GREETING

1 Paula and Timothy,b servants of Christ Jesus:

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

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

THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER

3 I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you,A 4 always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first dayf until now.g 6 I am sure of this, that he who started a good workh in youB will carry it on to completioni until the day of Christ Jesus. 7 Indeed, it is rightj 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 imprisonmentk and in the defensel and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness,m how deeply I miss all of youn with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And I pray this: that your loveo will keep on growingp in knowledge and every kind of discernment,q 10 so that you may approve the things that are superiorr and may be pures and blamelesst in the day of Christ,u 11 filled with the fruitv of righteousnessw that comes through Jesus Christ to the gloryx and praise of God.

ADVANCE OF THE GOSPEL

12 Now 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. 14 Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the wordD,z fearlessly. 15 To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry,aa but others out of good will. 16 These preach out of love,ab knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition,ac not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. 18 What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motivesad or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice 19 because I know this will lead to my salvationE,ae through your prayers and help from the Spiritaf of Jesus Christ.ag 20 My eager expectation and hopeah 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 lifeai or by death.aj

LIVING IS CHRIST

21 For me, to live is Christak and to die is gain.al 22 Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitfulam workan for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. 23 I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christao—which is far betterap—24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25 Since 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 boastingar in Christ Jesusas may abound.

27 Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your lifeat 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 firmau in oneav spirit, in one accord,F contending together for the faithaw of the gospel, 28 not being frightened in any way by your opponents.ax This is a sign of destruction for them,ay but of your salvationaz—and this is from God. 29 For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believeba in him, but also to suffer for him, 30 since you are engaged in the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.