought is suggested in these words: “Yet to abide in the flesh is more needful for your sake.” Phil. 1:24. The abiding in the flesh here mentioned furnishes an evident reference to Paul’s continuance in his natural body for the benefit of his fellow Christians. Continuance in the natural body, therefore, would seem to be contrasted with the experience of the apostle when going to meet his Lord. Otherwise stated, Paul would appear to teach that the going to meet the Saviour in the manner which he was considering would involve a change from the natural to the spiritual body, and the translation of the latter to heaven through the power of God. Was Contemplating Translation
From what has already been said, the reader can not fail to discover the fact that, in the view of the author of this article, when the apostle speaks of departing and being with Christ, he was contemplating the possibility of being caught up into heaven bodily as Enoch and Elijah were, without passing through the tomb. If this view be correct, we ought to be able to read it into the text cited above without doing violence to the teachings of that text itself or any of those that stand in the connection in which that text is found. Can this be done? The writer is of the opinion that it can in a most satisfactory manner. To test the matter, he proposes to reproduce the language of the apostle as found in the connection, adding here and there a few words of his own in brackets for the sake of perspicuity: "For to me to live is [to live for] Christ, and to die is gain [for Christ]. But if to live in the flesh,—if this is the fruit of my work, then what I shall choose I wot not. But I am in a strait betwixt the two, having the desire to depart [be translated] and be with Christ; for it is very far better [for me than either living or dying]: yet to abide in the flesh is more needful for your sake [since were I to be translated, you would lose the benefit of my personal labor]." Phil. 1:21-24. No Need of Misunderstanding Him
But little needs to be added to the foregoing by way of explanation. The least among the saints of God will have no difficulty in comprehending the meaning of the apostle as thus set forth. Paul was balancing the advantages of living and dying. As the result of this mental operation, he becomes confused, finding it difficult, if not impossible, to decide which of the two he would choose. "I am," he says, "in a strait betwixt the two," or as some would translate it, "by the two." That is, he was perplexed whenever he attempted to choose between living and dying. There was, however, something which, so far as his personal desires were concerned, he would choose without hesitation. That thing was immediate translation into the presence of Christ, which, to his mind, was far better than either living in this world or passing out of it through the agency of death. The only thing which prevented him from longing for a consumma- tion so devoutly to be wished for from the personal standpoint, was his unselfish desire to live on in the body and labor and suffer still for the benefit of his fellow disciples.
Let it be observed that in presenting the view given above, no violence whatever has been done to the language of the text or of the context, since all will admit that the original verb analusai, translated "depart" in the connection, whatever else it may signify in the original, certainly can with perfect propriety be translated "depart" in the sense given to it in our exegesis; that is, that of going directly to Christ.
(Continued next week)