Philippians 2

¹ If our life in Christ means anything to you, if love can persuade at all, or the Spirit that we have in common, or any tenderness and sympathy,

² then be united in your convictions and united in your love, with a common purpose and a common mind. That is the one thing which would make me completely happy.

³ There must be no competition among you, no conceit; but everybody is to be self-effacing. Always consider the other person to be better than yourself,

⁴ So that nobody thinks of his own interests first but everybody thinks of other s people’s interests instead.

⁵ In your minds you must be the same as Christ Jesus:[*a]

⁶ His state was divine, yet he did not cling to his equality with God

⁷ but emptied himself to assume the condition of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men are,

⁸ he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross.

⁹ But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names

¹⁰ so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee[*b] at the name of Jesus

¹¹ and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹² So then, my dear friends, continue to do as I tell you, as you always have; not only as you did when I was there with you, but even more now that I am no longer there; and work for your salvation ‘in fear and trembling’.

¹³ It is God, for his own loving purpose, who puts both the will and the action into you.

¹⁴ Do all that has to be done without complaining or arguing

¹⁵ and then you will be innocent and genuine, perfect children of God among a deceitful and underhand brood,[*c] and you will shine in the world like bright stars

¹⁶ because you are offering it the word of life. This would give me something to be proud of for the Day of Christ, and would mean that I had not run in the race and exhausted myself for nothing.

¹⁷ And then, if my blood has to be shed as part of your own sacrifice and offering-which is your faith[*d] I shall still be happy and rejoice with all of you,

¹⁸ and you must be just as happy and rejoice with me.

¹⁹ I hope, in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you soon, and I shall be reassured by having news of you.

²⁰ I have nobody else like him here, as wholeheartedly concerned for your welfare:

²¹ all the rest seem more interested in themselves than in Jesus Christ.

²² But you know how he has proved himself by working with me on behalf of the Good News like a son helping his father.

²³ That is why he is the one that I am hoping to send you, as soon as I know something definite about my fate.

²⁴ But I continue to trust, in the Lord, that I shall be coming soon myself.

²⁵ It is essential, I think, to send brother Epaphroditus back to you. He was sent as your representative to help me when I needed someone to be my companion in working and battling,

²⁶ but he misses you all and is worried because you heard about his illness.

²⁷ It is true that he has been ill, and almost died, but God took pity on him, and on me as well as him, and spared me what would have been one grief on top of another.

²⁸ So I shall send him back as promptly as I can; you will be happy to see him again, and that will make me less sorry.

²⁹ Give him a most hearty welcome, in the Lord; people like him are to be honoured.

³⁰ It was for Christ’s work that he came so near to dying, and he risked his life to give me the help that you were not able to give me yourselves.