For I am certain of this very thing, that He who began the good work in you will go on until the day of Jesus Christ to complete it.

And it is my prayer that your love may overflow still more and more, directed by fuller knowledge and keener insight,

so that you may always approve the better things, and be men of transparent character and blameless life,

men that are abounding in the fruits of right-doing with the help of Jesus Christ, to the honor and praise of God.

Now I want you to rest assured, brothers, that those things which have befallen me have actually resulted in the progress of the good news;

in this way it has become well known throughout the Imperial Guard and to all the rest here that I am a prisoner in the service of Christ,

and that most of the Christian brothers have grown confident enough, because of my imprisonment, to dare to tell God's message without being afraid.

the latter, indeed, are doing so from love to me, for they know that I am providentially put here to defend the good news;

the former are preaching Christ from the motive of rivalry, not in sincerity, supposing that this is making it harder for me to bear my imprisonment.

What difference then does it make? In one way or another, whether in pretense or in sincerity, Christ is being preached, and that is the thing that makes me glad; yes, more too, I will continue to be glad of it,

for I know that through your prayers and a bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my spiritual welfare,

in accordance with my eager expectation and hope that I shall never disgrace myself, but that now as always hitherto, by my all-conquering courage, whether by living or dying, Christ will be honored in me.

I am hesitating between two desires, for I long to depart and to be with Christ, for that is far, far better,

Now since I am certain of this, I know that I shall stay on and stay by you all to promote the progress of your faith

which will result in your joy; so that, through union with Christ Jesus, you may have more than sufficient ground for boasting about me, through my being with you again.

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.

Never in the slightest degree be frightened by your opponents, for such fearlessness will be strong evidence to them of their impending destruction, but to you a sure sign, and that from God, of your salvation.

since you are having the same struggle that you once saw me have and which you hear that I am still having.

Keep on fostering the same disposition that Christ Jesus had.

This is why God has highly exalted Him, and given Him the name that is above every other name,

so that in the name of Jesus everyone should kneel, in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld,

and everyone should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the praise of God the Father.

so that you may prove to be blameless and spotless, faultless children of God in a crooked and perverted age, in which you shine as light-bearers in the world as you continue

to hold up the message of life. That will give me ground for boasting on the day of Christ, because neither my career nor my labor has been a failure.

I hope, with the approval of the Lord Jesus, soon to send Timothy to you, so that I too may be cheered on getting the news about you.

Really, I am trusting that by the help of the Lord I soon shall come myself.

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

For he was so sick that he was on the point of dying, but God took pity on him, and not only on him but on me too, to keep me from having one sorrow after another.

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

Finally, my brothers, continue to be glad that you are in union with the Lord. I am not tired of writing you the same things over and over: it means your safety.

though I too might rely on these. If anyone thinks that he can rely on outward privileges, far more might I do so:

But for Christ's sake I have counted all that was gain to me as loss.

and be actually in union with Him, not having a supposed right standing with God which depends on my doing what the law commands, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the real right standing with God which originates from Him and rests on faith.

Yes, I long to come to know Him; that is, the power of His resurrection and so to share with Him his sufferings as to be continuously transformed by His death,

in the hope of attaining, in some measure, the resurrection that lifts me out from among the dead.

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.

Brothers, I do not think that I have captured it yet, but here is my one aspiration, so forgetting what is behind me and reaching out for what is ahead of me,

However, we must continue to live up to that degree of success that we have already reached.

He will so change the outward appearance of our lowly bodies that they will be like His glorious body, by the exertion of the power He has to subject everything to Himself.

Then, through your union with Christ Jesus, the peace of God, that surpasses all human thought, will keep guard over your hearts and thoughts.

Now, brothers, practice thinking on what is true, what is honorable, what is right, what is pure, what is lovable, what is high-toned, yes, on everything that is excellent or praiseworthy.

Practice the things you learned, received, and heard from me, things that you saw me do, and then the God who gives us peace will be with you.

Not that I refer to any personal want, for I have learned to be contented in whatever circumstances I am.

And you Philippians yourselves know that immediately after the good news was first preached to you, when I left Macedonia, no church but yours went into partnership with me to open an account of credits and debits.

It is not your gift that I want, but I do want the profits to pile up to your credit.

I have received your payment in full, and more too. I am amply supplied after getting the things you sent by Epaphroditus; they are like sweet incense, the kind of sacrifice that God accepts and approves.