Philippians 1

¹ From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus, together with their presiding elders and deacons.

² We wish you the grace and peace of God our Father and of the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ I thank my God whenever I think of you; and

⁴ every time I pray for all of you, I pray with joy,

⁵ remembering how you have helped to spread the Good News from the day you first heard it right up to the present.

⁶ I am quite certain that the One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished when the Day of Christ Jesus comes.

⁷ It is only natural that I should feel like this towards you all, since you have shared the privileges which have been mine: both my chains and my work defending and establishing the gospel. You have a permanent place in my heart,

⁸ and God knows how much I miss you all, loving you as Christ Jesus loves you.

⁹ My prayer is that your love for each other may increase more and more and never stop improving your knowledge and deepening your perception.

¹⁰ so that you can always recognise what is best. This will help you to become pure and blameless, and prepare you for the Day of Christ,

¹¹ when you will reach the perfect goodness which Jesus Christ produces in us for the glory and praise of God.

¹² I am glad to tell you, brothers, that the things that happened to me have actually been a help to the Good News.

¹³ My chains, in Christ, have become famous not only all over the Praetorium but everywhere,

¹⁴ and most of the brothers have taken courage in the Lord from these chains of mine and are getting more and more daring in announcing the Message without any fear.

¹⁵ It is true that some of them are doing it just out of rivalry and competition, but the rest preach Christ with the right intention,

¹⁶ out of nothing but love, as they know that this is my invariable way of defending the gospel.

¹⁷ The others, who proclaim Christ for jealous or selfish motives, do not mind if they make my chains heavier to bear.

¹⁸ But does it matter? Whether from dishonest motives or in sincerity, Christ is proclaimed; and that makes me happy;

¹⁹ and I shall continue being happy, because I know this will help to save me,[*a] thanks to your prayers and to the help which will be given to me by the Spirit of Jesus.

²⁰ My one hope and trust is that I shall never have to admit defeat, but that now as always I shall have the courage for Christ to be glorified in my body, whether by my life or by my death.

²¹ Life to me, of course, is Christ, but then death would bring me something more;

²² but then again, if living in this body means doing work which is having good results-I do not know what I should choose.

²³ I am caught in this dilemma: I want to be gone and be with Christ, which would be very much the better,

²⁴ but for me to stay alive in this body is a more urgent need for your sake.

²⁵ This weighs with me so much that I feel sure I shall survive and stay with you all, and help you to progress in the faith and even increase your joy in it;

²⁶ and so you will have another reason to give praise to Christ Jesus on my account when I am with you again.

²⁷ Avoid anything in your everyday lives that would be unworthy of the gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come to you and see for myself, or stay at a distance and only hear about you, I shall know that you are unanimous in meeting the attack with firm resistance, united by your love for the faith of the gospel

²⁸ and quite unshaken by your enemies. This would be the sure sign that they will lose and you will be saved. It would be a sign from God

²⁹ that he has given you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well.

³⁰ You and I are together in the same fight as you saw me fighting before and, as you will have heard, I am fighting still.