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Philippians 1:1,2
1 Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, together with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:3-8
3 I thank my God every time I remember you in prayer; 4 and in all my prayers for you I never cease to pray with joy 5 because of your sharing in the Gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of this, that He who did a good work in you at the beginning will complete it by the day of Jesus Christ.
7 It is right for me to think this way about all of you who hold me in your heart, for in my imprisonment and the defence and confirmation of the Gospel, you have all shared in God's grace with me. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:8-11
8 For God is my witness that I feel deeply for all of you with the affection that comes from Jesus Christ.
9 And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow even more and more resulting in knowledge and the discernment 10 to decide what is of genuine value, so that you may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, 11 having produced the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1:12-18
12 I want you to know, dear friends, that in reality, what has happened to me has helped to further the cause of the gospel, 13 with the result that the whole Imperial Guard knows that my imprisonment is for Christ, as well as everyone else! 14 Most of our friends in the Lord have grown in confidence because of my imprisonment and are more bold and fearless in speaking the Word of God!
15 Now, some of these preach Christ through envy or rivalry, but others do so with goodwill 16 and out of love for me, knowing that I have the task of defending the gospel. 17 The former preach Christ because of self-centred ambition, without sincerity and with the intent of increasing the difficulties caused by my imprisonment. 18 What really matters, then? Only this, that Christ is proclaimed in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, and for that I rejoice.
Philippians 1:19-26
Yes, I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will all result in my deliverance. 20 It is my eager hope and expectation that I will not be put to shame in any way, and I have complete confidence, now as always, that Christ will be honoured in my body, whether through life or through death. 21 For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 If, however, I remain alive ‘in the flesh’ this means that there is fruitful work for me to do; so what should I choose? I do not know, 23 and I am torn between the two! For I have a longing to leave and be with Christ, and that is my strongest desire 24 yet for me to remain alive is more important for you.
25 I am persuaded of this; I know I must remain and stand with you to encourage you in all your progress, joy and faith; 26 then, when I come to see you again, you will have good reason to boast about Jesus Christ because of what has happened to me!
Philippians 1:27-30
27 Conduct yourselves exclusively in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come to see you or hear about you in absence, I will know that you are standing firm in one Spirit, striving side by side and united for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not made to panic by your opponents.
This is proof to them of their failure and of your triumph; for this is God's doing. 29 He has graciously given you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering on his behalf as well, 30 since you are having the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Philippians 2:1-4
1 Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any empathy and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love, and being united in one spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility think of others as better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should pursue not only your own interests, but those of others.
Philippians 2:5-11
5 Have this same mind in common with Christ Jesus, 6 who, though being God by nature, did not consider equality with God as something to be held on to. 7 Instead, He gave up His own power, took the likeness of a slave and was born in the same way as everyone else. Then, being found to be like other people, 8 he made himself humble, submitting even to death, death on a cross. 9 For this reason, God raised him to the highest possible place and graciously gave him the name above all names, 10 so that at the name of Jesus everything in heaven, on earth and under the earth, should bow down in worship 11 and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:12-18
12 So, my dear friends, because you have always been obedient, not just in my presence but even more so in my absence; I urge you to make good your own salvation with reverence and fear; 13 for God does his own will and work through you, according to His good purposes. 14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that you may be without fault and pure, children of God with no imperfections in the midst of a twisted and perverted generation, where you shine like stars in the world. 16 Because you hold firmly to the Word of life, I have reason to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labour in vain. 17 But even if I am being sacrificed on account of the worship and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all 18 and so should you be glad and rejoice with me.
Philippians 2:19-24
19 It is my hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you quickly, so that I may be encouraged by news of you. 20 For I have no one else who shares my feelings and who cares deeply for your welfare, 21 and everyone else has their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know how valuable he is, and how he has worked with me like a son with a father, in the work of the Gospel. 23 I therefore hope to send him as soon as I see how things turn out for me; 24 and I am confident in the Lord that I will also come soon.
Philippians 2:25-30
25 I nevertheless think it is important that I send Epaphroditus to you, my brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, and also your messenger and minister to my need, 26 since he has been missing you all, and was upset because you heard he was ill. 27 Indeed, he was so ill he nearly died. But God had mercy on him; not only on him, but on me also so that I would not have to add one sorrow to another. 28 I am therefore all the more eager to send him, so that you may be glad to see him again, and that I may be less worried. 29 Welcome him then in the Lord with all joy, and honour men such as him, 30 because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life in order to minister to me on your behalf and in a way that you could not directly do yourselves.
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