Philippians 1–2

Greeting

1Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ,

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the ¹bishops and ^adeacons:

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

Thankfulness and Prayer

^3bI thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴always in ^cevery prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ^5dfor your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun ^ea good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; ⁷just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. ⁸For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

⁹And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, ¹¹being filled with the fruits of righteousness ^fwhich are by Jesus Christ, ^gto the glory and praise of God.

Christ is Preached

¹²But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, ¹³so that it has become evident ^hto the whole ²palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ; ¹⁴and most of the brethren in the Lord, having become confident by my chains, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

¹⁵Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: ¹⁶³The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; ¹⁷but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.

To Live is Christ

¹⁹For I know that ⁱthis will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but ^jwith all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life ^kor by death. ²¹For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²²But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I ⁴cannot tell. ²³⁵For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a ^ldesire to depart and be with Christ, which is ^mfar better. ²⁴Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you. ²⁵And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, ²⁶that ⁿyour rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

Striving and Suffering for Christ

²⁷Only ^olet your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, ^pwith one mind ^qstriving together for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but ⁶to you of salvation, and that from God. ²⁹For to you ^rit has been granted on behalf of Christ, ^snot only to believe in Him, but also to ^tsuffer for His sake, ^30uhaving the same conflict ^vwhich you saw in me and now hear is in me.

Unity Through Humility

2Therefore if there is any ¹consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any ^aaffection and mercy, ^2bfulfill my joy ^cby being like-minded, having the same love, being of ^done accord, of one mind. ^3eLet nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but ^fin lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. ^4gLet each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of ^hothers.

The Humbled and Exalted Christ

⁵ⁱLet this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, ^jbeing in the form of God, did not consider it ²robbery to be equal with God, ^7kbut ³made Himself of no reputation, taking the form ^lof a bondservant, and ^mcoming in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and ⁿbecame ^oobedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ^9pTherefore God also ^qhas highly exalted Him and ^rgiven Him the name which is above every name, ^10sthat at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹and ^tthat every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Light Bearers

¹²Therefore, my beloved, ^uas you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, ^vwork out your own salvation with ^wfear and trembling; ¹³for ^xit is God who works in you both to will and to do ^yfor His good pleasure.

¹⁴Do all things ^zwithout ⁴complaining and ^adisputing, ⁵¹⁵that you may become blameless and ⁶harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as ^blights in the world, ¹⁶holding fast the word of life, so that ^cI may rejoice in the day of Christ that ^dI have not run in vain or labored in ^evain.

¹⁷Yes, and if ^fI am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice ^gand service of your faith, ^hI am glad and rejoice with you all. ¹⁸For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy Commended

¹⁹But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send ⁱTimothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your ⁷state. ²⁰For I have no one ^jlike-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. ²¹For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. ²²But you know his proven character, ^kthat as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. ²³Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me. ²⁴But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.

Epaphroditus Praised

²⁵Yet I considered it necessary to send to you ^lEpaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and ^mfellow soldier, ⁿbut your messenger and ^othe one who ministered to my need; ^26psince he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. ²⁷For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful. ²⁹Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem; ³⁰because for the work of Christ he came close to death, ⁸not regarding his life, ^qto supply what was lacking in your service toward me.