1Verse 1From Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.Verse 2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Prayer for the Church
Verse 3I thank my God every time I remember you.Verse 4I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of youVerse 5because of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.Verse 6For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.Verse 7For it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace together with me.Verse 8For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.Verse 9And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insightVerse 10so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,Verse 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
Ministry as a Prisoner
Verse 12I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel:Verse 13The whole imperial guard and everyone else knows that I am in prison for the sake of Christ,Verse 14and most of the brothers and sisters, having confidence in the Lord because of my imprisonment, now more than ever dare to speak the word fearlessly.Verse 15Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.Verse 16The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel.Verse 17The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment.Verse 18What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,Verse 19for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.Verse 20My confident hope is that I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die.Verse 21For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.Verse 22Now if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean productive work for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer:Verse 23I feel torn between the two, because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,Verse 24but it is more vital for your sake that I remain in the body.Verse 25And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress and joy in the faith,Verse 26so that what you can be proud of may increase because of me in Christ Jesus, when I come back to you.Verse 27Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that – whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent – I should hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,Verse 28and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of their destruction, but of your salvation – a sign which is from God.Verse 29For it has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him,Verse 30since you are encountering the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing.