NETtext - Philippians - 1

1:1  From Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and deacons.

1:2  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

1:3  I thank my God every time I remember you.

1:4  I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you

1:5  because of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.

1:6  For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

1:7  For it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God's grace together with me.

1:8  For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

1:9  And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight

1:10  so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,

1:11  filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.

1:12  I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel:

1:13  The whole imperial guard and everyone else knows that I am in prison for the sake of Christ,

1:14  and most of the brothers and sisters, having confidence in the Lord because of my imprisonment, now more than ever dare to speak the word fearlessly.

1:15  Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.

1:16  The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel.

1:17  The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment.

1:18  What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,

1:19  for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

1:20  My confident hope is that I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die.

1:21  For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.

1:22  Now if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean productive work for me, yet I don't know which I prefer:

1:23  I feel torn between the two, because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,

1:24  but it is more vital for your sake that I remain in the body.

1:25  And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress and joy in the faith,

1:26  so that what you can be proud of may increase because of me in Christ Jesus, when I come back to you.

1:27  Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that - whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent - I should hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,

1:28  and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of their destruction, but of your salvation - a sign which is from God.

1:29  For it has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him,

1:30  since you are encountering the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing.