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

PHILIPPIANS 1

1  t From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.
To all God's people who belong to Christ Jesus at Philippi and to all your bishops and deacons.

2 I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

Paul's Prayer for the Church //in Philippi

6 God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won't stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns.
7 You have a special place in my heart. So it is only natural for me to feel the way I do. All of you have helped in the work God has given me, as I defend the good news and tell about it here in jail.

8 God himself knows how much I want to see you. He knows I care for you in the same way Christ Jesus does.
9 I pray that your love will keep on growing and you will fully know and understand 10 how to make the right choices. Then you will still be pure and innocent when Christ returns. And until that day,

11 Jesus Christ will keep you busy doing good deeds that bring glory and praise to God.

What Life Means to Paul

14 Now most of the Lord's followers have become brave and are fearlessly telling the message.t
15 Some are preaching about Christ because they are jealous and envious of us. Others are preaching because they want to help. 16 They love Christ and know I am here to defend the good news about him. 17 But the ones who are jealous of us are not sincere. They just want to cause trouble for me while I am in jail.

18 But that doesn't matter. All that matters is that people are telling about Christ, whether they are sincere or not. This is what makes me glad.
I will keep on being glad, 19 because I know that your prayers and the help that comes from the Spirit of Christ Jesus will keep me safe.

20 I honestly expect and hope I will never do anything to be ashamed of. Whether I live or die, I always want to be as brave as I am now and bring honor to Christ.
21 If I live, it will be for Christ, and if I die, I will gain even more. 22 I don't know what to choose. I could keep on living and doing something useful. 23 It is a hard choice to make. I want to die and be with Christ, because this would be much better. 24-25 But I know that all of you still need me. This is why I am sure I will stay on to help you grow and be happy in your faith.

26 Then, when I visit you again, you will have good reason to take great pride in Christ Jesus because of me.t

27 Above all else, you must live in a way that brings honor to the good news about Christ. Then, whether I visit you or not, I will hear that all of you think alike. I will know that you are working together and are struggling side by side to get others to believe the good news.
28 Be brave when you face your enemies. Your courage will show them that they are going to be destroyed, and it will show you that you will be saved. God will make all of this happen, 29 and he has blessed you. Not only do you have faith in Christ, but you suffer for him. 30 t You saw me suffer, and you still hear about my troubles. Now you must suffer in the same way.