... gain" (Phil. 1:21). Paul knew that to truly follow Christ, God was going to crucify his flesh; that to be truly useful to God, God was going to have to kill Paul, making his life useless to himself, but worth everything to God. For there is not a fear of death to those who have already laid their lives down. In "The Apology", Plato accounts Socrates' defense against the false accusations being brought on him. In his defense, Socrates is quoted as saying, "I say that to die is gain." The time of Socrates trial is at least 400 years prior to Paul's correspondence to the church in Philippi. So, how can Socrates be so on-the-money with what God wants to relay to his people, 400 years before God even creates the vessel He plans on using to relay it? Socrates knew that his life, in and of itself, was ...

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