We invite you to reflect on the following excerpted transcript from Elder Barber’s final message to the dear sisters of Covenant Church.
As a young man of 81, afflicted with myriad physical ailments, Brother Jimmy encouraged Sister Mary and Sister Ruth, both well into their 90’s to “be reconciled somewhat, as Paul was, Though each one of us, as we grow older, we look forward to departing and being with Christ or for him to return. May God bless us. to have the same intensity and enthusiasm to abide in the flesh.”
He refers to that which he would experience just a few days later, not as “the monster death,” but as “the great adventure of death, which fascinates Paul, not by its uncertainty, but by the certainty of being with Jesus.”
Anglican minister, Jeremy Taylor, in his THE RULES AND EXERCISES OF HOLY DYING (1651) observes that Christians have no greater opportunity to glorify Christ Jesus in their bodies than through the exercise of dying as a Christian. Elder Barber not only preached the gospel clearly, but lived the gospel to his last day in life. His last great adventure? A brief moment of suffering and an instant transport from the “Land of the Dying” to life everlasting.
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Elder Jimmy Barber – Philipians 1:21-24
(click to listen to entire message)
Covenant Primitive Baptist Church
Oak Ridge, TN
November 30, 2025
“Oftentimes, particularly as we get older, and more infirmities creep in upon us, we think what a great blessing it would be just to go on and be with the Lord. And, as we shall see, That would be a great blessing. But you know, our times are in the hand of God. And Paul was content to either live in the flesh or die. He said, what to choose, I don’t know. I don’t know whether to choose to go on to be with the Lord or whether to stay. His overall premise was that he was willing to rest in the wisdom of God. And this is something that we all must come to in life. Life or death is in the hand of God. Life or death is in the hand of God.
And y’all remember it very vividly when Brother Copelin was on his last days and taking his last breath. And every time he would take another breath, he was also disappointed because it wasn’t the last one. He had lived out his life fully. He was ready to depart. But he too, on his dying bed, had to wait till the Lord said it was time to cross over. And so must we. And while it is, when he said here, Well, we’ll see here a little bit later that to depart and be with Christ is far better. Really, the idea there to depart and be with Christ is far, far better.
Now, we don’t know what it is for our spirit to be separated from the body and to be with Christ. But we anticipate it. We think about it. We wonder what it might be. We know that it is far better. We know that our bodies that are wearing out will not hinder us. The spirit and the flesh are two different things. And yet at the same time, the body hinders us in our spiritual fellowship with the Lord. I don’t know how all of that works together. Yet at the same time, we do know from the experience of others, and somewhat of our own experiences, that even in the midst of physical afflictions, we can have spiritual joy.
But usually, In our physical afflictions, our spiritual joys are somewhat dampened. But when we depart to be with Christ, the physical will not hinder us anymore. And of course, that’s not the end. The end is when we shall have our glorified body But Paul is not talking about that at this time.
In verse 23 he says, For I am in a straight betwixt two. He’s in a straight betwixt between life and death. This word straight has the idea to to hold together, to be compressed. In Luke chapter 8, I want us to look at this word. It’ll kind of give you the idea. Luke chapter 8 and verse 45. And Jesus said, Who touched Me? When all denied, Peter and they were with Him, said, Master, the multitude thronged Thee, and pressed Thee. And saith Thou, Who touched Me? The word thronged is there. In other words, Christ was in the midst of a crowd and people were touching Him on every side. on every hand. Paul said, I’m in a strait. I’m fenced in. I’m in a strait between two sides. Death on the one side, life on the other. I don’t know what to choose.
And beloved, do we not find ourselves in that situation from time to time? We think one thing would be better, and yet we don’t want to wish for that which the Lord does not desire to grant. And yet at the same time, we want to escape. As we grow older, you know, well, let me go back. The youth have no idea. I remember in my younger days, as I saw my father getting older and him talking about how that he still had it in his head that he could do a lot of things, but his body just wouldn’t let him. And I didn’t know how to take that. I understand well now. I understand well now.
I think I may have made mention of this last Lord’s Day, I’m not sure. There are some YouTube videos that I watch, some farming videos, as well as people building houses and particularly log houses. And I see younger people walking on top of those roofs, just up there, just like it’s nothing. And I remember days when being like that, I can’t even walk up a ladder now. I don’t have that dexterity. Don’t have that sure-footedness. And I know y’all know what I’m talking about. Come to the edge of a curb and whereas in times past, you come along walking there and without even thinking anything about it, step down and just keep going. Now you come to the edge of the curb and you stop and you think about the step that you’re going to take.
Paul said, I’m in a strait betwixt two. Paul, I don’t know that he had come to this stage in life where his body was being torn apart, as it were. But he said, though I am in a strait betwixt two, though I’m in a strait betwixt life and death, He said, I have a desire, a longing, a longing to depart, to depart. I’m ready to break up camp. I’m ready. to unloose the ship from the dock and to set sail. I’m ready to depart.” This is the word that Paul is talking about. It’s mainly the idea of to break up camp or to weigh anchor. I’m ready to break up housekeeping.
I remember the day when my mother had come to the point that she was willing to sell the place and move in with us. The day of breaking up housekeeping, moving things out. There was one closet on the back porch. Didn’t mean much to a lot of folks, but it had every IRS return and all the receipts from the first of their marriage. I don’t know how long it took us to get all of that out of the house, but she was ready. She was ready for years. She lived by herself, but then she was ready to break up house. She was ready to move on.
And of course, that’s no small thing in our pilgrimage here upon this earth. But this is kindly the idea. Paul is saying, I’m ready to depart. I’m ready to break camp, to be with Christ, and to depart, which is far better, this idea is really the idea which is far, far better. Whatever you can imagine, life will be at death for the saint. How much you think it might, how good it might be, I can assure you it will be far, far better than anything you can think.
And that’s not the end. The end is when you will have your body glorified. There’s two different words here for better in this text. One is far, the other is better. And when you put them together, it just means much more, much, much more. To be with Christ is much, much more than anything we have here upon this earth. A double comparative.
But then is one of the most profound statements. Paul talking about he desires to depart, to be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. Paul said, my desire is to go on to be with Christ. But it’s better for the Philippian saints for Paul to still be on this earth.
Now you’ve heard me make this application before, and I want to make it again for each one of us. We may not be able to understand nor to have any insight as to the truthfulness of the statement, but it’s better for someone that you’re still here. You’re here on purpose. You’re here for the glory of God. When we look at ourselves, we think, well, how could I be of any benefit to anybody? I’m just a nobody.
Paul was in jail. He was under household arrest, and it’s better for the saints of Philippi that Paul still be on this earth at that time. It was necessary. It was needful for them. While it would be far, far better for Paul and more glorious to be with the Lord It’s more needful or more necessary for the Philippian saints for Paul to stay.
And we sometimes think, well, you may not, but think, well, you know, it’d be a lot better off if I was just going to be with the Lord. But God doesn’t look at things the way we do. There’s a purpose. You get up in the morning. You struggle to put one foot before the other. Sometimes you shuffle about, wondering if you’re going to follow the next step, wondering if you’re going to have the breath to keep going. Lord, it looks like it’d be better if I just come on home. No, it’s far better. for others that you stay. Though we desire to go and be with the Lord, which is far better, and as long as we are here, it is far better, for someone that we continue to dwell in this low ground of sin and sorrow. May we strive to be reconciled to the providential dealings of the Lord as long as we are here and seek to be busy about the work of the Lord and beneficial to others. Let me read that again. May we strive to be reconciled to the providential dealings of the Lord as long as we’re here and seek to be busy about the work of the Lord and beneficial to others.
A.T. Robertson had some glorious things to say about this. If you’ll bear with me. He said, Paul faces life or death with equanimity. He is ready for either. He has shown that for him, death means fuller, and richer life in gaining Christ. But he is not discontent to live in the flesh, if that is the will of God. He is sure that if he is to live on in the flesh, it means that Christ has fruit of work for him. A beautiful phrase, fruit of work for him. Hence he does not complain in spite of the attractiveness of death for him with the glory of Jesus beckoning him on.
So Paul goes on, and in that case, fruit of work and life in the flesh, what I shall choose I know not. There would be not a moment’s hesitation with Paul if it were clear to him that his work was done. Just to eke out a useless existence has no charm for him. If there’s one thing that I pray for myself is that God would bless me to be active somewhat in his service until I die. I don’t want to just eke out an existence.
A well-known minister and friend of mine, one of the saddest pictures the last time I saw him, was he was nothing but skin and bones. laying in a bed in a fetal position, not even knowing where he was. And like Paul, just to eke out a useless existence has no charm. He does not wish to be like a fruit tree that no longer bears and only cumbers the ground. He has no desire to be laid on the shelf, to be past the deadline in ministry. Paul had no friends to take care of his old age. One of the saddest of all spectacles is the sight of an old minister. No one wishes to hear preach, and who is no longer able to support himself.
So then Paul declines to commit himself to the case there is still work for him to do. But Paul has no hesitation in declaring his personal preference for death, since that means the riches in Christ. But it seems clear to him that there is work for him yet, and so he is in a strait between two, between life and death. Once elsewhere, that is in 2 Corinthians 5.14, Paul uses this verb of the love of Christ that constrains him or holds him together. He is in a vice between these two conceptions. He is caught on the two horns of this dilemma. He has the desire, the real longing of his soul to depart and be with Christ, to loosen his ship from her moorings and to put out to sea on the great adventure of death, which fascinates Paul, not by its uncertainty, but by the certainty of being with Jesus.
He is not abashed by the thought that no traveler has ever returned from the other shore. He does not wish to return, but to go on and to stay with Jesus. That will be glory for Paul. One may note here that Paul speaks as if he is expected to be with Jesus at death without an interval. The word depart has various uses. For a ship’s departure, for breaking up camp, and for death. Paul himself uses a similar word for death under the figure of breaking up a camp or striking a tent in 2 Corinthians 5. And in 2 Timothy 4, 6, he speaks of his own death with the same word as here.
Paul is willing to make an end of his tent, of his tent life in the flesh, a stranger and a pilgrim on earth, like Abraham. His promised land is beyond Jordan where Jesus is. He feels sure that for him, this very far better, piling up comparatives, a triple superiority to express the intensity of his feeling on the subject.
But Paul does not take a selfish view of this life, of his life. He is willing to abide in the flesh. since it is more necessary for you. After all, this is one of the chief joys of life, to know that your life is necessary or useful for that of someone else. There is a pain of parting from loved ones here, the sorrow of leaving others without one’s help, The shock of an incomplete task.
So then Paul faces his work with joy, only he would have more joy to go to be with Jesus. But the hero is no striker. He is kept to his task, even though a prisoner for these five years. I thought that was well worth reading.”