Pilipiyim (Philippians) 2
2
1If, then, there is any encouragement in Messiah, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
2make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love, one in being and of purpose,
3doing none at all through selfishness or self-conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
4Each one should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
5For, let this mind be in you which was also in Messiah יהושע,
6who, being in the form of Elohim, did not regard equality with Elohim a matter to be grasped,
7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and came to be in the likeness of men.
8And having been found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, death even of a stake.
9Elohim, therefore, has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name which is above every name,
10that at the Name of יהושע every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11and every tongue should confess# Isa. 45:23 that יהושע Messiah is Master, to the esteem of Elohim the Father.
12So that, my beloved, as you always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much rather in my absence – work out your own deliverance with fear and trembling,# Psa. 2:11
13for it is Elohim who is working in you both to desire and to work for his good pleasure.
14Do all matters without grumblings and disputings,
15in order that you be blameless and faultless, children of Elohim without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,# Deu. 32:5 among whom you shine as lights in the world,
16holding on to the Word of life, for a boast to me in the day of Messiah, that I have not run in vain or laboured in vain.
17In fact, even if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the offering and service of your belief, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
19But I trust in the Master יהושע to send Timotiyos to you shortly, so that I too am encouraged by news from you.
20For I have no one else of the same mind, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare.
21For all seek their own interests, not those of Messiah יהושע.
22But you know he has proven himself, that as a son with his father he served with me for the Good News.
23So I expect to send him as soon as I see how it goes with me,
24and I trust in the Master that I myself shall also come shortly.
25But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditos, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, and your emissary and servant to my need,
26since he was longing for you all, and being troubled because you had heard that he was sick.
27For indeed he was sick, near to death, but Elohim had compassion on him, and not only on him but on me as well, lest I should have sadness upon sadness.
28Therefore I sent him more eagerly, so that on seeing him again you might rejoice, and I be less sad.
29Receive him therefore in the Master with all joy, and hold such as he in esteem,
30because for the work of Messiah he was near death, risking his life, to fill up what was lacking in your service toward me.
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Copyright© 1993 – 2015 by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR). All rights reserved.
Philippians 2
2
He Took on the Status of a Slave
1-4If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
5-8Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
9-11Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.
Rejoicing Together
12-13What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.
14-16Do everything readily and cheerfully—no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I’ll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You’ll be living proof that I didn’t go to all this work for nothing.
17-18Even if I am executed here and now, I’ll rejoice in being an element in the offering of your faith that you make on Christ’s altar, a part of your rejoicing. But turnabout’s fair play—you must join me in my rejoicing. Whatever you do, don’t feel sorry for me.
19-24I plan (according to Jesus’ plan) to send Timothy to you very soon so he can bring back all the news of you he can gather. Oh, how that will do my heart good! I have no one quite like Timothy. He is loyal, and genuinely concerned for you. Most people around here are looking out for themselves, with little concern for the things of Jesus. But you know yourselves that Timothy’s the real thing. He’s been a devoted son to me as together we’ve delivered the Message. As soon as I see how things are going to fall out for me here, I plan to send him off. And then I’m hoping and praying to be right on his heels.
25-27But for right now, I’m dispatching Epaphroditus, my good friend and companion in my work. You sent him to help me out; now I’m sending him to help you out. He has been wanting in the worst way to get back with you. Especially since recovering from the illness you heard about, he’s been wanting to get back and reassure you that he is just fine. He nearly died, as you know, but God had mercy on him. And not only on him—he had mercy on me, too. His death would have been one huge grief piled on top of all the others.
28-30So you can see why I’m so delighted to send him on to you. When you see him again, strong and strapping, how you’ll rejoice and how relieved I’ll be. Give him a grand welcome, a joyful embrace! People like him deserve the best you can give. Remember the ministry to me that you started but weren’t able to complete? Well, in the process of finishing up that work, he put his life on the line and nearly died doing it.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.