1:1 Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who dwell in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: |
1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. |
1:3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, |
1:4 always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, |
1:5 in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. |
1:6 For I feel confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. |
1:7 For it seems only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all partake of grace with me. |
1:8 For God has served as my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. |
1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, |
1:10 so that you may approve the things that prove excellent, in order to remain sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; |
1:11 having become filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. |
1:12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, |
1:13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, |
1:14 and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. |
1:15 Some, surely, preach Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; |
1:16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I have received appointment for the defense of the gospel; |
1:17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. |
1:18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, someone has proclaimed Christ; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, |
1:19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, |
1:20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not have shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, receive exaltation in my body, whether by life or by death. |
1:21 For to me, to live comes through Christ and to die leads to gain. |
1:22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. |
1:23 But I feel hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and join Christ, for that seems very much better; |
1:24 yet to remain on in the flesh seems more necessary for your sake. |
1:25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, |
1:26 so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again. |
1:27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you stand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; |
1:28 in no way alarmed by your opponents--which represents a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. |
1:29 For to you this has happened for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, |
1:30 experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to occur in me. |