In verse 26 Paul says, “That your boasting may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence again with you.” This verse is not easy to understand. What does boasting refer to? The Greek word has a threefold meaning: “boasting,” “rejoicing,” and “glorying.” When we boast, we are glorying, and when we are glorying, we are rejoicing. Here Paul says that the saints’ “boasting may abound in Christ Jesus in me.” It may be better to place “in me” before “in Christ Jesus,” since this arrangement corresponds more closely to Paul’s thought. Here Paul is saying that the believers may boast, rejoice, glory in Paul in Christ. Their boasting in Paul must be in Christ. It is rather easy to boast in Christ, but it is not so easy to boast in someone in Christ. However, what does this mean? The King James Version says, “rejoicing...in Jesus Christ for me.” This rendering may be logical, but it is not accurate according to the Greek. The Greek does not say “for me”; it clearly says “in me.” Paul was not saying that the Philippians boasted in Christ for him or because of him. He was saying that they boasted in Christ in him.
In this difficult verse lies a deep secret concerning the experience of Christ. If we would experience Christ, we, the believers, must be able to boast, rejoice, and glory not only in Christ Himself, but also in someone in Christ. It was necessary for the saints in Philippi to boast in the apostle Paul in Christ. This boasting is related to the crucial fact that what we receive of Christ is not received directly in Christ, but is received from the Head through other members of the Body. Hence, we receive spiritual blessing from the Head through another member. No doubt, Paul was a very important member of the Body. If he had been lost to the Body, the Body would have been deprived of a very important means of spiritual blessing.
Our physical body illustrates how members can be a means of supply to the Body. The arm, for example, is such a means of supply for the fingers. Apart from the arm as a means, the fingers cannot receive any supply from the head. As an important member of the Body of Christ, Paul was such a means of supply between us and the Head. If we did not have him, we would lack an important channel of supply.
None of us can boast, rejoice, and glory directly in the Head. Rather, we need to boast in Christ in and through a certain channel of supply. In verse 26 Paul says, “That your boasting may abound in Christ Jesus in me.” The words in me include the meaning of “through me,” but are not limited to this meaning. During the time of Paul’s imprisonment, Gentile believers, like those in Philippi, were boasting in Paul. Their boasting, rejoicing, glorying was not in the Judaistic preachers; it was in the apostle Paul. They could boast in Paul because he magnified Christ and lived Christ to the uttermost. Because Paul lived Christ and magnified Him in this way, he could transfuse Christ into the saints and minister Christ to all the churches. Therefore, the saints had reason to boast in such an apostle. If Paul had died prematurely, their boasting in him would have been cut short. But as long as Paul continued to live, they were able to boast in him in Christ. Hence, in verses 25 and 26 Paul said that he was confident that he would remain and continue with the saints for their progress and joy of the faith so that their boasting could abound in Christ Jesus in him through his presence with them again.
In these verses we see the very crucial point that in the Body life there is the urgent need of certain ones to function as channels of supply. We need members like Paul. When such members die, the transfusion of Christ is in a very real sense interrupted. But as long as such ones are with us, the transfusion continues unabated, and we can boast in them in Christ. The leading ones in all the local churches should be such channels, such means of supply.
It should matter to the church whether we live or die. Our living should matter greatly to the saints. But whether or not this is so depends on the degree to which we live Christ, minister Christ, and infuse others with Christ. I am sorry to say that, with respect to infusing Christ into the church, there are certain leading ones about whom it makes little difference whether they live or die. But with others their continuing with us or their being taken from us in death makes a great difference. I think of the example of a brother very dear to us, Eugene Gruhler, Sr. He surely was a means of supply to the Body. From the depths of my heart, I can say that his going to be with the Lord was a loss to us in the church life. It made a difference to us whether this brother remained or went to be with the Lord. The same should be true of every one of us. It should matter to the church whether we live or die. But this depends on our living Christ, magnifying Christ, ministering Christ, and transfusing Christ from the depths of our being into that of the saints. If we experience Christ and enjoy Him in this way, it will make a difference to the church whether we remain or go to be with the Lord.
We have seen that we cannot boast directly in Christ as the Head. Rather, there need to be some members to function as channels through which others may enjoy Christ and grow in life. There is an urgent need for such means of supply. Even if there are only one or two in a particular country, many others will receive the supply of Christ. Because Paul was this kind of member, he chose to remain and continue with the saints for their progress and their joy in the faith so that they could glory in him in Christ. If the saints are to experience Christ, there is the need for someone to serve as such a channel. In certain countries there is no way for people to experience Christ because there is not even one person in that country who truly lives Christ and magnifies Him. As a result, the believers there have no way to enjoy Christ. There is a great need for people like Paul. When Paul was alive, many could experience Christ and have the progress and joy in the faith.