Philippians

Greeting

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

May grace and peace be with you from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

I thank my God every time I remember you,

and I pray for you with joy.

I cannot forget all you shared with me in serving the gospel, from the first day until now.

Since God began such a good work in you, I am confident that he will complete it on the day of Christ Jesus.

This is my hope for you, for I carry you all in my heart: whether I am in prison, or defending and confirming the gospel, you are with me and share in the same grace.

God knows that I love you dearly, with the love of Christ Jesus,

and in my prayers, I ask that your love may guide you each day toward a deeper knowledge and clearer discernment,

so that you may have sound criteria for everything. This way, you may be pure of heart and blameless when Christ comes,

filled with the fruit of holiness that comes through Christ Jesus, for the glory and praise of God.

Prisoner for Christ

I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has helped spread the gospel.

Actually, the entire Praetorian Guard, and even those outside the palace, know that I am in chains for Christ.

Furthermore, my situation as a prisoner has encouraged most of the brothers to proclaim the word of God boldly.

Some, it is true, are motivated by envy and rivalry, but others preach Christ with sincere intention.

These latter are motivated by love and understand that I am here to defend the gospel.

The former proclaim Christ to challenge me. They do not act with pure motives but believe they are making my imprisonment more difficult.

But, in any case, whether they are sincere or acting out of pride, Christ is being preached, and because of this, I rejoice and have no regrets.

I believe all this will be a blessing for me because of your prayers and the help provided by the Spirit of Christ.

I am hopeful, even confident, that I will not be ashamed. I feel just as sure now as before that Christ will be glorified through me, whether I live or die.

For me, life is Christ, and dying is even better.

But if I am to go on living, I will be able to enjoy fruitful labor. Which should I choose?

So I am torn between the two. I strongly desire to leave this life and be with Christ, which would be far better,

but it is necessary for you that I remain in this body.

And because I am convinced of this, I know that I will stay and remain with you to help your progress and joy in the faith.

I will certainly come back to you and give you more reasons to be proud of belonging to Christ Jesus.

Then, strive to live in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. I hope to see it when I come to you, and if I cannot visit, at least let me hear that you remain steadfast in the same spirit, united in striving to uphold the faith of the gospel with one mind.

Do not be afraid of your opponents. This will be a sign that they are defeated and that you are saved—in fact, saved by God.

For it has been granted to you, through Christ, not only to believe in him but also to suffer for His sake.

And you are now sharing the same struggle you saw I faced and that I continue to face, as you know.