|
Chapter 1 |
| 1 | Paul and
Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus
which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: |
| 2 | Grace be unto
you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 3 | I
thank my God upon every remembrance of you, |
|
4 | Always in every prayer of
mine for you all making request with joy, |
|
5 | For your fellowship in the
gospel from the first day until now; |
| 6 | Being confident of this very
thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the
day of Jesus Christ: |
| 7 | Even as it is meet for me to think this of
you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in
the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my
grace. |
| 8 |
For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the
bowels of Jesus Christ. |
| 9 | And this I pray, that your love may abound
yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; |
| 10 | That ye may
approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence
till the day of Christ. |
| 11 | Being filled with the fruits of
righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of
God. |
| 12 |
But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things
which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the
gospel; |
| 13
| So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the
palace, and in all other places; |
| 14 | And many of the brethren in
the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word
without fear. |
|
15 | Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife;
and some also of good will: |
|
16 | The one preach Christ of contention,
not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: |
| 17 | But the
other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. |
| 18 |
What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ
is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. |
| 19 | For
I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply
of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, |
| 20 | According to my earnest
expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all
boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether
it be by life, or by death. |
|
21 | For to me to live is Christ, and to
die is gain. |
|
22 | But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my
labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. |
|
23 | For I am in a strait
betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far
better: |
| 24
| Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for
you. |
| 25 |
And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and
continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; |
| 26 | That
your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you
again. |
| 27
| Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel
of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of
your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together
for the faith of the gospel; |
|
28 | And in nothing terrified by your
adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of
salvation, and that of God. |
|
29 | For unto you it is given in the behalf
of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
|
| 30 | Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in
me. |
