Philippians 1 - 2 — Legacy Standard Bible

Thanksgiving

1^aPaul and ^bTimothy, ^cslaves of ^dChrist Jesus, To ^eall the ¹^,^fsaints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: ²^aGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³^aI thank my God in all my remembrance of you, ⁴always offering prayer with joy in ^amy every prayer for you all, ⁵because of your ¹^,^afellowship in the ^bgospel ^cfrom the first day until now. ⁶For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until ^athe day of Christ Jesus. ⁷¹For ^ait is only right for me to think this way about you all, because I ^bhave you in my heart, since both in my ^cchains and in the ^ddefense and confirmation of the ^egospel, you all are fellow partakers with me in this grace. ⁸For ^aGod is my witness, how I long for you all with the ¹affection of ^bChrist Jesus. ⁹And this I pray, that ^ayour love may abound still more and more in ^bfull knowledge and all discernment, ¹⁰so that you may ¹^,^aapprove the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and without fault ²until ^bthe day of Christ, ¹¹having been filled with the ^afruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

The Progress of the Gospel

¹²Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances ^ahave turned out for the greater progress of the ^bgospel, ¹³so that my ^achains in Christ have become well known throughout the whole ¹praetorian guard and to ^beveryone else, ¹⁴and that most of the ¹brothers, having become confident in the Lord because of my ^achains, have ^bfar more courage to speak the word of God without fear. ¹⁵^aSome, to be sure, are preaching Christ even ¹from envy and strife, but some also ²from good will; ¹⁶the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the ^agospel; ¹⁷the former proclaim Christ ^aout of selfish ambition ¹rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me affliction in my ^bchains. ¹⁸What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, ¹⁹for I know that ^athis will turn out for my salvation ^bthrough your ¹prayers and the provision of ^cthe Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰according to my ^aearnest expectation and ^bhope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with ^call boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be ^dmagnified in my body, ^ewhether by life or by death.

To Live Is Christ

²¹For to me, ^ato live is Christ and to die is gain. ²²¹But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean ^afruitful labor for me; and I do not know what I will choose. ²³But I am hard-pressed ¹between the two, having the ^adesire to depart and ^bbe with Christ, for that is very much better, ²⁴yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. ²⁵^aAnd convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy ¹in the faith, ²⁶so that your reason for ^aboasting may abound in Christ Jesus in me, through my coming to you again.

²⁷Only ¹live your lives in a manner ^aworthy of the ^bgospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about your circumstances, that you are ^cstanding firm in ^done spirit, with one ²mind ^econtending together for the faith of the gospel, ²⁸in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a ^asign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God. ²⁹For to you ^ait has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to ^bsuffer for His sake, ³⁰having the same ^astruggle which ^byou saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

Christ’s Humility and Exaltation

2Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any ^afellowship of the Spirit, if any ¹^,^baffection and compassion, ²^afulfill my joy, that ^byou think the same way, by maintaining the same love, being united in spirit, thinking on one purpose, ³doing nothing ¹from ²^,^aselfish ambition or ^bvain glory, but with humility of mind ^cregarding one another as more important than yourselves, ⁴^anot merely looking out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. ⁵^aHave this way of thinking ¹in yourselves which was also in ^bChrist Jesus, ⁶who, although ^aexisting in the ^bform of God, ^cdid not regard equality with God a thing ¹to be grasped, ⁷but ¹^,^aemptied Himself, by taking the form of a ^bslave, by ^cbeing made in the likeness of men. ⁸Being found in appearance as a man, ^aHe humbled Himself by becoming ^bobedient to the point of death, even ^cdeath ¹on a cross. ⁹^aTherefore, God also ^bhighly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him ^cthe name which is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus ^aevery knee will bow, of ^bthose who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and that ^aevery tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is ¹^,^bLord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²So then, my beloved, ^ajust as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your ^bsalvation with ^cfear and trembling; ¹³for it is ^aGod who is at work in you, both to will and to work ^bfor His good pleasure.

¹⁴Do all things without ^agrumbling or disputing, ¹⁵so that you will be ^ablameless and innocent, ^bchildren of God without blemish in the midst of a ^ccrooked and perverse generation, among whom you ^dshine as ¹lights in the world, ¹⁶holding ¹fast the word of life, so that in ^athe day of Christ I will have reason to boast because I did not ^brun in vain nor ^clabor in vain. ¹⁷But even if I am being ^apoured out as a drink offering upon ^bthe sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. ¹⁸And you also, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus Sent

¹⁹But I hope in the Lord Jesus to ^asend ^bTimothy to you shortly, so that I also may be in good spirits when I learn of your circumstances. ²⁰For I have no one else ^aof kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned about your circumstances. ²¹For they all ^aseek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. ²²But you know ^aof his proven worth, that ^bhe served with me in the furtherance of the gospel ^clike a child serving his father. ²³^aTherefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I ¹evaluate my own circumstances, ²⁴and ^aI am confident in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly. ²⁵But I regarded it necessary to send to you ^aEpaphroditus, my brother and ^bfellow worker and ^cfellow soldier, who is also your ¹^,^dmessenger and ^eminister to my need; ²⁶because he was longing ¹for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. ²⁷For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. ²⁸Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned. ²⁹^aReceive him then in the Lord with all joy, and ^bhold men like him in high regard ³⁰because he came close to death ¹^,^afor the work of Christ, risking his life to ^bfulfill ²what was lacking in your service to me.