Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to Philippians · About this commentary
Magnified in My Body
Philippians 1:19-20
19 For I know that this will turn out to my salvation through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, · WEB
Paul expects deliverance, and then defines it in a way that includes his own execution.
I know that this will turn out to my salvation, through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
The word rendered salvation can mean rescue from the trial, and the two means named — their prayers and the Spirit's supply — would fit that reading. But verse 20 shows he means something wider.
His earnest expectation and hope is that he will in no way be ashamed, but that with all boldness Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
That clause redefines the whole outcome. Deliverance is not being released; it is not being ashamed — not failing at the one thing he is there to do. Either verdict serves it, and the alternatives are named without preference.
The word magnified means made large, made visible at scale. And the location is in my body, which is exactly what a Roman court had power over. Paul concedes the court's authority over the venue while denying it any say in the content.
A man who has defined success this way cannot be threatened with either result, which is what makes the next verses possible.
settled What this mark means