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Philippians 1
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The Christians at Philippi are greeted by Paul and Timothy
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Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all
the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the
bishops and deacons:
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Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and
from the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Paul's thankfulness to God and his love for the Philippians
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I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
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Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request
with joy,
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For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
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Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
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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 defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers
of my grace.
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For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the
bowels of Jesus Christ.
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He prays for their spiritual growth
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And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more
in knowledge and in all judgment;
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That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may
be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
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Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by
Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
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What has happened to Paul resulted only in advancing the gospel
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But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things
which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the
furtherance of the gospel;
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So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace,
and in all other places;
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And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by
my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
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Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some
also of good will:
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The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing
to add affliction to my bonds:
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But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence
of the gospel.
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What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence,
or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea,
and will rejoice.
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He is confident in hope
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For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your
prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
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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.
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For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
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But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour:
yet what I shall choose I wot not.
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For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart,
and to be with Christ; which is far better:
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Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
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And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and
continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;
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That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ
for me by my coming to you again.
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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;
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He counsels his readers to have courage
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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.
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For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only
to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
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Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear
to be in me.
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Philippians 2
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Paul's exhortation of humility
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If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort
of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and
mercies,
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Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love,
being of one accord, of one mind.
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Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
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Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on
the things of others.
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Christ's humility
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Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
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Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God:
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But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form
of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
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And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
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Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him
a name which is above every name:
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That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things
in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
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And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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A Christian's obligations
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Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in
my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling.
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For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of
his good pleasure.
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Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
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That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God,
without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation,
among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
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Paul's sacrifice a cause for joy
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Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day
of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
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Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of
your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all.
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For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me.
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He promises to send them Timothy, and hopes to come himself
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But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto
you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.
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For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for
your state.
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For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus
Christ's.
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But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father,
he hath served with me in the gospel.
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Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall
see how it will go with me.
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But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.
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Meanwhile, Epaphroditus will return to them at once
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Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus,
my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but
your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.
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For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness,
because that ye had heard that he had been sick.
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For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy
on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have
sorrow upon sorrow.
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I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see
him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.
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Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold
such in reputation:
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Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not
regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.
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Philippians 3
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Paul warns his readers to beware of confidence in the flesh
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Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same
things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it
is safe.
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Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
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For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit,
and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
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and confesses that in his former life he was foremost in Pharisaic zeal
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Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other
man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh,
I more:
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Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the
tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the
law, a Pharisee;
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Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the
righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
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but he has put aside his youthful advantages in order to gain Christ and the righteousness of faith
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But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for
Christ.
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Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom
I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but
dung, that I may win Christ,
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And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which
is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is of God by faith:
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That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable
unto his death;
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If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of
the dead.
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He strives to overcome his own imperfections
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Not as though I had already attained, either were already
perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for
which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
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Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this
one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth unto those things which are before,
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I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus.
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and exhorts the Philippians to think and act as mature persons
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Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded:
and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal
even this unto you.
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Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk
by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
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Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which
walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
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and to discard the ways of worldly Christians
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(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell
you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross
of Christ:
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Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and
whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
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For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look
for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
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Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned
like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby
he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
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Philippians 4
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Peace with the brethren
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Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy
and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
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I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the
same mind in the Lord.
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And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women
which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and
with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book
of life.
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Peace with the Lord
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Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
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Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
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Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
unto God.
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And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall
keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
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Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever
things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever
things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there
be any praise, think on these things.
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Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and
heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be
with you.
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Paul tells how much he appreciated the Philippians' liberality to him in prison
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But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your
care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful,
but ye lacked opportunity.
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Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in
whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
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I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound:
every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full
and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
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I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
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Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate
with my affliction.
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Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the
gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated
with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
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For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my
necessity.
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Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may
abound to your account.
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But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of
Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour
of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
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He closes his letter with prayer and salutations
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But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches
in glory by Christ Jesus.
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Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
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Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are
with me greet you.
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All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's
household.
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
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