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The apostle satisfied if only Christ is magnified:
v. 18. What then? Notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therefore do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
v. 19. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation, through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
v. 20. according to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also, Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death.
v. 21. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Without discussing the right to preach or the absence of such a right on the part of these men that are preaching with false and sinful motives, Paul's charity even finds reason for rejoicing in the situation: What matters it? Only that in every way, whether by simulation or in truth, Christ is preached, and in this I rejoice. Paul here has only one matter in view, namely, the possible effect which this unauthorized preaching may have on the spread of the Gospel, on the work of the Kingdom. What is the situation? he asks. How shall we judge the entire matter? And he is ready to overlook everything else, if only, in the final analysis, the full honor be given to Christ. The false and selfish preachers may be working under false pretenses, they may not be really concerned about the Gospel, they may not be sincere. The others, by contrast, the men that love the apostle and are working for him and the Gospel in all sincerity, they have only the glory of Christ in view. But no matter at this time! Paul cries out. In either case the Gospel of Christ is the winner, even through the preaching of the hypocrites of whom he speaks. And therefore Paul rejoices: it is a cause of gratification, of satisfaction, to him. The same is true today, but only so long as the preachers that are serving on account of some insincere motive really preach the pure Gospel. A false preacher can never really do anything for the glory of Christ.
But Paul is thinking not only of the present, but also of the future: Moreover, I shall rejoice; for I know that this shall result for me unto salvation through your prayer and the ministration of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. No matter what the final result will be in his own case, Paul will rejoice, he will persist in driving away all gloomy thoughts. As his imprisonment so far has served the Gospel, so it will continue to have a good, a blessed progress and result. This result will be made possible through the prayers of the Philippians. Their earnest prayer will be mighty before God to overcome the evil of their enemies. He relies upon that prayer and its power; he knows that the earnest prayer of the believers has great might and power before God. And the ministration of the Spirit of God and of Christ will be the other factor which will be of assistance to him. The Spirit, who lives in the apostle, given him by Christ, gives him strength and willingness both to endure the present tribulation and to continue the work of the Gospel with unabated vigor. He knew that the Spirit Himself would come to the aid of his infirmity and that he could do all things through Christ, who strengthened him.
The apostle is sure, moreover, that his confidence is not misplaced: According to my constant expectation and hope that in nothing I be put to shame, but in all confidence, as always, also now, Christ be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death: For to me to live is Christ, and to die, gain. The apostle has his own work in mind. His expectation with regard to that is a solicitous, an earnest, a constant one. It is a case of intense watching and longing on his part. It is a definite hope which he is entertaining. He expects and hopes most firmly not to be put to shame in anything. Just as his shame before men had been changed to a correct estimation of his work, so he hoped that in his entire ministry there would be no real, no justified cause for any feeling of shame. In all confidence, in all openness, in all freedom of preaching, Christ was to be magnified, His name was to be praised and extolled, this being the one true and final reason for the preaching of the Gospel. This has always been the fervent hope and expectation, literally, the waiting with outstretched hand, which Paul entertained. In his body the apostle expects Christ to be magnified. By the work which Paul performed and which entailed a good deal of hard physical labor, and by the suffering which he underwent, Christ was to be extolled highly. And it made no difference to the apostle whether this happened by his life or by his death. If he lives, he can do and also suffer more for Christ, whom he has embraced in the faith and whom he loves by reason of that faith. And if he dies, it will be in the faith of Christ, for the sake of Him who loved him and who is worth far greater sacrifices. Exultantly his cry rings out: For to me to live is Christ, and to die, gain. Being in Christ, is a new creature; his life is bound up with Christ, most intimately connected with Him. Christ is to him the source and secret of life, for him life is summed up in Christ. He has put on Christ in Baptism, and he grows more and more in the knowledge and likeness of Christ day by day. And to die is gain, the best and truest gain: the fulfillment of all hopes and expectations comes in the so-called death of the Christian. He enters upon the heritage which is his in Christ Jesus. Would that all Christians learned to believe and to say these words in simple confidence, and lived their lives in accordance with their import!