Study Desk

The whole imperial guard and everyone else knows that I am in prison for the sake of Christ,

The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel.

The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment.

for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.

Now if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean productive work for me, yet I don't know which I prefer:

but it is more vital for your sake that I remain in the body.

And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress and joy in the faith,

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that—whether I come and see you or whether I remain absent—I should hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, by contending side by side for the faith of the gospel,

For it has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him,

for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God.

For there is no one here like him who will readily demonstrate his deep concern for you.

But for now I have considered it necessary to send Epaphroditus to you. For he is my brother, coworker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to me in my need.

since it was because of the work of Christ that he almost died. He risked his life so that he could make up for your inability to serve me.

Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! To write this again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.

For we are the circumcision, the ones who worship by the Spirit of God, exult in Christ Jesus, and do not rely on human credentials

In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless.

More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things—indeed, I regard them as dung!—that I may gain Christ,

Not that I have already attained this—that is, I have not already been perfected—but I strive to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus also laid hold of me.

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead,