NETtext - Philippians - 2

2:1  Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy,

2:2  complete my joy and be of the same mind, by having the same love, being united in spirit, and having one purpose.

2:3  Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself.

2:4  Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.

2:5  You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,

2:6  who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped,

2:7  but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature.

2:8  He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross!

2:9  As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,

2:10  so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow - in heaven and on earth and under the earth -

2:11  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

2:12  So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence,

2:13  for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort - for the sake of his good pleasure - is God.

2:14  Do everything without grumbling or arguing,

2:15  so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world

2:16  by holding on to the word of life so that on the day of Christ I will have a reason to boast that I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.

2:17  But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice together with all of you.

2:18  And in the same way you also should be glad and rejoice together with me.

2:19  Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be encouraged by hearing news about you.

2:20  For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you.

2:21  Others are busy with their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ.

2:22  But you know his qualifications, that like a son working with his father, he served with me in advancing the gospel.

2:23  So I hope to send him as soon as I know more about my situation,

2:24  though I am confident in the Lord that I too will be coming to see you soon.

2:25  But for now I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to me in my need.

2:26  Indeed, he greatly missed all of you and was distressed because you heard that he had been ill.

2:27  In fact he became so ill that he nearly died. But God showed mercy to him - and not to him only, but also to me - so that I would not have grief on top of grief.

2:28  Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you can rejoice and I can be free from anxiety.

2:29  So welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and honor people like him,

2:30  since it was because of the work of Christ that he almost died. He risked his life so that he could make up for your inability to serve me.