1:4 I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you
1:5 because of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.
1:6 For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
1:7 For it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God's grace together with me.
1:8 For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
1:9 And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight
1:10 so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,
1:11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
1:12 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel:
1:13 The whole imperial guard and everyone else knows that I am in prison for the sake of Christ,
1:14 and most of the brothers and sisters, having confidence in the Lord because of my imprisonment, now more than ever dare to speak the word fearlessly.
1:15 Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.
1:16 The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel.
1:17 The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment.
1:18 What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,
1:19 for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
1:20 My confident hope is that I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die.
1:21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.
1:22 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:
1:23 I feel torn between the two, because I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far,
1:24 but it is more vital for your sake that I remain in the body.
1:25 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,
1:26 so that what you can be proud of may increase because of me in Christ Jesus, when I come back to you.
1:27 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,
1:28 and by not being intimidated in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of their destruction, but of your salvation--a sign which is from God.
1:29 For it has been granted to you not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him,
1:30 since you are encountering the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing.
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