Philippians 1

Greeting

1Paul ^aand Timothy, ^bslaves of Christ Jesus:

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, ^cincluding the overseers ^dand 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, ^f4always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, ⁵because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day ^guntil now. ^h6I am sure of this, that He who started a good work ⁱin you ^jwill carry it on to completion ^kuntil the day of Christ Jesus. ⁷It is right ^lfor me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, ^mand you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment ⁿand in the defense ^oand establishment of the gospel. ⁸For God is my witness, ^phow deeply I miss all of you ^qwith the affection of Christ Jesus. ⁹And I pray this: that your love ^rwill keep on growing ^sin knowledge and every kind of discernment, ^t10so that you can approve the things that are superior ^uand can be pure ^vand blameless ^win ^xthe day of Christ, ^y11filled with the fruit ^zof righteousness ^athat comes through Jesus Christ to the glory ^band praise of God.

Advance of the Gospel

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has actually resulted in the advance of the gospel, ^c13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, ^dand to everyone else, that my imprisonment is in the cause of Christ. ¹⁴Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the message ^effearlessly. ¹⁵To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and strife, ^gbut others out of good will. ^h16These do so out of love, ⁱknowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; ¹⁷the others proclaim Christ out of rivalry, ^jnot sincerely, seeking to cause me anxiety in my imprisonment. ^k18What does it matter? Just that in every way, whether out of false motives ^lor true, Christ is proclaimed. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice ¹⁹because I know this will lead to my deliverance ^mnthrough your prayers and help from the Spirit ^oof Jesus Christ. ^p20My eager expectation and hope ^qis that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all boldness, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life ^ror by death. ^s

Living Is Christ

²¹For me, living is Christ ^tand dying is gain. ^u22Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful ^vwork ^wfor me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. ²³I am pressured by both. I have the desire to depart and be with Christ ^x—which is far better ^y— ²⁴but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you. 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, ^z26so that, because of me, your confidence may grow ^ain Christ Jesus ^bwhen I come to you again.

²⁷Just one thing: Live your life ^cin a manner 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 ^din one ^espirit, with one mind, ^fworking side by side for the faith ^gthat comes from the gospel, ²⁸not being frightened in any way by your opponents. ^hThis is a sign of destruction for them, ⁱbut of your deliverance ^j—and this is from God. ²⁹For it has been given to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe ^kin Him, but also to suffer for Him, ³⁰having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.