Philippians 2

1So if being in Christ gives you any encouragement, if love brings you any comfort, if you share at all in the Spirit, if you have any tender affection and compassion, 2then fill my joy to the brim: be of one mind, hold on to the same love, be united in heart, and set your minds on one aim. 3Do not act out of rivalry or out of a craving for empty glory. Instead, be humble, and regard each other as standing above yourselves. 4Each of you should care not just about your own concerns but about the concerns of others as well. 5Among yourselves, think in the way that Christ Jesus also thought, 6who, being in the form of God, did not treat being equal with God as something to exploit for himself. 7Rather, he emptied himself, taking on the form of a servant and coming to share the likeness of human beings. And when he was found in outward form as a human being, 8he humbled himself, becoming obedient all the way to death, death on a cross. 9That is why God has exalted him far above all and freely given him the name that is above every name, 10so that every knee will bend before the name of Jesus, in heaven, on earth and below the earth, 11and every tongue will openly declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, bringing glory to God the Father.

12So then, my beloved, you have always obeyed. Keep at it now, not only as if I were there with you, but much more because I am away: with fear and trembling, keep working out your own salvation. 13For it is God who is at work in you, producing both the wanting and the doing, for his own good pleasure.

14In all you do, avoid complaining and quarreling, 15so that no one can fault you and you stay pure, God’s children without blemish in the midst of a crooked and distorted generation. Among these people you shine like stars in the world 16as you keep a firm grip on the word of life. That way, when the day of Christ comes, I can be proud that my running was not wasted and my hard work was not wasted. 17And even if my life is being poured out like a drink offering over the sacrifice and priestly service that your faith offers, I am glad, and I share my joy with all of you. 18In the same way, you too should be glad and share your joy with me.

19I hope, in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you before long, so that I too may be heartened when I hear news of you. 20I have no one else of the same heart, no one who will truly care about your welfare. 21The others are all pursuing their own concerns, not those of Jesus Christ. 22But you know how he has proved himself: like a son working alongside his father, he has served with me in spreading the gospel. 23So he is the one I hope to send, right away, as soon as I see how things will turn out for me. 24And I am convinced, trusting in the Lord, that I myself will also come before long.

25Even so, I have decided I must send Epaphroditus back to you. He is my brother, who has worked beside me and fought beside me, and he is your envoy, whom you sent to serve me in my need. 26For he has been longing for all of you, and has been deeply upset that you heard he was ill. 27He really was sick, so sick he almost died. But God showed him mercy, and not only him but me as well, so that I would not have grief on top of grief. 28That is why I am sending him the more urgently, so that you can see him again and be glad, and I can have less sorrow. 29So receive him in the Lord with complete joy, and hold people like him in high regard. 30He came to the edge of death for the work of Christ, staking his life so that he could supply what was missing in your service to me.