Greetings from Paul
(2 Samuel 6:12-15; 1 Chronicles 15:1-14; Colossians 1:1-2)
1Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
(1 Corinthians 1:4-9; Colossians 1:3-14; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4)
3I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 5For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 6Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: 7Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. 8For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. 9And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 11Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Paul's Trials Advance the Gospel
(James 1:2-8)
12But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; 13So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; 14And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. 15Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. 19For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
To Live is Christ
21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. 23For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: 24Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you. 25And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; 26That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.
Be Worthy of the Gospel
27Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 28And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. 29For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; 30Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
Greetings from Paul and Timothy
(Colossians 1:1–2; Philemon 1:1–3)
1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ; To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and servants: 2 Grace to you, and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
(1 Corinthians 1:4–9; Colossians 1:3–14)
3 I thank my God whenever I remember you, 4 always in every request of mine on behalf of you all making my requests with joy, 5 for your partnership in furtherance of the Good News from the first day until now; 6 being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is even right for me to think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart, because, both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, you all are partakers with me of grace. 8 For God is my witness, how I long after all of you in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus. 9 This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ; 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Paul’s Trials Advance the Gospel
(James 1:2–12)
12 Now I desire to have you know, brothers, that the things which happened to me have turned out rather to the progress of the Good News; 13 so that it became evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my bonds are in Christ; 14 and that most of the brothers in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear. 15 Some indeed preach Christ even out of envy and strife, and some also out of good will. 16 The former insincerely preach Christ from selfish ambition, thinking that they add affliction to my chains; 17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the Good News. 18 What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. I rejoice in this, yes, and will rejoice. 19 For I know that this will turn out to my salvation, through your supplication and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will in no way be disappointed, but with all boldness, as always, now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life, or by death.
To Live Is Christ
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will bring fruit from my work; yet I don’t know what I will choose. 23 But I am in a dilemma between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24 Yet, to remain in the flesh is more needful for your sake. 25 Having this confidence, I know that I will remain, yes, and remain with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 that your rejoicing may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with you again.
Worthy of the Gospel
27 Only let your way of life be worthy of the Good News of Christ, that, whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your state, that you stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the Good News; 28 and in nothing frightened by the adversaries, which is for them a proof of destruction, but to you of salvation, and that from God. 29 Because it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer on his behalf, 30 having the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear is in me.
Greetings from Paul and Timothy
(Colossians 1:1–2; Philemon 1:1–3)
1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
(1 Corinthians 1:4–9; Colossians 1:3–14)
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In every prayer for all of you, I always pray with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart. For in my chains and in my defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partners in grace with me. 8 God is my witness how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Paul’s Trials Advance the Gospel
(James 1:2–12)
12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel. 13 As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard a and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. 14 And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word b without fear.
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. c 17 The former, however, preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can add to the distress of my chains.
18 What then is the issue? d Just this: that in every way, whether by false motives or true, Christ is preached. And in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 because I know that through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, my distress will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
To Live Is Christ
21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know. 23 I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed. 24 But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that through my coming to you again your exultation in Christ Jesus will resound on account of me.
Worthy of the Gospel
27 Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending side by side e for the faith of the gospel, 28 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a clear sign of their destruction but of your salvation, and it is from God. 29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, 30 since you are encountering the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Footnotes:
13 a Or all the Praetorium
14 b NE and WH the word of God
16 c BYZ and TR reverse the order of verses 16 and 17.
18 d Literally What then?
27 e Or striving together with one mind
Greetings from Paul
(2 Samuel 6:12-15; 1 Chronicles 15:1-14; Colossians 1:1-2)
1Paul and Timotheus, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with overseers and ministrants; 2Grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
(1 Corinthians 1:4-9; Colossians 1:3-14; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-4)
3I give thanks to my God upon all the remembrance of you, 4always, in every supplication of mine for you all, with joy making the supplication, 5for your contribution to the good news from the first day till now, 6having been confident of this very thing, that He who did begin in you a good work, will perform it till a day of Jesus Christ, 7according as it is righteous for me to think this in behalf of you all, because of my having you in the heart, both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the good news, all of you being fellow-partakers with me of grace. 8For God is my witness, how I long for you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ, 9and this I pray, that your love yet more and more may abound in full knowledge, and all judgment, 10for your proving the things that differ, that ye may be pure and offenceless -- to a day of Christ, 11being filled with the fruit of righteousness, that is through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Paul's Trials Advance the Gospel
(James 1:2-8)
12And I wish you to know, brethren, that the things concerning me, rather to an advancement of the good news have come, 13so that my bonds have become manifest in Christ in the whole praetorium, and to the other places -- all, 14and the greater part of the brethren in the Lord, having confidence by my bonds, are more abundantly bold -- fearlessly to speak the word. 15Certain, indeed, even through envy and contention, and certain also through good-will, do preach the Christ; 16the one, indeed, of rivalry the Christ do proclaim, not purely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds, 17and the other out of love, having known that for defence of the good news I am set: 18what then? in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is proclaimed -- and in this I rejoice, yea, and shall rejoice. 19For I have known that this shall fall out to me for salvation, through your supplication, and the supply of the Spirit of Christ Jesus, 20according to my earnest expectation and hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, and in all freedom, as always, also now Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death,
To Live is Christ
21for to me to live is Christ, and to die gain. 22And if to live in the flesh is to me a fruit of work, then what shall I choose? I know not; 23for I am pressed by the two, having the desire to depart, and to be with Christ, for it is far better, 24and to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account, 25and of this being persuaded, I have known that I shall remain and continue with you all, to your advancement and joy of the faith, 26that your boasting may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence again to you.
Be Worthy of the Gospel
27Only worthily of the good news of the Christ conduct ye yourselves, that, whether having come and seen you, whether being absent I may hear of the things concerning you, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul, striving together for the faith of the good news, 28and not terrified in anything by those opposing, which to them indeed is a token of destruction, and to you of salvation, and that from God; 29because to you it was granted, on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also on behalf of him to suffer; 30the same conflict having, such as ye saw in me, and now hear of in me.
The Favor of God paraphrase
Greeting and Thanksgiving
¹ From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: ² Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this: that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. ⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; and whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. ⁸ God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
Paul’s Chains Advance the Gospel
¹² Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. ¹³ As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. ¹⁴ And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.
¹⁵ It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. ¹⁶ The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. ¹⁷ The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. ¹⁸ But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached! And because of this, I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that through your prayers and God’s provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.
Paul’s Life is Christ
²⁰ I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain! ²² If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! ²³ I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; ²⁴ but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. ²⁵ Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.
Live Worthy of the Gospel
²⁷ Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ! Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel ²⁸ without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. ²⁹ For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him, ³⁰ since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Footnotes:
1.“Partnership in the gospel” (verse 5) emphasizes the close, cooperative relationship between Paul and the Philippians in spreading the message of Jesus. The Greek word koinonia means fellowship or partnership, reflecting their shared mission.
2.“He who began a good work” (verse 6) refers to God’s ongoing work of spiritual transformation in believers. The emphasis is on God’s faithfulness to bring to completion what He started.
3.“Affection of Christ Jesus” (verse 8) uses the Greek word splagchna, referring to the deepest emotional and compassionate feelings. Paul’s affection for the Philippians is modeled on Christ’s love and compassion.
4.“To live is Christ, to die is gain” (verse 21) expresses Paul’s absolute devotion to Jesus. For Paul, living means continuing his mission for Christ, but dying would bring him into the full presence of Jesus, which he views as even better.
5.“Conduct yourselves” (verse 27) uses the Greek word politeuesthe, meaning to behave as citizens. The Philippians, who were proud of their Roman citizenship, are called to live as citizens of heaven, reflecting the values of the gospel in their lives.
6.“Striving together” (verse 27) uses the image of an athletic team working in unison. Paul calls the believers to work as a unified body in their faith, standing strong against opposition.
7.“Granted to you…to suffer” (verse 29) indicates that suffering for Christ is not just an unfortunate consequence but a privilege granted by God. Paul emphasizes that believers share in both Christ’s victory and His suffering.
