Philippians 2

Chapter 2

Be Like Christ

¹Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any ^afellowship of the Spirit, if any ^1baffection and compassion,

^2amake my joy complete ¹by ^bbeing of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

³Do nothing ¹from ^2aselfishness or ^bempty conceit, but with humility of mind ^cregard one another as more important than yourselves;

^4ado not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

^5aHave this attitude ¹in yourselves which was also in ^bChrist Jesus,

⁶who, although He ^aexisted in the ^bform of God, ^cdid not regard equality with God a thing to be ¹grasped,

⁷but ^1aemptied Himself, taking the form of a ^bbond-servant, and ^cbeing made in the likeness of men.

⁸Being found in appearance as a man, ^aHe humbled Himself by becoming ^bobedient to the point of death, even ^cdeath ¹on a cross.

^9aFor this reason also, God ^bhighly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him ^cthe name which is above every name,

¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus ^aevery knee will bow, of ^bthose who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is ^aLord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²So then, my beloved, ^ajust as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your ^bsalvation with ^cfear and trembling;

¹³for it is ^aGod who is at work in you, both to will and to work ^bfor His good pleasure.

¹⁴Do all things without ^agrumbling or disputing;

¹⁵so that you will ¹prove yourselves to be ^ablameless and innocent, ^bchildren of God above reproach in the midst of a ^ccrooked and perverse generation, among whom you ^2dappear as ³lights in the world,

¹⁶holding ¹fast the word of life, so that in ^athe day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not ^brun in vain nor ^ctoil in vain.

¹⁷But even if I am being ^apoured out as a drink offering upon ^bthe sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.

¹⁸You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹But I hope ¹in the Lord Jesus to ^asend ^bTimothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition.

²⁰For I have no one else ^aof kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.

²¹For they all ^aseek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

²²But you know ^aof his proven worth, that ^bhe served with me in the furtherance of the gospel ^clike a child serving his father.

^23aTherefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me;

²⁴and ^aI trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly.

²⁵But I thought it necessary to send to you ^aEpaphroditus, my brother and ^bfellow worker and ^cfellow soldier, who is also your ^1dmessenger and minister to my need;

²⁶because he was longing ¹for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.

²⁷For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.

²⁸Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you.

^29aReceive him then in the Lord with all joy, and ^bhold men like him in high regard;

³⁰because he came close to death ^1afor the work of Christ, risking his life to ^bcomplete ²what was deficient in your service to me.