[1] This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus. I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and deacons.
[2] May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
[3] Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.
[4] Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy,
[5] for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.
[6] And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
[7] So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News.
[8] God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.
[9] I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.
[10] For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.
[11] May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
[12] And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.
[13] For everyone here, including the whole palace guard, knows that I am in chains because of Christ.
[14] And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear.
[15] It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives.
[16] They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News.
[17] Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me.
[18] But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.
[19] For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.
[20] For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.
[21] For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.
[22] But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better.
[23] I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.
[24] But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
[25] Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.
[26] And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.
[27] Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.
[28] Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself.
[29] For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.
[30] We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.