Philippians 1

Greeting

1Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: 2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving for You and Assurance

3I give thanks to my God every time I remember you, 4always, in every prayer of mine for all of you, making my prayer with joy, 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6And I am confident of this: that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

7It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, for all of you share with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Prayer for God's People in Philippi

9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10so that you may discern what truly matters, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

12I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel, 13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ; 14and most of the brothers and sisters, having become confident in the Lord through my imprisonment, dare all the more to speak the word without fear.

15Some indeed proclaim Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. 17The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed—and in that I rejoice.

19For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20according to my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to live on in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I should choose. 23I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in faith, 26so that in me you may have ample cause to boast in Christ Jesus because of my coming to you again.

27Only live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent and hear about you, I may know that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side with one mind for the faith of the gospel, 28and not intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of their destruction, but of your salvation—and this is from God.

29For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of trusting in Christ, but also of suffering for him, 30since you are having the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.