The Letter of Paul to the Philippians
1 FROM PAUL AND TIMOTHY, servants of Christ Jesus, to all
those of God's people, incorporate in Christ Jesus, who live at
Philippi, including their bishops and deacons.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my god whenever I think of you; and when I pray for you all,
my prayers are always joyful, because of the part you have taken in the
work of the Gospel from the first day until now. Of one thing I am certain:
the One who started the good work in you will bring it to completion by
the Day of Christ Jesus. It is indeed only right that I should feel like this
about you all, because you hold me in such affection, and because, when I
lie in prison or appear in the dock to vouch for the truth of the Gospel, you
all share in the privilege that is mine. God know how I long for you all,
with the deep yearning of Christ Jesus himself. And this is my prayer, that
your love may grow ever richer and richer in knowledge and insight of
every kind, and may thus bring you the gift of true discrimination. Then
on the Day of Christ you will be flawless and without blame, reaping the
full harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory
and praise of God.
Friends, I want you to understand that the work of the Gospel has
been helped on rather than hindered, by this business of mine. My im-
prisonment in Christ's cause has become common knowledge to all at
the Prætorium , and indeed among the public at large; and it has given
confidence to most of our fellow-Christians to speak the word of God fear-
lessly and with extraordinary courage.
Some, indeed, proclaim Christ in a jealous and quarrelsome spirit;
others proclaim him in true goodwill, and these are moved by love for me;
they know that it is to defend the Gospel that I am where I am. But the
others., moved by personal rivalry, present Christ from mixed motives,
meaning to stir up fresh trouble for me as I lie in prison. What does it
matter? One way or another, in pretence or sincerity, Christ is set forth
and for that I rejoice.
Yes, and rejoice I will, knowing well that the issue of it all will be my
deliverance, because you are praying for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ
is given me for support. For, as I passionately hope, I shall have no cause
to be ashamed, but shall speak so boldly that now as always the greatness
of Christ will shine out clearly in my person, whether through my life or
through my death. For to me life is Christ, and death gain; but what if my
living on in the body may serve some good purpose? Which then am I to
choose? I cannot tell. I am torn two ways: what I should like is to depart
and be with Christ; that is better by far; but for your sake there is greater
need for me to stay on in the body. This indeed I know for certain: I shall
stay, and stand by you all to help you forward and to add my joy to your faith,
so that when I am with you again, your pride in me may be unbounded in
Christ Jesus.
Only, let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether
I come and see you for myself or hear about you from a distance, I may
know that you are standing firm, one in spirit, one in mind, contending as
one man for the gospel faith, meeting your opponents without so much as
a tremor. This is a sure sign to them that their doom is sealed, but a sign
granted the privilege not only of believing in Christ but also of suffering
for him. You and I are engaged in the same contest; you saw me in it once,
and, as you hear, I am in it still.
2 IF THEN our common life in Christ yields anything to stir the heart, any
loving consolation, any sharing of the Spirit, any warmth of affection or
compassion, fill up my cup of happiness by thinking and feeling alike,
with the same love for one another, the same turn of mind, and a common
care for unity. There must be no room for rivalry and personal vanity
among you, but you must humbly reckon others better than yourselves.
Look to each other's interest and not merely to your own.
Let your bearing toward one another arise out of your life in Christ
Jesus. For the divine nature was his from the first; yet he did not think
to snatch at equality with God, but made himself nothing, assuming the
nature of a slave. Bearing the human likeness, revealed in human shape,
he humbled himself, and in obedience accepted even death — death on a
cross. Therefore God raised him to the heights and bestowed on him the
name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow —
in heaven, on earth, and in the depths — and every tongue confess, 'Jesus
Christ is Lord', to the glory of God the Father.
So you too, my friends, must be obedient, as always; even more, now
that I am away, than when I was with you. You must work out your own
salvation in fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you, inspiring
both the will and the deed, for his own chosen purpose.
Do all you have to do without complaint or wrangling. Show yourselves
guileless and above reproach, faultless children of God in a warped and
crooked generation, in which you shine like stars in a dark world and
proffer the word of life. Thus you will be my pride on the Day of Christ,
proof that I did not run my race in vain, or work in vain. But if my life-
blood is to crown that sacrifice which is the offering up of your faith, I am
glad of it, and I share my gladness with you all. Rejoice, you no less than
I, and let us share our joy.
I HOPE (under the Lord Jesus) to send Timothy to you soon; it will
cheer me to hear news of you. There is no one else here like him,
who takes a genuine interest in your concerns; they are all bent on
their own ends, not on the cause of Christ Jesus. But Timothy's record is
known to you: you know that he has been at my side in the service of the
Gospel like a son working under his father. Timothy, then, I hope to send
as soon as ever I can see how things are going with me; and I am confident,
under the Lord, that I shall myself be coming before long.
I feel also I must send our brother Epaphroditus, my fellow-worker and
comrade, whom you commissioned to minister to my needs. He has been
missing all of you sadly, and has been distressed that you heard he was ill.
(He was indeed dangerously ill, but God was merciful to him, and merciful
no less to me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.) For this reason I am all
the more eager to send him, to give you the happiness of seeing him again,
and to relieve my sorrow. Welcome him then in the fellowship of the Lord
with whole-hearted delight. You should honour men like him; in Christ's
cause he came near to death, risking his life to render me the service you
could not give.
3 And now, friends, farewell; I wish you joy in the Lord.
TO REPEAT what I have written to you before is no trouble to me, and it
is a safeguard for you. Beware of those dogs and their malpractices. Beware
of those who insist on mutilation — 'circumcision' I will not call it; we are
the circumcised, we whose worship is spiritual, whose pride is in Christ
Jesus, and who put no confidence in anything external. Not that I am with-
out grounds myself even for confidence of that kind. If anyone thinks to
base his claims on externals, I could make a stronger case for myself:
circumcised on my eighth day, Israelite by race, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew born and bred; in my attitude to the law, a Pharisee; in pious
zeal, a persecutor of the church; in legal rectitude, faultless. But all such
assets I have written off because of Christ. I would say more: I count
everything sheer loss, because all is outweighed by the gain of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I did in fact lose everything. I count
it so much garbage, for the sake of gaining Christ and finding myself
incorporate in him, with no righteousness of my own, no legal rectitude,
but the righteousness which comes from faith in Christ, give by God in
response to faith. All I care for is to know Christ, to experience the power
of his resurrection, and to share his sufferings, in growing confor-
mity with his death, if only I may finally arrive at the resurrection from
the dead.
It is not to be thought that I have already achieved all this. I have not yet
reached perfection, but I press on, hoping to take hold of that for which
Christ once took hold of me. My friends, I do not reckon myself to have got
hold of it yet. All I can say is this; forgetting what is behind me, and reach-
ing out for that which lies ahead, I press towards the goal to win the prize
which is God's call to the life above, in Christ Jesus.
Let us keep to this way of thinking, those of us who are mature. If
there is any point on which you think differently, this also God will make
plain to you. Only let our conduct be consistent with the level we have
already reached.
Agree together, my friends, to follow my example. You have us for a
model; watch those whose way of life conforms to it. For, as I have often
told you, and now tell you with tears in my eyes, there are many whose
way of life makes them enemies of the cross of Christ. They are heading for
destruction, appetite is their god, and they glory in their shame. Their
minds are set on earthly things. We, by contrast, are citizens of heaven,
and from heaven we expect our deliverer to come, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will transfigure the body belonging to our humble state, and give it a
form like that of his own resplendent body, by the very power which
4 enables him to make all things subject to himself. Therefore, my friends,
beloved friends whom I long for, my joy, my crown stand thus firm in the
Lord, my beloved!
I beg Euodia, and I beg Syntyche, to agree together in the Lord's fellow-
ship. Yes, and you too, my loyal comrade, I ask you to help these women,
who shared my struggles in the cause of the Gospel, with Clement and my
other fellow-workers, whose names are in the roll of the living.
Farewell; I wish you all joy in the Lord. I will say it again: all joy be
yours.
Let your magnanimity be manifest to all.
The Lord is near; have no anxiety, but in everything make your requests
known to God in prayer and petition and thanksgiving. Then the peace of
God, which is beyond our utmost understanding, will keep guard over
your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus.
And now, my friends, all that is true, all that is noble, all that is just and
pure, all that is lovable and gracious, whatever is excellent and admirable
— fill all your thoughts with these things.
The lessons I taught you, the tradition I have passed on, all that you
heard me say or saw me do, put into practice; and the God of peace will
be with you.
IT IS A GREAT JOY to me, in the Lord, that after so long your care for me
has now blossomed afresh. You did not care about me before for that matter;
it was opportunity that you lacked. Not that I am alluding to want, for I
have learned to find resources in myself whatever my circumstances. I
know what it is to be brought low, and I know what it is to have plenty.
I have been very thoroughly initiated into the human lot with all its ups
and downs — fullness and hunger, plenty and want. I have strength for any-
thing through him who gives me power. But it was kind of you to share the
burden of my troubles.
As you know yourselves, Philippians, in the early days of my mission,
when I set out from Macedonia, you alone of all our congregations were
my partners in payments and receipts; for even at Thessalonica you con-
tributed to my needs, not once but twice over. Do not think I set my heart
upon the gift; all I care for is the profit accruing to you. However, here I
give you my receipt for everything — for more than everything; I am paid
in full, now that I have received from Epaphroditus what you sent. It is a
fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God
will supply all your wants out of the magnificence of his riches in Christ
Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for endless ages! Amen.
Give my greetings, in the fellowship of Christ Jesus, to each one of God's
people. The brothers who are now with me send their greetings to you,
and so do all God's people here, particularly those who belong to the
imperial establishment.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
The New English Bible (with Apocrypha)
Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, 1970
Posted Dec 31, 2018, 2:47 AM UTC
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