“After asserting his eager expectation that Christ will be glorified in his body, whether by life or by death (Philippians 1:20), Paul now affirms what living and dying mean to him.
The personal pronoun at the beginning of the sentence (For me) emphasizes the intensely personal nature of his affirmations. His bedrock convictions are set forth in the form of forceful, epigrammatic exclamations.
English translations do not capture the rhetorical power of his words. But the reader can hear the drumbeat repetition of the same sounds in a transliteration.
to zēn—Christos
to live—Christ
to apothanein—kerdos
to die—gain
Paul’s own heartbeats are heard in the rhythm of these words.
To live—Christ! The absence of a verb may be filled in many ways: to live is Christ; to live means Christ; to live depends on Christ; to live honors Christ.
The foundation, center, purpose, direction, power, and meaning of Paul’s life is Christ.”
–G. Walter Hansen, The Letter to the Philippians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), 81.
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