Philippians 1–2

GREETING

1Paul^a and Timothy,^b servants of Christ Jesus:

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,^c including the overseers^d and deacons.^e

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER

³I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you,^{A 4}always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, ⁵because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day^f until now.^{g 6}I am sure of this, that he who started a good work^h in you^B will carry it on to completionⁱ until the day of Christ Jesus. ⁷Indeed, it is right^j for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart,^C and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment^k and in the defense^l and confirmation of the gospel. ⁸For God is my witness,^m how deeply I miss all of youⁿ with the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹And I pray this: that your love^o will keep on growing^p in knowledge and every kind of discernment,^{q 10}so that you may approve the things that are superior^r and may be pure^s and blameless^t in the day of Christ,^{u 11}filled with the fruit^v of righteousness^w that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory^x and praise of God.

ADVANCE OF THE GOSPEL

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel,^{y 13}so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. ¹⁴Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word^Dz fearlessly. ¹⁵To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry,^aa but others out of good will. ¹⁶These preach out of love,^ab knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; ¹⁷the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition,^ac not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. ¹⁸What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives^ad or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice ¹⁹because I know this will lead to my salvation^Eae through your prayers and help from the Spirit^af of Jesus Christ.^{ag 20}My eager expectation and hope^ah is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life^ai or by death.^aj

LIVING IS CHRIST

²¹For me, to live is Christ^ak and to die is gain.^{al 22}Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful^am work^an for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. ²³I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ^ao—which is far better^ap—²⁴but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. ²⁵Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,^{aq 26}so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting^ar in Christ Jesus^as may abound.

²⁷Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life^at worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm^au in one^av spirit, in one accord,^A contending together for the faith^aw of the gospel, ²⁸not being frightened in any way by your opponents.^ax This is a sign of destruction for them,^ay but of your salvation^az—and this is from God. ²⁹For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe^ba in him, but also to suffer for him, ³⁰since you are engaged in the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.

CHRISTIAN HUMILITY

2If, then, there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love,^a if any fellowship with the Spirit,^b if any affection and mercy,^{c 2}make my joy complete by thinking the same way,^d having the same love,^e united in spirit, intent on one^f purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition^g or conceit,^h but in humilityⁱ consider others as more important^j than yourselves. ⁴Everyone should look not to his own interests,^k but rather to the interests of others.^l

CHRIST’S HUMILITY AND EXALTATION

⁵Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,

⁶who, existing in the form of God,

did not consider equality with God^m

as something to be exploited.^B

⁷Instead he emptied himselfⁿ

by assuming the form of a servant,^o

taking on the likeness of humanity.^p

And when he had come as a man,

⁸he humbled himself by becoming obedient

to the point of death—

even to death on a cross.^q

⁹For this reason God highly exalted him^r

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus

every knee will bow^s—

in heaven^t and on earth

and under the earth^u—

¹¹and every tongue^v will confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory^w of God the Father.

LIGHTS IN THE WORLD

¹²Therefore, my dear friends,^x just as you have always obeyed,^y so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. ¹³For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose. ¹⁴Do everything without grumbling^z and arguing,^{aa 15}so that you may be blameless^ab and pure,^ac children of God who are faultless^ad in a crooked^ae and perverted^af generation,^ag among whom you shine like stars in the world, ¹⁶by holding firm to the word^ah of life. Then I can boast^ai in the day of Christ^aj that I didn’t run or labor for nothing. ¹⁷But even if I am poured out^ak as a drink offering^al on the sacrificial service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. ¹⁸In the same way you should also be glad and rejoice with me.

TIMOTHY AND EPAPHRODITUS

¹⁹Now I hope in the Lord Jesus^am to send Timothy^an to you soon so that I too may be encouraged by news about you. ²⁰For I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests; ²¹all seek their own interests,^ao not those of Jesus Christ.^{ap 22}But you know his proven character, because he has served with me in the gospel ministry like a son with a father. ²³Therefore, I hope to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. ²⁴I am confident in the Lord that I myself will also come soon.^aq

²⁵But I considered it necessary to send you Epaphroditus^ar—my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier, as well as your messenger and minister to my need^as—²⁶since he has been longing for all of you and was distressed because you heard that he was sick. ²⁷Indeed, he was so sick that he nearly died. However, God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸For this reason, I am very eager to send him so that you may rejoice again when you see him and I may be less anxious. ²⁹Therefore, welcome him in the Lord with great joy and hold people like him in honor, ³⁰because he came close to death for the work^at of Christ, risking his life to make up what was lacking in your ministry to me.