Philippians

Chapter 1

¹ Dear Brothers and Sisters in Philippi, that is to everyone who has been purified by God because of oneness with Christ Jesus, especially to all the elders and church workers:

Greetings from Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus.

² Our prayer is that God the Father, and our Lord Christ Jesus, will always be kind to each of you and guard you so that you live calmly under our Father’s and the Lord’s protection!

Paul’s prayer

³ Every time I remember to pray for you, I always thank God whom I serve. ⁴ I always pray for all of you with gladness, ⁵ because I remember how you worked with me in telling the Good News about Christ from the time you believed that news until now. ⁶ And I’m sure that God, who has begun a wonderful spiritual work in each of you, will continue it until it’s perfected on the day Christ Jesus returns.

⁷ It’s proper for me to think like that about you, of course, because I feel that you have a place in my heart. That’s because you’ve become my coworkers in the task that God has given me. That task was given to me only because of His kindness. My task is to defend and maintain the Good News from God, whether I’m in prison or not. ⁸ And God Himself knows that I really long for all of you with the love that comes from Christ Jesus.

⁹ So this is my prayer for you:

     I pray for all of you that your love will increase more and more,

     and that your love will be supplied with wisdom and true understanding,

     ¹⁰ so that you’ll know which way is best.

     And in that way, your life will become truly perfect and pure from all wrong on the day of Christ’s return.

     ¹¹ And I pray that your lives which are righteous in God’s eyes, will produce many good things, that is things which are done through the power of Christ Jesus for the glory and praise of God.

Paul’s suffering makes the Good News spread more and more

¹² Brothers and Sisters, I want you to know that all the trouble and suffering that I’m experiencing has actually caused the Good News about Christ to spread more and more, ¹³ so that everyone here, especially the guards of the Roman palace, already knows clearly that I’m in prison because I’m a follower of Christ. ¹⁴ And because I’m imprisoned, most of our brothers and sisters who believe in the Lord Jesus are becoming bolder to tell the Good News about Him.

¹⁵ Of course there are some people who tell about Christ because they’re envious of me, or because they want to become more well-known than me. But most of the brothers and sisters in the faith tell the News because they sincerely want to please the Lord. ¹⁶ They do it because they love me too, and are aware that I’m in prison because of God’s will, which is to fight to defend and maintain the Good News from God. ¹⁷ But some other people still tell about Christ for selfish reasons and not with sincere hearts. They each think, “Paul will have more trouble when he hears that I have more followers here than he has.”

¹⁸ But it doesn’t bother me if they boast about themselves like that! Because what’s important to me is that the news of Christ spreads far, whether it’s done for pure reasons or not. So I’m still rejoicing. Yes, and I will keep on rejoicing! ¹⁹ For through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Christ Jesus, I’m sure that in the end I’ll be released.

The goal of Paul’s life is to glorify Christ alone

²⁰ For I truly long for and hope that I won’t fail in my task and won’t be ashamed before the Lord. I want to be able to witness full of boldness like I’ve witnessed before now. In that way, I hope that Christ is always glorified by what happens to me, whether I live or die. ²¹ Because this life for me is only to glorify Christ. And if I die, that will just bring benefit to me, which is to live with Christ. ²² But if I keep living in this world, I’ll keep trying to get more results in my service to the Lord. So if I were given permission to choose, I don’t know if I would be happier to stay live or to die soon. ²³ It’s very difficult for me to choose between the two, of course! Personally, it’s better for me to leave this body and live with Christ. Yes, that’s far better for me! ²⁴ But remembering that you still need me, I’m certain that I need to live longer in this world. ²⁵ Because I’m sure of that, I think that the Lord will allow me to live and remain with you. In that way, I’ll help you grow more and more, and rejoice because of our faith in Christ, ²⁶ so that when I come to you again, you’ll be very happy and thankful to Christ Jesus, for sure.

Be united and continue to live as citizens of the kingdom of Heaven

²⁷ But whatever happens to me, the most important thing is that you keep living according to the Good News about Christ in a way that’s proper for citizens of the kingdom of God. In that way, whether I come and see you or only hear news about you, I’ll know that you keep enduring and fighting for our faith in the Good News with one heart and mind. ²⁸ Don’t be afraid of the people who oppose you. That will prove to them that they’ll be destroyed, whereas God Himself will save us. ²⁹ God chose you because of His kindness not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for His glory! ³⁰ And the suffering which you are experiencing is the same as the suffering I experience, like you have witnessed. And you've also heard that I'm still suffering now.

Chapter 2

Be united and pay attention to each other

¹ So because of all that, my Brothers and Sisters, think about the things that we experience together because we’re one with Christ! He always strengthens and comforts us because He loves us. And we enjoy a relationship as brothers and sisters because the Holy Spirit lives in each of us. For that reason, we pay attention to each other and love each other. Now based on all of that, ² I urge you to make me more joyful when I hear that you live like-minded, still having the same love for each other, and working together with one heart and one mind. ³ Whatever you do, don’t do it out of selfishness or to promote yourself. But you should be humble and put every brother in the faith first, instead of your own self. ⁴ Don’t just be busy thinking about your own needs, but think about the needs of other people too.

Follow the example of Christ who wasn’t self-centered

⁵ We should each follow the attitude of Christ Jesus!

     ⁶ Even though Jesus had all of the character traits of God,

         He never thought that His status as God

         was something that He had to continually hold onto.

     ⁷ But He humbled Himself and left everything.

         Then He took the lowliest status of a servant to serve us,

         and came to this world as a normal human being.

     And as a human being,

         ⁸ He humbled Himself even more to obey the will of God,

         so that He surrendered Himself to die,

         even by crucifixion.

     ⁹ For that reason, God has raised Him up to the most honored place,

         and elevated Him above all other authorities! ^[1]

     ¹⁰ God did that, so that everyone,

         whether in heaven, on earth or in the world of the dead,

         will kneel to worship Jesus.

     ¹¹ And everyone ^[2] will confess that Christ Jesus is Lord.

         In that way, God the Father will also be glorified.

Become the people that God desires

¹² For that reason, my Brothers and Sisters whom I love, just like you’ve always obeyed me, I’m now urging you to try to live according to what’s proper for people who’ve been saved by God, with fear and respect for Him. Don’t do this just when I’m with you, but it would be even better if you do this when I’m not with you. ¹³ For God is the one who gives the desire, and even the ability to each of us to do the things that please Him.

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining and arguing. ^15-16 In that way, you’ll be worthy to be called God’s children, because you live pure and without stain, being clean from all wrong— even though you’re among people who’ve gone astray and have rotten hearts. And because you tell them the teaching that gives life, you should shine among them like stars which shine in a dark world. That way, I’ll really rejoice when Christ returns, because it will be proven that my effort and struggle were not worthless.

¹⁷ You believe in Him fully, so you’ve sacrificed your lives to serve God. So even if I have to give my own blood ^[3] along with your sacrifice, I mean if I’m killed in the fight to stand for our faith in Christ, I’ll still rejoice. And I want you to feel that joy along with me too. ¹⁸ Yes, join in being happy with me and be full of joy with me!

News about Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹ I hope that the Lord Jesus will soon open up a way to send Timothy to you, because I’ll really rejoice when he returns bringing news about you. ²⁰ I don’t have any other coworker like Timothy, who is of one heart with me, and who truly thinks about your needs. ²¹ Other people think more about their own self importance, and don’t really care about the work of Christ Jesus. ²² And you also know Timothy’s character, that he has served with me in telling the Good News, like a son helping his father. ²³ For that reason, I hope to send Timothy to you soon, when I know more about my case. ²⁴ And I’m sure that the Lord will help me so that I can soon come to you myself.

²⁵ But I feel it’s necessary to send Epaphroditus back to you. He’s my good brother in the faith, a coworker and warrior in the service of the Lord. Of course you sent him earlier to take care of my needs in this prison. ²⁶ But my reason for sending him back is because he himself really longs to see all of you. He’s worried because he knows that you know he was sick. ²⁷ He was very sick for sure and almost died, but God had compassion on him and helped him. God didn’t just have compassion on him but on me too, so that I was really comforted. ²⁸ So I’m happy to be able to send him back to you. In that way, you’ll be glad to see him again, and I won’t need to worry about his health any more. ²⁹ So welcome him joyfully as a brother who’s also one with the Lord, and honor people like him, ³⁰ because he almost died in the task of serving Christ. He was willing to die in order to fulfill the task that you gave him when you sent him, which was to take care of my needs while here in prison.

Chapter 3

Knowing Christ is more meaningful than anything else

¹ Finally my Brothers and Sisters whom I love, rejoice because you’re one with the Lord! I’m not embarrassed to repeat what I’ve written before. In fact, I emphasize the matter of rejoicing so that you’ll be spiritually safe.

² Watch out for false teachers, they’re like dogs! According to them, the Jewish custom of circumcision is the duty of every man. But they’re actually evil people who just want to cut the skin off your sexual organs! ³ But we’ve received genuine circumcision, which is circumcision of the heart. ^[1] The proof is that we worship God through His Spirit, and we’re only proud of what Christ Jesus did to save us. We don’t rely on ceremonies that are done by human hands on the bodies of men or on other physical regulations. ⁴ If those false teachers think they can rely on physical things like that or on their status in the Jewish religion, then it’s even more appropriate for me to brag about things like that! ⁵ I was circumcised when I was one week old. ^[2] I’m a descendant of Israel, from the tribe of Benjamin. I’m a Hebrew, and my parents were also Hebrews. I’m also a member of the Pharisee group, so it’s clear that I’ve really obeyed the whole Law. ⁶ And I was so enthusiastic in fighting to maintain the Jewish religion that I persecuted the people who believed in Jesus. At that time, all the Jews witnessed that I lived right and without fault according to the Law.

⁷ Of course, I used to be proud and felt fortunate because of all that. But now I consider all of those things useless, because now I only brag about what Christ has done! ⁸ Not only that, but I even consider everything meaningless when compared with what I have now, which is knowing my Lord Christ Jesus! Because of Christ, I now consider everything I used to brag about as having no meaning and just the same as garbage. Knowing Christ is far more meaningful! ⁹ And I just want to remain one with Him. So I’m not made right before God anymore as a result of my efforts to obey the Law, but I’m made right in God’s sight because of Christ! God Himself worked out that way to be made right on the basis of fully believing in Christ. ¹⁰ I just long to know Christ and the power that raised Him from death. And I long to take part in suffering as part of serving Christ, just like He Himself suffered, to the point that I’m willing to die like He did. ¹¹ In that way, I really hope that I'm worthy myself to take part in being made alive again after death.

¹² I’m not saying that I’ve already reached my goal, because I haven’t become perfect yet. But I keep trying to reach that goal, because that’s what Christ Jesus planned for me before He called me to become His own. ¹³ Brothers and Sisters, I know that I haven’t reached that goal yet, but my eyes are only focused on reaching that goal. I forget everything that has already passed and try with all my strength to reach what’s ahead of me. ¹⁴ Just as if I were running a race, my eyes keep focused on the goal which is the victory prize that has been prepared for me in heaven! And of course we who’re one with Christ Jesus have been called by God to reach that heavenly goal. ¹⁵ So all of us who have become spiritually mature should have the same direction and goal that I do. And if any of you don’t agree with this teaching, God will give you understanding and lead all of you to the right way. ¹⁶ What’s important is that none of us fall back from the level of spiritual maturity that we’ve reached.

¹⁷ So Brothers and Sisters, may each of you follow my example. Pay attention to and imitate everyone whose life is like our example. ¹⁸ I’m saying this because there’s something that really saddens my heart. As I’ve said to you many times, so I remind you once more that there are many people now who claim they’re followers of Christ but their lives are in direct opposition to what Christ did through His cross! ¹⁹ That way of life will bring them to destruction. They only think about worldly things and don’t serve God. They just live to satisfy their own desires, and they do all kinds of things that are shameful. And they’re even proud of all those things. ²⁰ But we’ve become citizens of heaven, and we really long for the moment our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus will come back from there! ²¹ By using His awesome power, He’ll change these lowly bodies of ours to become like His glorious body. That awesome power of His is the power that He keeps using to subject everything under His rule.

Chapter 4

Final advice

¹ Because of that, Brothers and Sisters whom I love and long for, I’m asking each of you to remain one with the Lord. Stand firm, because you are my joy and you are the result of my ministry that I’m very proud of.

² I’m asking our two sisters, Euodia and Syntyche, to be like-minded because of being one with the Lord. ³ And I’m asking my faithful coworker, who’s the leader of the church, ^[1] to help those two sisters of ours because I remember how they served and fought with Klemens, myself and other brothers and sisters in telling the Good News. Their names are found in the book of life, for sure! ^[2]

⁴ Always rejoice because you’re one with the Lord. Yes, I’m not embarrassed to repeat it. I’m ordering you once again to keep on rejoicing!

⁵ Let it be obvious in each of your lives that you’re always gentle. The Lord will come soon! ⁶ Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. Give your requests to God in prayer, and don’t forget to give thanks. ⁷ In that way, the calm in God's protection that we receive because of oneness with Christ Jesus will guard your hearts and minds. That calmness which God gives is greater than any human can understand.

⁸ Finally, Brothers and Sisters, focus your thoughts on true teachings and whatever is worthy to be praised, that is everything that’s good, that leads to righteous and honorable living, and the things that are pure, lovely and pleasing. ⁹ And practice all of the teachings that you’ve received from me, both through my words and my deeds. In that way, God, who’s the source of our calmness of heart, will be with you.

Expressions of thanks from Paul to the church in Philippi

¹⁰ The Lord has given me amazing joy because you obviously still remember that I’m in prison here by sending assistance again. You always care about my situation, of course, but you haven’t usually had the opportunity to help. ¹¹ I’m not saying that because I still need something, for I’ve been trained to feel content in every situation. ¹² So I know how to be satisfied, whether I’m living with little or with plenty, because I’ve found the secret of how to feel content in every situation, full or hungry, rich or poor. ¹³ I can face every situation because Christ always gives me strength! ¹⁴ Even so, I’m thankful and glad that you’ve helped me in the trouble I’m experiencing right now.

¹⁵ Of course you know that the first time I left you in Macedonia to tell the Good News in another place, there was no other church that was fully involved, that is who became close coworkers of mine and received blessings too because of repeatedly giving financial support to me. You’re the only ones who supported me like that. ¹⁶ And when I served in Thessalonica, you sent help to me several times to meet my needs. ¹⁷ I’m not saying this to seek help from you again, but I want each of you to be blessed abundantly because you’ve saved up treasure in heaven. ¹⁸ All of my needs have been met in full. In fact, I have more than what I need because Epaphroditus has brought your contribution to me. To God, that gift of yours is like a fragrant offering, and He has received that offering and is pleased with it. ¹⁹ The God whom I serve will repay it by meeting all of your needs too, because He’ll give all spiritual riches in abundance, which are the glories of heaven, to us who’re one with Christ Jesus. ²⁰ Glory to our God and Father forever. Amen!

²¹ Give my greetings to all the brothers and sisters there, that is to everyone who has been purified by God because they’re one with Christ Jesus. The brothers who’re with me send greetings to you. ²² And all of our brothers and sisters here who’ve been purified by God send greetings to you too, especially those who have duties in the high king’s palace.

²³ I pray that our Lord Christ Jesus will always be kind to you and be with each of you.