Only you must practice living lives that are worthy of the good news, so that whether I come and see you or stay away, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, and that with one purpose you are continuing to cooperate in the fight for faith in the good news.

So I hope to send him to you just as soon as I can see how my case is going to turn out.

for he has been longing to see you and has been homesick because you have heard that he was sick.

I very eagerly send him, so that when you see him you may be glad of it, and I may be less sorrowful.

It is not a fact that I have already secured it or already reached perfection, but I am pressing on to see if I can capture it, the ideal for which I was captured by Christ Jesus.

So, my dearly loved brothers, whom I long to see, my joy and crown, by the help of the Lord keep on standing firm, dearly loved friends.