Paul was a normal Christian: one who lived Christ, magnified Christ, ministered Christ, and infused Christ into others.
Whether he was travelling and preaching the gospel/strengthening the saints/the churches, or whether he was in prison: he simply magnified the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:20)!
In all he did/said the others saw Christ living in him so that he could even tell the Thessalonians to remember his “entrance” – his way of living (1 Thes 2:1).
Paul was a person full of Christ – when he spoke, he spoke Christ; when he lived, he lived Christ; when he worked, he worked with Christ and for Christ – he ministered Christ to the saints / the new ones for the producing and building up of the church!
Being such a person, when he was in prison he knew that this will turn out to his salvation because of the petition of the saints and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:19).
Paul lived in the Body, for the Body, and he was a channel of supply, much supply, to the other members of the Body.
Because he was such a channel of supply, it really mattered to the saints/the church whether Paul lived or died.
His desire was to depart and be with the Lord; but for the sake of the saints, for their progress and joy of the faith, he knew that he will continue to live in the flesh (Phil 1:23-25). What a living and what a person!
We should also be such persons – it should matter to the saints / to the church whether we live or die. We need to be channels of rich supply to the saints.
This depends on our experience of Christ, on our living and magnifying Christ.
Whether our person/living matters to the saints/the church depends on the degree to which we live Christ, minister Christ, and infuse others with Christ.
We need to experience and enjoy Christ, be constituted with Him, and minister Him from the depths of our being into the saints.
Wherever we are, whomever we are with, whatever the conditions and the environment is, Christ needs to be magnified and expressed in us!
Lord, keep us enjoying You and experiencing You, and make us such channels of supply to the saints and the ones around us!
