This is a key verse in this epistle.

"For" (gar) explains why Paul is content to magnify the Lord by either his death or his life.

Note "to me" (ego - dative = emoi) is in emphatic position (first word in this Greek sentence)

Robertson explains that Paul is giving us

"his own view of living".

Vincent says the idea is

"Whatever life may be to others, to me ____."

Paul is saying "I can't speak for you but I can speak for myself." This is very person and very individual. This is similar to our common expression today "As far as I am concerned" Paul was faced with the prospect of death at the hands of the Roman government. It in in those "dying times" that one often thinks about the things that are the most important. It was not difficult for Paul to explain what was of utmost importance to him. What makes your life worth living? your family? your work? your reputation? etc

"To continually (present tense) live Christ" is the correct literal rendering of the Greek for the original Greek has no verbs for "is" which makes the statements even more dramatic) Paul had no thought of life apart from Christ and so we see in a nutshell Paul’s chief end for living. It was not for money, fame or pleasure. The Person and purpose of Jesus Christ are the "warp and woof" of Paul’s life, the sum total of his reason for existence. All of Paul’s activities and interests, yea, his entire existence was within the sphere of Christ.

What To Expect When Christ is Your Life: Wayne Barber illustrates Paul's point with a hand puppet (a fish). Wayne explains

"If I took this fish and said 'Okay. Swim!' And the fish would just sit there because it doesn't have any life within it to swim. It is like a person without the Lord Jesus Christ. You tell him to try to love his brother. He gets up on Monday morning and says 'I'm going to love my brother.' But he has no life within him to produce the kind of love that God has commanded...This is what the Law does. It condemns people...but offers no spiritual life. The man tries to love his "brother" and God puts a person in his life that he didn't know existed. He cries out "God I can't love my brother." And God says that's exactly right. When the Law came and said "Don't covet." Paul being a zealous Jew tried not to covet. What happened? Covet. Covet. Covet...all day long he coveted. The Law exposed that sin but there was no life within Paul to produce the character that the Law required. Thank God that Jesus fulfilled the Law and that when we are saved He comes into us and now there is His life within us. Paul is saying that there is Someone inside of me that is my life. I draw my life from Him. Apart from Him I can do nothing. He is the Vine. I am the branch. All the life that is within Him, the power of the Holy Spirit that now dwells in me, causes me to be able to do whatever the Law requires. His life in me is the "secret" of the Christian life. The Christian life is not a principle, not a plan, not a person, but a Person named Jesus. Christianity is not getting us into heaven but getting heaven into us! There are two words for "live", bios, having to do with that external busyness of life.  Turn to 2Ti2:4 "the affairs of everyday life" where "life" is bios is the busyness and daily activity we all do daily. Zoe is the other word for life and is the essence of life. It's what makes us "tick". Christ is what "makes me tick." He is the essence of my life."

Wayne illustrates with a story from the life of CT Studd who was at a fair one day and saw a man pumping a well as hard and fast as he had ever seen any man pump. Studd watched him for about an hour and the man never slowed down. Studd was mystified until he walked over to the man and noticed that his elbows were hinges and he was a wooden figure and "he wasn't pumping the well (it was an artesian well - see schematic below - note that the water table is higher than the well thus providing endless power! Now think of the Spirit of Christ, Your Life! Whose energy are you living the Christian life in?) but the well was pumping him.

That is what Paul is saying. Do you know what makes me tick, what makes me live, where I get all my resources from? It's the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is my life!...If Christ is our life then stop trying to help Him out and then asking Him to bless what you just did. Just simply walk in obedience to Him. Let God tell you what to do. Do what you're told. Then the results are all His...If we are trusting a Person, He will do it His way and we can believe the fact that the results are all His. Christ is my life....This is a constant learning process...learning to let Jesus be our Life. And then He gets the glory. We don't get it....When you see this truth you'll "have a spell". God wants our availability....but it's not a passive thing. He will burn us out but that's okay because it's all His energy and the results are all His. This does not mean passivity. It simply means availability, letting Him be Himself in and through us." (Excerpts from Sermon Series on Philippians by Dr. Wayne Barber -1988)
 

Spurgeon comments that

"Paul's words mean more than most men think; they imply that the aim and end of his life was Christ-nay, his life itself was Jesus. In the words of an ancient saint, he did eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this idea? Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Your business-are you doing it for Christ? Is it not done for self- aggrandizement and for family advantage? Do you ask, "Is that a mean reason?" For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ; how can he live for another object without committing a spiritual adultery? Many there are who carry out this principle in some measure; but who is there that dare say that he hath lived wholly for Christ as the apostle did? Yet, this alone is the true life of a Christian-its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end, all gathered up in one word-Christ Jesus. Lord, accept me; I here present myself, praying to live only in thee and to thee. Let me be as the bullock which stands between the plough and the altar, to work or to be sacrificed; and let my motto be, "Ready for either."

(Spurgeon also once said) Could I now have the greatest favor conferred on me that mortals could desire, I would ask that I might die. I never wish to have the choice given to me, but to die is the happiest thing man can have, because it is to lose anxiety, it is to slay care, it is to have the peculiar sleep of the beloved. To the Christian, death must be acceptable.

(Spurgeon also once said) It seems to me to be the highest stage of man to have no wish, no thought, no desire but Christ—to feel that to die were bliss if it were for Christ, that to live in penury and woe and scorn and contempt and misery were sweet for Christ, to feel that it did not matter what became of one's self, so that one's Master was but exalted, to feel that though, like a leaf, you are blown in the blast, you are quite free from anxiety, as long as you feel that the Master's hand is guiding you according to his will. Though like the diamond you must be cut, you care not how sharply you may be cut, so that you may be made fit to be brilliant in his crown.

(Spurgeon also once said) It is not death to die if the death of Christ be but the life of the soul.

Lightfoot adds that in essence Paul is saying

"I live only to serve Him, only to commune with Him; I have no conception of life apart from Him.” This is indeed a high plane on which to live but remember that Paul himself also called saints to imitate him (1Co4:16,11:1)

Word Biblical Commentary adds

"To say “living is Christ” is to say that for him “life means Christ” (Goodspeed, Knox, Moffatt, Phillips). Life is summed up in Christ. Life is filled up with, occupied with Christ, in the sense that everything Paul does—trusts, loves, hopes, obeys, preaches, follows (Vincent), and so on—is inspired by Christ and is done for Christ. Christ and Christ alone gives inspiration, direction, meaning and purpose to existence." (Word Biblical Commentary : Philippians. Dallas: Word, Incorporated.)

MacArthur sums up "to live Christ" as the phrase which

"reflects what Paul saw as the summum bonum of his life. Christ was Paul's raison d'etre--his reason for being. He wasn't merely saying that Christ was the source of his life, that Christ lived in him, or that Christ wanted Paul to submit to Him. Though all those statements are true in themselves, they are only parts of this great truth: life in its sum is Christ." Paul reminded the Colossians of this deep truth -- "Christ [Who is] our life" (where "Who is" has been added by the translators) (see verse by verse notes at Col3:4)

In William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet," the young prince wondered whether to relieve the sorrows of life by suicide, musing

"To be, or not to be: that is the question" but to Paul the answer to life's most profound question is, "To live Christ, and to die gain".

and to die is gain: kai to apothanein (AAN) kerdos: (Is57:1 57:2;  Ro8:35 36 37 38 39 ; 1Co22; 2Co5:1 5:6 5:8; 1Th4:13; 14; 15; Rev14:13) (Daily Bread #1, #2,#3,#4, #5, #6) (3:7):

"To die" (apothnesko) is gain because in the absence of life’s limitations union with Christ will be completely realized and that when "the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." (2Co5:1)
 

"Gain" (2771) (kerdos) is any gain or profit interest on money. It describes what is in the profit column.

Paul knew that death is not a defeat to the Christian.  It is merely a graduation to glory, a "net gain" for the him. When a Christian dies, he has just begun to live, for he passes into a glorious union with Christ unhindered by the world, the flesh & the devil. 

Robertson adds that

"To die...is to cash in both principal & interest & so to have more of Christ than when living. So Paul faces death with independence & calm courage." For a Christian death is exchanging the burden of earthly life for the eternal joy of heaven.

McGee writes that

"gain is always more of the same thing. If to live is Christ, then to die would be more of Christ."

The idea of gain is a precious thought concerning death. At death Christians collect the "dividends" from the investment of their earthly, temporal life for Christ and God pays the richest dividends...eternally! We will gain both in what we lose (sinful body, temptation, sorrow, sufferings, enemies, etc.) and in what we gain (glorified body, personal presence with Christ, joy, reunion with departed saints, etc.). To make the most of today, keep heaven and eternity constantly in mind because we cannot really live until we're really ready and willing to die. Remember also that heavenly-minded people like Paul are the one's who do the most earthly good.

C H Spurgeon commenting on Philippians 1:21 wrote...

Could I now have the great­est favor conferred on me that mortals could desire, I would ask that I might die. I never wish to have the choice given to me, but to die is the happiest thing man can have, because it is to lose anxiety, it is to slay care, it is to have the peculiar sleep of the beloved. To the Christian, death must be acceptable.

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It seems to me to be the highest stage of man to have no wish, no thought, no desire but Christ—to feel that to die were bliss if it were for Christ, that to live in penury and woe and scorn and contempt and misery were sweet for Christ, to feel that it did not matter what became of one's self, so that one's Master was but exalted, to feel that though, like a leaf, you are blown in the blast, you are quite free from anxiety, as long as you feel that the Master's hand is guiding you according to his will. Though like the diamond you must be cut, you care not how sharply you may be cut, so that you may be made fit to be brilliant in his crown.

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It is not death to die if the death of Christ be but the life of the soul.

Jowett said

“To the Apostle Paul, death was not a darksome passageway, where all our treasures rot away in a swift corruption; it was a place of gracious transition, ‘a covered way that leadeth into light."

To make the most of today, keep eternity in mind.

Fill up each hour with what will last,
Buy up the moments as they go;
The life above, when this is past,
Is the ripe fruit of life below. --Bonar

Larry Richards writes

"Paul stated the one attitude which enables us to discover good in ills that would otherwise mar our lives. If we look at circumstances merely from a human point of view, and think first of our own comfort or our situation in this life, we might have good reason for despair. But Paul didn’t look at life this way at all. He was concerned only with serving Jesus and glorifying Him. If this is our primary motivation, our circumstances here will be relatively unimportant. We can live for Jesus in a hovel or a palace. We can share our pennies or our millions. We can give thanks for our rags or for our riches. Make pleasing Jesus your sole desire, and you declare independence from all the circumstances that can ruin the lives of others who struggle on without Him." (The 365 day devotional commentary. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.)

Florist Mix-up (Our Daily Bread)

A bank in Binghamton, New York, had some flowers sent to a competitor who had recently moved into a new building. There was a mix up at the flower shop, and the card sent with the arrangement read,

“With our deepest sympathy.”

The florist, who was greatly embarrassed, apologized. But he was even more embarrassed when he realized that the card intended for the bank was attached to a floral arrangement sent to a funeral home in honor of a deceased person. That card read,

“Congratulations on you new location!”

There will be no mix up when we come to our new location into His glorious presence because we have a "hope laid up for (us) in heaven" (Col1:5) and it is "an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away" because it is "reserved in heaven" (1Pe1:4) Little wonder that Paul would rejoice that to die was gain!

Wiersbe has some excellent practical thoughts on this great verse:

"Php1:21 becomes a valuable test of our lives. “For to me to live is____ and to die is____.” Fill in the blanks yourself. “For to me to live is money and to die is to leave it all behind.” “For to me to live is fame and to die is to be forgotten.” “For to me to live is power and to die is to lose it all.” No, we must echo Paul’s convictions if we are going to have joy in spite of circumstances, and if we are going to share in the furtherance of the gospel. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain! ”No matter how you look at it, nothing can steal a man’s joy if he possesses the single mind! “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Php1:21). Maltbie Babcock, who wrote “This Is My Father’s World,” has said, “Life is what we are alive to.” When my wife and I go shopping, I dread going to the yard goods department, but I often have to go because my wife enjoys looking at fabrics. If on the way to the yard goods section I spot the book department, I suddenly come alive! The thing that excites us and “turns us on” is the thing that really is “life” to us. In Paul’s case, Christ was his life. Christ excited him and made his life worth living."

John MacArthur adds these practical & convicting thoughts:

"Personalize Paul's message for a moment. Read verse 21 as, "For me, to live is __________, and to die is __________." Then fill in the blanks. If you put "wealth" in the first blank, dying brings not gain but loss. The same is true if you selected prestige, fame, power, or possessions because none of those things remain after death: prestige is lost, fame is forgotten, power is useless, and possessions are given to others. For verse 21 to make sense as Paul wrote it, only Christ can fill the first blank. Otherwise death is inevitably a loss. Many who read this will say, "I put Christ in my blank." But if they think about it carefully, they will realize that what they really meant was Christ plus wealth, Christ plus power, or Christ plus possessions. For verse 21 to read as Paul wrote it, Christ can't share the first blank with anything else. Those who truly live for Christ have no fear of death and make the best use of life: in both they glorify Christ. That was Paul's attitude and is to be ours as well."

Some people hold so tightly to this present life & are in such fear of losing or letting go that they in effect become slaves to their mortality (cf Heb2:14-15). Paul gives us a powerful example of one who did not fear death, seeing it as merely the door to eternal life and thus freeing him to live with purpose, meaning, and commitment to the cause of Christ. Because Paul was ready to die, he was able to really live. He belonged to Christ and was confident of his eternal destination, so he could dedicate his life on earth to living for Christ. Where is your hope—is it in this life or in the next? Until you are ready to die, you won’t be ready to live.

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DEVOTIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS
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M DeHaan II writes in The Daily Bread: "Isaac Asimov tells the story of a rough ocean crossing during which a Mr. Jones became terribly seasick. At an especially rough time, a kind steward patted Jones on the shoulder and said, "I know, sir, that it seems awful. But remember, no one ever died of seasickness." Mr. Jones lifted his green countenance to the steward's concerned face and replied, "Oh, don't say that! It's only the wonderful hope of dying that keeps me alive." There's more in Jones' words than a touch of irony. As a Christian, I hear echoes of Paul's words to the Philippians. He said that the wonderful hope of dying kept him going (Php1:21-23). Yet he wasn't merely looking for relief from his suffering. Paul's hope was rooted in Christ, who died on the cross for sinners, rose from the grave, ascended to heaven, and would one day take Paul into His presence. How did this hope of seeing Christ, either at death or at the Lord's return, keep Paul going? It gave meaning to every moment. It gave him reason to live for Christ. It also gave him incentive to focus on others who needed his encouragement. He said, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (v21). Father, thank You for the risen Christ. He is our reason for living.
 

A wonderful joy is now flooding my heart,
            Giving assurance that will not depart.
            My Savior is living and reigning above;
            Life has rich meaning because of His love.
                                                        —Bosch

  Those who are prepared to die are most prepared to live

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 A Winner Either Way (Our Daily Bread)

Lois had just undergone cancer surgery and was alone with her thoughts. She had faced death before, or so she thought, but it had always been the death of people she had loved -- not her own.

Suddenly she realized that losing someone she loved was more threatening to her than the possibility of losing her own life. She wondered why. She remembered what she had asked herself before her operation, "Am I ready to die?" Her immediate answer had been, and still was, "Yes, I am. Christ is my Lord and Savior."

With her readiness for death secure, she now needed to concentrate on living. Would it be in fear or in faith? Then God seemed to say, "I have saved you from eternal death. I want to save you from living in fear." Isaiah 43:1 came to mind: "I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine."

Now Lois testifies, "Yes, I am His! That's the reality that is more important than doctors telling me I have cancer." And then she adds, "I win either way!"

Lois' insight is a convinced echo of Paul's words in today's text, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Let's pray that those words may resonate in our hearts. That confidence makes us winners either way. -- JEY

Safe in the Lord, without a doubt,
By virtue of the blood;
For nothing can destroy the life
That's hid with Christ in God.-- Anon.

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C H Spurgeon (Morning and Evening) writes the following devotional on "For me to live is Christ." Philippians 1:21

The believer did not always live to Christ. He began to do so when God the Holy Spirit convinced him of sin, and when by grace he was brought to see the dying Saviour making a propitiation for his guilt. From the moment of the new and celestial birth the man begins to live to Christ. Jesus is to believers the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so completely won our love, that it beats alone for him; to his glory we would live, and in defence of his gospel we would die; he is the pattern of our life, and the model after which we would sculpture our character. Paul's words mean more than most men think; they imply that the aim and end of his life was Christ-nay, his life itself was Jesus. In the words of an ancient saint, he did eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this idea? Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Your business-are you doing it for Christ? Is it not done for self- aggrandizement and for family advantage? Do you ask, "Is that a mean reason?" For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ; how can he live for another object without committing a spiritual adultery? Many there are who carry out this principle in some measure; but who is there that dare say that he hath lived wholly for Christ as the apostle did? Yet, this alone is the true life of a Christian-its source, its sustenance, its fashion, its end, all gathered up in one word-Christ Jesus. Lord, accept me; I here present myself, praying to live only in thee and to thee. Let me be as the bullock which stands between the plough and the altar, to work or to be sacrificed; and let my motto be, "Ready for either."

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Isaac Asimov tells the story of a rough ocean crossing during which a Mr. Jones became terribly seasick. At an especially rough time, a kind steward patted Jones on the shoulder and said, "I know, sir, that it seems awful. But remember, no one ever died of seasickness." Mr. Jones lifted his green countenance to the steward's concerned face and replied, "Oh, don't say that! It's only the wonderful hope of dying that keeps me alive."

There's more in Jones' words than a touch of irony. As a Christian, I hear echoes of Paul's words to the Philippians. He said that the wonderful hope of dying kept him going (Philippians 1:21-23). Yet he wasn't merely looking for relief from his suffering. Paul's hope was rooted in Christ, who died on the cross for sinners, rose from the grave, ascended to heaven, and would one day take Paul into His presence. How did this hope of seeing Christ, either at death or at the Lord's return, keep Paul going? It gave meaning to every moment. It gave him reason to live for Christ. It also gave him incentive to focus on others who needed his encouragement. He said, "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (v.21).  Father, thank You for the risen Christ. He is our reason for living. —MRD II (Our Daily Bread)

A wonderful joy is now flooding my heart,
Giving assurance that will not depart.
My Savior is living and reigning above;
Life has rich meaning because of His love. —Bosch

Those who are prepared to die are most prepared to live.

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Delayed Departure (Our Daily Bread): Astronaut Shannon Lucid had been on the Russian space station Mir for more than 4 months when hurricanes and equipment trouble forced NASA to delay her scheduled ride home. She had to wait another 7 weeks before the space shuttle Atlantis could be launched to bring her back to earth. Christians are waiting for a ride home in the other direction, from earth to heaven, to be with Jesus. When death seems needlessly delayed for ourselves or someone we love who is terminally ill, we wonder why God leaves His children in a lingering illness on earth instead of quickly taking them to heaven.

The apostle Paul struggled to understand his own situation: "I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you" (Phil. 1:23-24).

Even when we can't see God's purpose, we can choose to trust His wisdom. With infinite understanding and unfailing love, He cares for His suffering children, as well as for their friends and family. To us, the departure may seem delayed. To God, each of His children is brought home right on time. --DCM

Someday He'll make it plain to me,
Someday when I His face shall see;
Someday from tears I shall be free,
For someday I shall understand. --Leech
©Renewal 1939 The Rodeheaver Company

God's timing is perfect--even in death.

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To Die Is Gain (Our Daily Bread): Recently, I was feeling gratitude to God for His goodness to me during the past 80 years. But as I reflected on my life, I felt grief as I recalled the day when I learned that my brother Cornelius had been killed in action during World War II. He was only 20. Unlike me, he never realized the aspirations and hopes that are part of youth. Neither did the many young people who died during the years I was a pastor. Every one of these experiences was emotionally and spiritually draining. Such grief and loss!

C. S. Lewis reminds us that death and grief are not the whole picture, however. At the close of his book The Last Battle, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy meet the great lion Aslan (a symbol of Christ in heaven), who tells them that they died in an accident. Lewis wrote, "And as He spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories. . . . But for them it is only the beginning of the real story."

For the Christian, the real story is heaven—endless life and joy with Jesus! "To live is Christ," which means joyful service, as well as suffering and grief. But "to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). Then, the real story begins! —HVL

O That Will Be Glory
When all my labors and trials are o'er,
And I am safe on that beautiful shore;
Just to be near the dear Lord I adore
Will through the ages be glory for me.
— Gabriel (play hymn)

When a Christian dies,
he has just begun to live.

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A Ruling Passion (Our Daily Bread): Vladimir Lenin was the fanatical architect of the former USSR. A colleague once said of him, "Lenin thinks about nothing but revolution. He talks about nothing but revolution. He eats and drinks revolution. And if he dreams at night, he must dream about revolution."

No matter how much we deplore Lenin's fanaticism and all the evil that came from it, we must recognize that his single-minded passion not only helped him accomplish his goals but affected the entire course of history.

What is our ruling passion? Is there some cause, some sport, some hobby, some project that fills us with enthusiasm, focuses our energies, and commands the untiring investment of our time and thought and money? In light of what God says has eternal significance, what value does our passion really possess?

The apostle Paul expressed a worthy goal when he wrote, "None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).

To know Jesus Christ, to trust Him, to love Him, and to serve Him--that is a passion with eternal value. --VCG

Living for Jesus who died in my place,
Bearing on Calv'ry my sin and disgrace;
Such love constrains me to answer His call,
Follow His leading, and give Him my all. --Chisholm

Without a heart aflame for God,
we cannot shine for Jesus.

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Now And Later (Our Daily Bread): More than 35 years ago, my family moved into a new house--a place we called home until recently when my mother sold it. Pleasant memories of the home where we grew up made it hard to part with. But one thing Mother told me makes it easier. She said that when the family first moved into the brick house Dad was so fond of, he told her, "This is my last move. My next move is up." As usual, Dad was right. When he died in the bedroom of that same house, he immediately moved to a far greater place Jesus had been preparing for him in heaven (Jn. 14:2).

As kids, we never imagined the day when Dad would be gone and the house would be sold. But the brevity of life becomes more apparent as each year passes. And the importance of what we build or accumulate here takes on less and less significance. Our perspective should be like my dad's. He had his ultimate destination in mind. Although we can enjoy the blessings God has given us, we need to keep an eye on the final goal--spending eternity with our Savior.

If we keep our eternal goal in mind, we can say with the apostle Paul, "To live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21). It's a creed we can live with both now and later. --JDB

Fill up each hour with what will last,
Buy up the moments as they go;
The life above, when this is past,
Is the ripe fruit of life below. --Bonar

To make the most of today, keep eternity in mind.

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Joy In Living And Victory In Dying: (