Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to
all the saints in Christ Jesus that are at Philippi, with the bishops and
deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God
upon all my remembrance of you, always in every
supplication of mine on behalf of you all making my supplication with joy,
for your fellowship in furtherance of the gospel
from the first day until now; being confident of
this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it
until the day of Jesus Christ: even as it is
right for me to be thus minded on behalf of you all, because I have you in
my heart, inasmuch as, both in my bonds and in the defence and
confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers with me of grace.
For God is my witness, how I long after you all
in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus. And this I
pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all
discernment; so that ye may approve the things
that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and void of offence unto the
day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of
righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise
of God. Now I would have you know, brethren,
that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto
the progress of the gospel; so that my bonds
became manifest in Christ throughout the whole praetorian guard, and to
all the rest; and that most of the brethren in
the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to
speak the word of God without fear. Some indeed
preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
the one do it of love, knowing that I am
set for the defence of the gospel; but the other
proclaim Christ of faction, not sincerely, thinking to raise up affliction
for me in my bonds. What then? only that in
every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and
therein I rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. For I
know that this shall turn out to my salvation, through your supplication
and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
according to my earnest expectation and hope,
that in nothing shall I be put to shame, but that with all
boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my
body, whether by life, or by death. For to me to
live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if to
live in the flesh, --if this shall bring fruit from my work, then
what I shall choose I know not. But I am in a
strait betwixt the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ;
for it is very far better: yet to abide in the
flesh is more needful for your sake. And having
this confidence, I know that I shall abide, yea, and abide with you all,
for your progress and joy in the faith; that
your glorying may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with
you again. Only let your manner of life be
worthy of the gospel of Christ: that, whether I come and see you and be
absent, I may hear of your state, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with
one soul striving for the faith of the gospel;
and in nothing affrighted by the adversaries:
which is for them an evident token of perdition, but of your salvation,
and that from God; because to you it hath been
granted in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to
suffer in his behalf: having the same conflict
which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
If there is therefore any exhortation in Christ,
if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender
mercies and compassions, make full my joy, that
ye be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one
mind; doing nothing through faction or
through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better
than himself; not looking each of you to his own
things, but each of you also to the things of others.
Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus: who, existing in the form of God, counted
not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a
servant, being made in the likeness of men; and
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient
even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.
Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and gave
unto him the name which is above every name;
that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven and things on earth and things
under the earth, and that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
So then, my beloved, even as ye have always
obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
for it is God who worketh in you both to will
and to work, for his good pleasure. Do all
things without murmurings and questionings: that
ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in
the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as
lights in the world, holding forth the word of
life; that I may have whereof to glory in the day of Christ, that I did
not run in vain neither labor in vain. Yea, and
if I am offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and
rejoice with you all: and in the same manner do
ye also joy, and rejoice with me. But I hope in
the Lord Jesus to send Timothy shortly unto you, that I also may be of
good comfort, when I know your state. For I have
no man likeminded, who will care truly for your state.
For they all seek their own, not the things of
Jesus Christ. But ye know the proof of him,
that, as a child serveth a father, so he served with me in
furtherance of the gospel. Him therefore I hope
to send forthwith, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me:
but I trust in the Lord that I myself also shall
come shortly. But I counted it necessary to send
to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, and
your messenger and minister to my need; since he
longed after you all, and was sore troubled, because ye had heard that he
was sick: for indeed he was sick nigh unto
death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, that
I might not have sorrow upon sorrow. I have sent
him therefore the more diligently, that, when ye see him again, ye may
rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.
Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy;
and hold such in honor: because for the work of
Christ he came nigh unto death, hazarding his life to supply that which
was lacking in your service toward me.
Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To
write the same things to you, to me indeed is not irksome, but for you it
is safe. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil
workers, beware of the concision: for we are the
circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus,
and have no confidence in the flesh: though I
myself might have confidence even in the flesh: if any other man thinketh
to have confidence in the flesh, I yet more:
circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of
Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the
law, a Pharisee; as touching zeal, persecuting
the church; as touching the righteousness which is in the law, found
blameless. Howbeit what things were gain to me,
these have I counted loss for Christ. Yea verily,
and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and do
count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ,
and be found in him, not having a righteousness
of mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is
through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith:
that I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed
unto his death; if by any means I may attain
unto the resurrection from the dead. Not that I
have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so
be that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ
Jesus. Brethren, I could not myself yet to have
laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are
behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before,
I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the
high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us
therefore, as many as are perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye
are otherwise minded, this also shall God reveal unto you:
only, whereunto we have attained, by that same
rule let us walk. Brethren, be ye
imitators together of me, and mark them that so walk even as ye have us
for an ensample. For many walk, of whom I told
you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies
of the cross of Christ: whose end is perdition,
whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind
earthly things. For our citizenship is in
heaven; whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
who shall fashion anew the body of our
humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory,
according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things
unto himself.
Wherefore, my brethren beloved and longed for, my
joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my beloved.
I exhort Euodia, and I exhort Syntyche, to be of
the same mind in the Lord. Yea, I beseech thee
also, true yokefellow, help these women, for they labored with me in the
gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow-workers, whose names
are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord
always: again I will say, Rejoice. Let your
forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
In nothing be anxious; but in everything by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of
good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on
these things. The things which ye both learned
and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of
peace shall be with you. But I rejoice in the
Lord greatly, that now at length ye have revived your thought for me;
wherein ye did indeed take thought, but ye lacked opportunity.
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have
learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content.
I know how to be abased, and I know also how to
abound: in everything and in all things have I learned the secret both to
be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want.
I can do all things in him that strengtheneth
me. Howbeit ye did well that ye had fellowship
with my affliction. And ye yourselves also know,
ye Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from
Macedonia, no church had fellowship with me in the matter of giving and
receiving but ye only; for even in Thessalonica
ye sent once and again unto my need. Not that I
seek for the gift; but I seek for the fruit that increaseth to your
account. But I have all things, and abound: I am
filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things that came from
you, and odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to
God. And my God shall supply every need of yours
according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Now unto our God and Father be the glory
for ever and ever. Amen. Salute every saint in
Christ Jesus. The brethren that are with me salute you.
All the saints salute you, especially they that
are of Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
HTML generated 17 October 2002.
[Index]
[Home] [Report typo]