Philippians 1

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the holy ones in union with Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God every time I remember you.

In every prayer of mine for you, I always pray with joy

because of your participation in the advancement of the good news from the first day until now.

I am convinced of this: that he who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the Day of Christ Jesus.

It is only right for me to think this way about all of you because I have you in my heart both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the good news, and because all of you are partakers of grace together with me.

Indeed, God is my witness, how I long for you all with the deep affection of Christ Jesus.

And I keep praying this: that your love will continue to increase more and more in connection with knowledge and every kind of insight,

so that you can determine the things that are best in order to be pure and without offense until the Day of Christ,

being filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the things that happened to me have actually served to advance the good news.

As a result of those things, my imprisonment for preaching Christ has become well known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else.

Also, most of our brothers and sisters, having become confident in the Lord because of my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word of God without fear.

Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ out of envy and rivalry, but some out of good will.

The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the good news,

but the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not with pure motives, intending to cause trouble for me in my imprisonment.

What really matters? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,

because I know that through your prayer and the help of the spirit of Jesus Christ, this will result in my deliverance,

as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

But if I continue to live in the flesh, this will mean fruitful work for me. Yet what I would prefer, I do not know.

Now I am hard-pressed between the two, having the intense desire to depart and to be with Christ because that is far better,

yet to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

And since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

so that your reason for boasting in Christ Jesus will continue to increase because of me by my coming to you again.

Above all, conduct yourselves as citizens of heaven in a manner worthy of the good news of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you, that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one soul, contending together for the faith that is based on the good news,

and are not being frightened in any way by those who oppose you, which is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and this is from God.

For on behalf of Christ, you have been graciously given the privilege not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake,

since you are experiencing the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.