Every student of the Bible should understand that those who die “in Christ” live eternally (John 11:25–26, Philippians 1:21–23), but there are also passages that speak of our physical death, suffering, and mortality as part of our participation in Christ’s sufferings and our deeper identification with Him.
“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10–11
In this passage, Paul frames discipleship as both sharing in Christ’s resurrection and in His sufferings—even to the point of death. Physical death is not disconnected from Christ, but is one of the ways believers identify with Him. To Paul, death is not a defeat but a doorway into deeper fellowship with the Savior and the hope of resurrection.
“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.” Romans 6:5
Here Paul reminds us that our physical death mirrors Christ’s death. Just as He died in the flesh and was raised, so too do we. Death does not separate us from Christ – it seals our union with Him.
“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body.” 2 Corinthians 4:10–11
Paul links the continual experience of mortality, weakness, and even physical dying with carrying the death of Jesus in our bodies. Every weakness, every moment of decline, every breath that moves us closer to physical death is also a testimony that we belong to Christ. And as our outward selves waste away, His resurrection life is revealed in us.
The Bible affirms that death is not an end but a participation in Christ’s own journey. Our mortality and physical death are not outside the scope of discipleship—they are, in fact, part of how we are conformed to Christ. Put another way: Our life in Christ begins now, but our death in Christ is also part of our union with Him. We follow Him through suffering, through death, and ultimately into resurrection and eternal glory.
The Christian life is not just about living for Christ, but also about dying with Him. Paul saw suffering, weakness, and even death itself as a way of identifying with Jesus. Death is not the end of faith—it is the completion of faith.
For the Christian, death is no longer something to fear. It is not the breaking of fellowship with Christ—it is the deepening of it. In dying, we are not leaving Jesus behind; we are walking the same path He walked, knowing that resurrection life awaits us on the other side. Death is the final stride in our march to become like Jesus; our last act as His disciple this side of eternity.
Jacob
