³I thank my God for all the memories I have of you. ⁴Every time I pray for all of you, I do it with joy. ⁵I can do this because of the partnership we’ve had with you in the Good News from the first day ⸤you believed⸥ until now. ⁶I’m convinced that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it through to completion on the day of Christ Jesus. ⁷You have a special place in my heart. So it’s right for me to think this way about all of you. All of you are my partners. Together we share God’s favor,^dwhether I’m in prison or defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. ⁸God is my witness that, with all the compassion of Christ Jesus, I long ⸤to see⸥ every one of you.

⁹I pray that your love will keep on growing because of your knowledge and insight. ¹⁰That way you will be able to determine what is best and be pure and blameless until the day of Christ. ¹¹Jesus Christ will fill your lives with everything that God’s approval produces. Your lives will then bring glory and praise to God.

Nothing Matters Except That People Are Told about Christ

¹²I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what happened to me has helped to spread the Good News. ¹³As a result, it has become clear to all the soldiers who guard the emperor and to everyone else that I am in prison because of Christ. ¹⁴So through my being in prison, the Lord has given most of our brothers and sisters confidence to speak God’s word more boldly and fearlessly than ever.

¹⁵Some people tell the message about Christ because of their jealousy and envy. Others tell the message about him because of their good will. ¹⁶Those who tell the message about Christ out of love know that God has put me here to defend the Good News. ¹⁷But the others are insincere. They tell the message about Christ out of selfish ambition in order to stir up trouble for me while I’m in prison. ¹⁸But what does it matter? Nothing matters except that, in one way or another, people are told the message about Christ, whether with honest or dishonest motives, and I’m happy about that.

Paul Honors Christ Whether He Lives or Dies

Yes, I will continue to be happy ¹⁹for another reason. I know that I will be set free through your prayers and through the help that comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. ²⁰I eagerly expect and hope that I will have nothing to be ashamed of. I will speak very boldly and honor Christ in my body, now as always, whether I live or die. ²¹Christ means everything to me in this life, and when I die I’ll have even more. ²²If I continue to live in this life, my work will produce more results. I don’t know which I would prefer. ²³I find it hard to choose between the two. I would like to leave this life and be with Christ. That’s by far the better choice. ²⁴But for your sake it’s better that I remain in this life. ²⁵Since I’m convinced of this, I know that I will continue to live and be with all of you. This will help you to grow and be joyful in your faith. ²⁶So by coming to you again, I want to give you even more reason to have pride in Christ Jesus with me.

Fighting for the Faith

²⁷Live as citizens who reflect the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come to see you or whether I stay away, I’ll hear all about you. I’ll hear that you are firmly united in spirit, united in fighting for the faith that the Good News brings. ²⁸So don’t let your opponents intimidate you in any way. This is God’s way of showing them that they will be destroyed and that you will be saved. ²⁹God has given you the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him. ³⁰You are involved in the same struggle that you saw me having. Now you hear that I’m still involved in it.

2ND CHAPTER

Have the Same Attitude as Christ

¹So then, as Christians, do you have any encouragement? Do you have any comfort from love? Do you have any spiritual relationships? Do you have any sympathy and compassion? ²Then fill me with joy by having the same attitude and the same love, living in harmony, and keeping one purpose in mind. ³Don’t act out of selfish ambition or be conceited. Instead, humbly think of others as being better than yourselves. ⁴Don’t be concerned only about your own interests, but also be concerned about the interests of others. ⁵Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁶Although he was in the form of God and equal with God,

he did not take advantage of this equality.

⁷Instead, he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant,

by becoming like other humans,

by having a human appearance.

⁸He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

death on a cross.

⁹This is why God has given him an exceptional honor—

the name honored above all other names—

¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus everyone in heaven, on earth,

and in the world below will kneel

¹¹and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord

to the glory of God the Father.

¹²My dear friends, you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you but even more now that I’m absent. In the same way continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. ¹³It is God who produces in you the desires and actions that please him.

¹⁴Do everything without complaining or arguing. ¹⁵Then you will be blameless and innocent. You will be God’s children without any faults among people who are crooked and corrupt. You will shine like stars among them in the world ¹⁶as you hold firmly to the word of life. Then I can brag on the day of Christ that my effort was not wasted and that my work produced results. ¹⁷My life is being poured out as a part of the sacrifice and service ⸤I offer to God⸥ for your faith. Yet, I am filled with joy, and I share that joy with all of you. ¹⁸For this same reason you also should be filled with joy and share that joy with me.

Paul Will Send Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹I hope that the Lord Jesus will allow me to send Timothy to you soon so that I can receive some encouraging news about you. ²⁰I don’t have anyone else like Timothy. He takes a genuine interest in your welfare. ²¹Everyone else looks after his own interests, not after those of Jesus Christ. ²²But you know what kind of person Timothy proved to be. Like a father and son we worked hard together to spread the Good News. ²³I hope to send him as soon as I see how things are going to turn out for me. ²⁴But the Lord gives me confidence that I will come ⸤to visit you⸥ soon.

²⁵I feel that I must send Epaphroditus—my brother, coworker, and fellow soldier—back to you. You sent him as your personal representative to help me in my need. ²⁶He has been longing to see all of you and is troubled because you heard that he was sick. ²⁷Indeed, he was so sick that he almost died. But God had mercy not only on him but also on me and kept me from having one sorrow on top of another. ²⁸So I’m especially eager to send him to you. In this way you will have the joy of seeing him again and I will feel relieved. ²⁹Give him a joyful Christian welcome. Make sure you honor people like Epaphroditus highly. ³⁰He risked his life and almost died for the work of Christ in order to make up for the help you couldn’t give me.

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Footnotes

c 1:2 Or “Grace.”
d 1:7 Or “grace.”