|
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. |
