It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart [i.e., you are dear to me], for you people are sharing in God's unearned favor with me [Note: Paul here refers to his ministry], both in my imprisonment and in my defense and confirmation of the Gospel [i.e., in my efforts to give proof of the Gospel's truth].

It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not have to be ashamed about anything, but that I will have the courage, [both] now and always, [to so live] that Christ will be exalted [i.e., honored] in my body, whether I live or die.

for it is God who is at work in you, both to motivate the desire and to carry out what pleases Him.

I know how to get along in humble circumstances and how to live in prosperity. In every situation and in all circumstances, I have learned the secret both to be full and to be hungry, both to have plenty and to be in need.