Philippians 1; Philippians 2; Philippians 3; Philippians 4

Philippians 1

1 From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus. To all of God's holy people in Christ Jesus who live in Philippi, including your elders and deacons:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 I thank my God every time I remember you,

4 always praying with joy for all of you.

5 I thank God for the help you gave me while I preached the Good News -- help you gave from the first day you believed until now.

6 God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.

7 And I know that I am right to think like this about all of you, because I have you in my heart. All of you share in God's grace with me while I am in prison and while I am defending and proving the truth of the Good News.

8 God knows that I want to see you very much, because I love all of you with the love of Christ Jesus.

9 This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love;

10 that you will see the difference between good and bad and will choose the good; that you will be pure and without wrong for the coming of Christ;

11 that you will do many good things with the help of Christ to bring glory and praise to God.

12 I want you brothers and sistersn to know that what has happened to me has helped to spread the Good News.

13 All the palace guards and everyone else knows that I am in prison because I am a believer in Christ.

14 Because I am in prison, most of the believers have become more bold in Christ and are not afraid to speak the word of God.

15 It is true that some preach about Christ because they are jealous and ambitious, but others preach about Christ because they want to help.

16 They preach because they have love, and they know that God gave me the work of defending the Good News.

17 But the others preach about Christ for selfish and wrong reasons, wanting to make trouble for me in prison.

18 But it doesn't matter. The important thing is that in every way, whether for right or wrong reasons, they are preaching about Christ. So I am happy, and I will continue to be happy.

19 Because you are praying for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ is helping me, I know this trouble will bring my freedom.

20 I expect and hope that I will not fail Christ in anything but that I will have the courage now, as always, to show the greatness of Christ in my life here on earth, whether I live or die.

21 To me the only important thing about living is Christ, and dying would be profit for me.

22 If I continue living in my body, I will be able to work for the Lord. I do not know what to choose -- living or dying.

23 It is hard to choose between the two. I want to leave this life and be with Christ, which is much better,

24 but you need me here in my body.

25 Since I am sure of this, I know I will stay with you to help you grow and have joy in your faith.

26 You will be very happy in Christ Jesus when I am with you again.

27 Only one thing concerns me: Be sure that you live in a way that brings honor to the Good News of Christ. Then whether I come and visit you or am away from you, I will hear that you are standing strong with one purpose, that you work together as one for the faith of the Good News,

28 and that you are not afraid of those who are against you. All of this is proof that your enemies will be destroyed but that you will be saved by God.

29 God gave you the honor not only of believing in Christ but also of suffering for him, both of which bring glory to Christ.

30 When I was with you, you saw the struggles I had, and you hear about the struggles I am having now. You yourselves are having the same kind of struggles.

Philippians 2

1 Does your life in Christ give you strength? Does his love comfort you? Do we share together in the spirit? Do you have mercy and kindness?

2 If so, make me very happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and having one mind and purpose.

3 When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Instead, be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves.

4 Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others.

5 In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus.

6 Christ himself was like God in everything. But he did not think that being equal with God was something to be used for his own benefit.

7 But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born to be a man and became like a servant.

8 And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself and was fully obedient to God, even when that caused his death -- death on a cross.

9 So God raised him to the highest place. God made his name greater than every other name

10 so that every knee will bow to the name of Jesus -- everyone in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.

11 And everyone will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and bring glory to God the Father.

12 My dear friends, you have always obeyed God when I was with you. It is even more important that you obey now while I am away from you. Keep on working to complete your salvation with fear and trembling,

13 because God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him.

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing.

15 Then you will be innocent and without any wrong. You will be God's children without fault. But you are living with crooked and mean people all around you, among whom you shine like stars in the dark world.

16 You offer the teaching that gives life. So when Christ comes again, I can be happy because my work was not wasted. I ran the race and won.

17 Your faith makes you offer your lives as a sacrifice in serving God. If I have to offer my own blood with your sacrifice, I will be happy and full of joy with all of you.

18 You also should be happy and full of joy with me.

19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon. I will be happy to learn how you are.

20 I have no one else like Timothy, who truly cares for you.

21 Other people are interested only in their own lives, not in the work of Jesus Christ.

22 You know the kind of person Timothy is. You know he has served with me in telling the Good News, as a son serves his father.

23 I plan to send him to you quickly when I know what will happen to me.

24 I am sure that the Lord will help me to come to you soon.

25 Epaphroditus, my brother in Christ, works and serves with me in the army of Christ. When I needed help, you sent him to me. I think now that I must send him back to you,

26 because he wants very much to see all of you. He is worried because you heard that he was sick.

27 Yes, he was sick, and nearly died, but God had mercy on him and me too so that I would not have more sadness.

28 I want very much to send him to you so that when you see him you can be happy, and I can stop worrying about you.

29 Welcome him in the Lord with much joy. Give honor to people like him,

30 because he almost died for the work of Christ. He risked his life to give me the help you could not give in your service to me.

Philippians 3

1 My brothers and sisters, be full of joy in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it will help you to be more ready.

2 Watch out for those who do evil, who are like dogs, who demand to cutn the body.

3 We are the ones who are truly circumcised. We worship God through his Spirit, and our pride is in Christ Jesus. We do not put trust in ourselves or anything we can do,

4 although I might be able to put trust in myself. If anyone thinks he has a reason to trust in himself, he should know that I have greater reason for trusting in myself.

5 I was circumcised eight days after my birth. I am from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrew, and my parents were Hebrews. I had a strict view of the law, which is why I became a Pharisee.

6 I was so enthusiastic I tried to hurt the church. No one could find fault with the way I obeyed the law of Moses.

7 Those things were important to me, but now I think they are worth nothing because of Christ.

8 Not only those things, but I think that all things are worth nothing compared with the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of him, I have lost all those things, and now I know they are worthless trash. This allows me to have Christ

9 and to belong to him. Now I am right with God, not because I followed the law, but because I believed in Christ. God uses my faith to make me right with him.

10 I want to know Christ and the power that raised him from the dead. I want to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death.

11 Then I have hope that I myself will be raised from the dead.

12 I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal, but I continue trying to reach it and to make it mine. Christ wants me to do that, which is the reason he made me his.

13 Brothers and sisters, I know that I have not yet reached that goal, but there is one thing I always do. Forgetting the past and straining toward what is ahead,

14 I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me through Christ to the life above.

15 All of us who are spiritually mature should think this way, too. And if there are things you do not agree with, God will make them clear to you.

16 But we should continue following the truth we already have.

17 Brothers and sisters, all of you should try to follow my example and to copy those who live the way we showed you.

18 Many people live like enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you about them, and it makes me cry to tell you about them now.

19 In the end, they will be destroyed. They do whatever their bodies want, they are proud of their shameful acts, and they think only about earthly things.

20 But our homeland is in heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven.

21 By his power to rule all things, he will change our simple bodies and make them like his own glorious body.

Philippians 4

1 My dear brothers and sisters, I love you and want to see you. You bring me joy and make me proud of you, so stand strong in the Lord as I have told you.

2 I ask Euodia and Syntyche to agree in the Lord.

3 And I ask you, my faithful friend, to help these women. They served with me in telling the Good News, together with Clement and others who worked with me, whose names are written in the book of life.

4 Be full of joy in the Lord always. I will say again, be full of joy.

5 Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon.

6 Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for every- thing you need, always giving thanks.

7 And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.

9 Do what you learned and received from me, what I told you, and what you saw me do. And the God who gives peace will be with you.

10 I am very happy in the Lord that you have shown your care for me again. You continued to care about me, but there was no way for you to show it.

11 I am not telling you this because I need anything. I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens.

12 I know how to live when I am poor, and I know how to live when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens, when I have enough to eat and when I go hungry, when I have more than I need and when I do not have enough.

13 I can do all things through Christ, because he gives me strength.

14 But it was good that you helped me when I needed it.

15 You Philippians remember when I first preached the Good News there. When I left Macedonia, you were the only church that gave me help.

16 Several times you sent me things I needed when I was in Thessalonica.

17 Really, it is not that I want to receive gifts from you, but I want you to have the good that comes from giving.

18 And now I have everything, and more. I have all I need, because Epaphroditus brought your gift to me. It is like a sweet-smelling sacrifice offered to God, who accepts that sacrifice and is pleased with it.

19 My God will use his wonderful riches in Christ Jesus to give you everything you need.

20 Glory to our God and Father forever and ever! Amen.

21 Greet each of God's people in Christ. Those who are with me send greetings to you.

22 All of God's people greet you, particularly those from the palace of Caesar.

23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.