Greeting

1Paula and Timothy,b servants 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,A 4always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first daya until now.b 6I am sure of this, that he who started a good worka in youA will carry it on to completionb until the day of Christ Jesus. 7Indeed, it is righta for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart,A and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonmentb and in the defensec and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness,a how deeply I miss all of youb with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9And I pray this: that your lovea will keep on growingb in knowledge and every kind of discernment,c 10so that you may approve the things that are superiora and may be pureb and blamelessc in the day of Christ,d 11filled with the fruita of righteousnessb that comes through Jesus Christ to the gloryc and praise of God.

Advance of the Gospel

12Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel,a 13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. 14Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the worda a fearlessly. 15To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry,a but others out of good will. 16These preach out of love,a knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition,a not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. 18What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motivesa or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice 19because I know this will lead to my salvationa a through your prayers and help from the Spiritb of Jesus Christ.c 20My eager expectation and hopea is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by lifeb or by death.c

Living Is Christ

21For me, to live is Christa and to die is gain.b 22Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitfula workb for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. 23I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christa — which is far betterb —  24but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 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,a 26so that, because of my coming to you again, your boastinga in Christ Jesusb may abound.

27Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your lifea 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 firmb in onec spirit, in one accord,A contending together for the faithd of the gospel, 28not being frightened in any way by your opponents.a This is a sign of destruction for them,b but of your salvationc — and this is from God. 29For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believea in him, but also to suffer for him, 30since you are engaged in the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.