so that ye may approve the things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and void of offence unto the day of Christ;

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.

Fighting the same fight which you saw in me, and now have word of in me.

But it seemed to me necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, who has taken part with me in the work and in the fight, and your servant, sent by you for help in my need;

whose fate is destruction, whose god is their belly [their worldly appetite, their sensuality, their vanity], and whose glory is in their shame—who focus their mind on earthly and temporal things.

I know how to get along and live humbly [in difficult times], and I also know how to enjoy abundance and live in prosperity. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret [of facing life], whether well-fed or going hungry, whether having an abundance or being in need.