Paul does not confine himself to his personal share in the exaltation of Christ: he writes in very general terms that this greatness will become known. He does not specify by whom or how this will happen. His own life is but a part of this grand project. The honouring of Christ: that is what is bound to happen also through his own earthly life. Although in this letter Paul applies everything to his own current circumstances “in his body,” which is also what he had asked the congregation to pray about, he clearly situates his personal ups and downs in the context of the universal exaltation of Christ.1
20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.