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:
2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, 5 For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; 6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
7 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, you all are partakers of my grace.
8 For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; 10 That you may approve things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; 11 Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
12 But I would you should understand, brethren, that the things which happened to me have fallen out rather to the furtherance of the gospel; 13 So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
14 And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
18 What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.
19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 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.
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labor: yet what I shall choose I do not know.
23 For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
24 Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
25 And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith; 26 That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.
27 Only let your conversation be as it becomes the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 2 8 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.
29 For to you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; 30 Having the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
1:6 Do you ever think about how many faces there are upon the earth? As you line up in a store, do you sometimes feel like a tiny grain of sand in the massive desert? Then lift your head and look to the heavens—God Almighty is your Maker. Like a giant heavenly zoom lens, He focused in on you from eternity. He foreknew every sinew of your fearfully and wonderfully made body. He is the lover of your soul. He breathed life into your human frame, and is at work in you to will and do of His good pleasure.
His good pleasure is to conform you to the image of His Son. Never let discouragement fall upon your mind, for God will complete the good work He has begun in you. He picked you out of the ranks of the masses, called you by His Grace, justified you through faith, and glorified you in Christ.
1:14 The Church should never dread persecution, as it can work for rather than against the furtherance of the gospel. The winds of persecution only spread the flames of the gospel.
1:18 Paul rejoiced even though Christ was preached from the mouth of a hypocrite. This is because the quality is in the seed, not in the sower. This gives great consolation to those of us who lack what is commonly called "ability."
1:20 Paul lived for the furtherance of the gospel. God's will was his will.
1:29 "Suffering and sacrifice are essential to the Christian life just as they were essential to Christ's life. 'When Christ calls a man,'
[Dietrich] Bonhoeffer wrote, 'He bids him come and die' (The Cost of Discipleship).
This doesn't always—or even usually— necessitate our physical deaths, but Christ calls us first and foremost to die to sin and to ourselves. Leave your home, sell everything you own, turn the other cheek, do not store up earthly treasures, love your enemies, take up your cross and follow me. None of Christ's