Philippians 1
1
Greeting
1Paul#Ac 13:9 and Timothy,#Ac 16:1; 1Tm 1:2 servants of Christ Jesus:
To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,#Ac 16:12–40; 20:3–6; 1Th 2:2 including the overseers#Ac 20:28; Ti 1:7 and deacons.#1Co 3:5
2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you,#1:3 Or for your every remembrance of me 4always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day#Ac 16:12–40 until now.#1Co 9:15–18; 2Co 11:7–9; Php 4:10,16,18 6I am sure of this, that he who started a good work#2Co 9:8; Gl 3:10 in you#1:6 Or work among you will carry it on to completion#2Co 7:1 until the day of Christ Jesus. 7Indeed, it is right#Rm 1:17 for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart,#1:7 Or because you have me in your heart and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment#Php 1:13–14,17–20,25,30; 2:17,24; 4:22 and in the defense#Ac 22:1 and confirmation of the gospel. 8For God is my witness,#Rm 1:9 how deeply I miss all of you#1Th 3:6 with the affection of Christ Jesus. 9And I pray this: that your love#1Co 13:1 will keep on growing#1Co 15:58 in knowledge and every kind of discernment,#Eph 5:17 10so that you may approve the things that are superior#Rm 12:2 and may be pure#2Pt 3:1 and blameless#Ac 24:16; 1Co 10:32 in the day of Christ,#Php 1:6,15 11filled with the fruit#Mt 3:8; Gl 5:22 of righteousness#Rm 1:17 that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory#Lk 9:32; Jn 17:24; 2Co 3:18; 2Pt 3:18 and praise of God.
Advance of the Gospel
12Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel,#Mk 13:9; Ac 21–26 13so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. 14Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word#1:14 Other mss add of God#Lk 8:21; Jn 18:32; Ac 17:11; Heb 4:12 fearlessly. 15To be sure, some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry,#Rm 1:29; Ti 3:9 but others out of good will. 16These preach out of love,#1Co 13:1 knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition,#Rm 2:8 not sincerely, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. 18What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives#1Th 2:5 or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice 19because I know this will lead to my salvation#1:19 Or vindication#Jb 13:16–18 through your prayers and help from the Spirit#Gl 5:25 of Jesus Christ.#Ac 16:7; Rm 8:9; 1Pt 1:11 20My eager expectation and hope#Ac 23:6; 1Th 1:3 is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life#1Jn 5:12 or by death.#Jn 8:51
Living Is Christ
21For me, to live is Christ#Rm 14:7–9; Gl 2:19–20; Php 1:11,15; Col 2:6–3:11 and to die is gain.#Rm 8:38–39; Php 3:7 22Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful#Mt 3:8; Rm 1:13; Gl 5:22 work#Mk 14:6; Gl 3:10; Jms 2:14–26 for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. 23I am torn between the two. I long to depart and be with Christ#Rm 6:8; 2Co 4:14; 13:4–5; 1Th 4:14; 5:9–10 — which is far better#Jn 12:26 — 24but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. 25Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,#Mt 8:10; Ac 3:16; Rm 1:8; 1Co 2:5; Gl 2:16; 1Tm 1:2; Heb 4:2; Jd 3 26so that, because of my coming to you again, your boasting#1Co 15:58 in Christ Jesus#Rm 16:7; Eph 2:6; 1Pt 5:14 may abound.
27Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life#Ac 23:1 worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm#1Co 16:13; Gl 5:1; Eph 6:13–17; Php 4:1; 2Th 2:15 in one#Jn 11:52 spirit, in one accord,#1:27 Lit soul contending together for the faith#1Tm 3:9; 4:1,6; 5:8; 6:10,21 of the gospel, 28not being frightened in any way by your opponents.#1Co 16:9 This is a sign of destruction for them,#Mt 7:13; Rm 9:22 but of your salvation#Ac 4:12; 2Co 7:10; Heb 5:9 — and this is from God. 29For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe#Mk 11:24; Jn 3:16; Ac 10:43; Rm 10:9; 1Pt 1:8–10 in him, but also to suffer for him, 30since you are engaged in the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.
Currently Selected:
Philippians 1: CSB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Philippians 1
1
Greetings from Paul
1This letter is from Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus.
I am writing to all of God’s holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus, including the church leaders#1:1 Or overseers, or bishops. and deacons.
2May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer
3Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
7So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus.
9I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 11May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ#1:11 Greek with the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ.—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
Paul’s Joy That Christ Is Preached
12And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters,#1:12 Greek brothers. that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News. 13For everyone here, including the whole palace guard,#1:13 Greek including all the Praetorium. knows that I am in chains because of Christ. 14And because of my imprisonment, most of the believers#1:14a Greek brothers in the Lord. here have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message#1:14b Some manuscripts read speak the message. without fear.
15It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. 16They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. 17Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. 18But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice. 19For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance.
Paul’s Life for Christ
20For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. 21For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. 22But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
25Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith. 26And when I come to you again, you will have even more reason to take pride in Christ Jesus because of what he is doing through me.
Live as Citizens of Heaven
27Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. 28Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. 29For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. 30We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
For more information about the NLT: