Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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1 From Paul and Timothy, servants
of Christ Jesus—
1 To all God's people in Philippi who
are in union with Christ Jesus, including
the church leaders and helpers: note
2 May God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and
peace.
Paul's Prayer for His Readers
3 I thank my God for you every
time I think of you;
4 and every time
I pray for you all, I pray with joy
5 because of the way in which you
have helped me in the work of the
gospel from the very first day until
now.
6 And so I am sure that God,
who began this good work in you,
will carry it on until it is finished on
the Day of Christ Jesus.
7 You are always
in my heart! And so it is only
right for me to feel as I do about you.
For you have all shared with me in
this privilege that God has given me,
both now that I am in prison and
also while I was free to defend the
gospel and establish it firmly.
8 God
is my witness that I tell the truth
when I say that my deep feeling for
you all comes from the heart of
Christ Jesus himself.
9 I pray that your love will keep
on growing more and more, together
with true knowledge and perfect
judgment,
10 so that you will be able
to choose what is best. Then you will
be free from all impurity and blame
on the Day of Christ.
11 Your lives
will be filled with the truly good
qualities which only Jesus Christ
can produce, for the glory and praise
of God.
To Live Is Christ
12 I want you to know, my brothers,
that the things that have happened
to me have really helped the
progress of the gospel.
13 As a result,
the whole palace guard and all the
others here know that I am in prison
because I am a servant of Christ. note
14 And my being in prison has given
most of the brothers more confidence
in the Lord, so that they grow
bolder all the time to preach the
message note fearlessly.
-- --
15 Of course some of them preach
Christ because they are jealous and
quarrelsome, but others from genuine
good will.
16 These do so from
love, because they know that God
has given me the work of defending
the gospel.
17 The others do not proclaim
Christ sincerely, but from a
spirit of selfish ambition; they think
that they will make more trouble for
me while I am in prison.
18 It does not matter! I am happy
about it—just so Christ is preached
in every way possible, whether from
wrong or right motives. And I will
continue to be happy,
19 because I
know that by means of your prayers
and the help which comes from the
Spirit of Jesus Christ I shall be set
free.
20 My deep desire and hope is
that I shall never fail in my duty, but
that at all times, and especially right
now, I shall be full of courage, so
that with my whole being I shall
bring honor to Christ, whether I live
or die.
21 For what is life? To me, it is
Christ. Death, then, will bring more.
22 But if by continuing to live I can do
more worthwhile work, then I am
not sure which I should choose.
23 I
am pulled in two directions. I want
very much to leave this life and be
with Christ, which is a far better
thing;
24 but for your sake it is much
more important that I remain alive.
25 I am sure of this, and so I know
that I will stay. I will stay on with
you all, to add to your progress and
joy in the faith,
26 so that when I
am with you again, you will have
even more reason to be proud of
me in your life in union with Christ
Jesus.
27 Now, the important thing is that
your way of life should be as the
gospel of Christ requires, so that,
whether or not I am able to go and
see you, I will hear that you are
standing firm with one common purpose
and that with only one desire
you are fighting together for the
faith of the gospel.
28 Don't be afraid
of your enemies; always be courageous,
and this will prove to them
that they will lose and that you will
win, because it is God who gives you
the victory.
29 For you have been given
the privilege of serving Christ,
not only by believing in him, but also
by suffering for him.
30 Now you can
take part with me in the battle. It is
the same battle you saw me fighting
in the past, and as you hear, the one
I am fighting still. note
Good News [1976], GOOD NEWS BIBLE WITH DEUTEROCANONICALS / APOCRYPHA Today's English Version (AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY, New York) [word count] [B15000].
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