Greeting

1Paula and Timothy,b slaves of Christ Jesus:

To all the •saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,c including the •overseersd and 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,f 4always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first dayg until now.h 6I am sure of this, that He who started a good worki in youj will carry it on to completionk until the day of Christ Jesus. 7It is rightl for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart,m and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonmentn and in the defenseo and establishment of the gospel. 8For God is my witness,p how deeply I miss all of youq with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9And I pray this: that your lover will keep on growings in knowledge and every kind of discernment,t 10so that you can approve the things that are superioru and can be purev and blamelessw inx the day of Christ,y 11filled with the fruitz of righteousnessaa that comes through Jesus Christ to the gloryab and 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,ac 13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard,ad and 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 messageae, af fearlessly. 15To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and strife,ag but others out of good will.ah 16These do so out of love,ai knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17the others proclaim Christ out of rivalry,aj not sincerely, seeking to cause me anxiety in my imprisonment.ak 18What does it matter? Just that in every way, whether out of false motivesal or true, Christ is proclaimed. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice 19because I know this will lead to my deliveranceam, an through your prayers and help from the Spiritao of Jesus Christ.ap 20My eager expectation and hopeaq is 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 lifear or by death.as

Living Is Christ

21For me, living is Christat and dying is gain.au 22Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitfulav workaw for 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 Christax — which is far betteray — 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,az 26so that, because of me, your confidence may growba in Christ Jesusbb when I come to you again.

27Just one thing: Live your lifebc in 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 firmbd in onebe spirit, with one mind,bf working side by side for the faithbg that comes from the gospel, 28not being frightened in any way by your opponents.bh This is a sign of destruction for them,bi but of your deliverancebj — and this is from God. 29For it has been given to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believebk in Him, but also to suffer for Him, 30having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.