Philippians 1

1 Paul and Timothy, the servants of Jesus Christ; to all the saints in Christ Jesus, who are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.2 Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.3 I give thanks to my God in every remembrance of you,4 Always in all my prayers making supplication for you all, with joy;5 For your communication in the gospel of Christ from the first day until now.6 Being confident of this very thing, that he, who hath begun a good work in you, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus.7 As it is meet for me to think this for you all, for that I have you in my heart; and that in my bands, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of my joy.8 For God is my witness, how I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.9 And this I pray, that your charity may more and more abound in knowledge, and in all understanding:10 That you may approve the better things, that you may be sincere and without offence unto the day of Christ,11 Filled with the fruit of justice, through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.12 Now, brethren, I desire you should know, that the things which have happened to me, have fallen out rather to the furtherance of the gospel:13 So that my bands are made manifest in Christ, in all the court, and in all other places;14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, growing confident by my bands, are much more bold to speak the word of God without fear.15 Some indeed, even out of envy and contention; but some also for good will preach Christ.16 Some out of charity, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.17 And some out of contention preach Christ not sincerely: supposing that they raise affliction to my bands.18 But what then? So that by all means, whether by occasion, or by truth, Christ be preached: in this also I rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.19 For I know that this shall fall out to me unto salvation, through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,20 According to my expectation and hope; that in nothing I shall be confounded, but with all confidence, as always, so now also shall Christ be magnified in my body, wither it be by life, or by death.21 For to me, to live is Christ; and to die is gain.22 And if to live in the flesh, that is to me the fruit of labour, and what I shall choose I know not.23 But I am straitened between two: having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, a thing by far the better.24 But to abide still in the flesh, is needful for you.25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide, and continue with you all, for your furtherance and joy of faith:26 That your rejoicing may abound in Christ Jesus for me, by my coming to you again.27 Only let your conversation be worthy of the gospel of Christ: that, whether I come and see you, or, being absent, may hear of you, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind labouring together for the faith of the gospel.28 And in nothing be ye terrified by the adversaries: which to them is a cause of perdition, but to you of salvation, and this from God:29 For unto you it is given for Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.30 Having the same conflict as that which you have seen in me, and now have heard of me.

Philippians 1

Salutation

1 From Pault and Timothy, slavests of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,s with the overseerss and deacons.

2 Grace and peace to yout from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Prayer for the Church

3 I thank my God every time I remember you.t4 I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you5 because of your participations in the gospel from the first day until now.t6 For I am sure of this very thing,t that the onet who began a good work int you will perfect itt until the day of Christ Jesus.7 Fort it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart,t since both in my imprisonmentt and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s gracet together with me.8 For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.9 And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight10 so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,

11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

Ministry as a Prisoner

12 I want you to know, brothers and sisters,t that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel:t13 Thet whole imperial guards and everyone else knowst that I am in prisont for the sake of Christ,

14 and most of the brothers and sisters,t having confidence in the Lordt because of my imprisonment, now more than evert dare to speak the words fearlessly.
15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.16 The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel.17 The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment.t

18 What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.
Yes,t and I will continue to rejoice,19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverancets through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.20 My confident hopet is that I will in no way be ashamedt but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die.t21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.22 Now if I am to go on living in the body,t this will mean productive workt for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer:ts23 I feel torn between the two,t because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,24 but it is more vital for your sake that I remaint in the body.t25 And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progresst and joy in the faith,s

26 so that what you can be proud of may increaset because of me in Christ Jesus, when I come back to you.t
27 Only conduct yourselvests 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 thatt you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,t28 and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This ists a sign of theirts destruction, but of your salvation – a sign whicht is from God.29 For it has been granted to yout not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him,

30 since you are encounteringt the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing.t