The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Philippians, chapter 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, grace be unto you,
and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for
you, all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the
first day unto now, being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ.
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 defense and confirmation of the gospel,
ye all are partakers of my grace.
For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus
Christ.
And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all
judgment, that ye may approve things that are excellent, that ye may be sincere and
without offense to the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of
righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God.
But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened
unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel, so that my
bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places.
And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much
more bold to speak the word without fear.
Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill.
The one preach Christ of contention not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to
my bonds, but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of
the gospel.
What then?
Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached,
and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer and the
supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
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.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor.
Yet what I shall choose I ought not.
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with
Christ, which is far better.
Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for
your furtherance and joy of faith, that your rejoicing may be more abundant
in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.
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, 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.
For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him,
but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which ye saw in
me, and now hear to be in me.