Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any ^afellowship of the Spirit, if any ^1baffection and compassion, 2 ^afulfill my joy, that ^byou think the same way, by maintaining the same love, being united in spirit, thinking on one purpose, 3 doing nothing ¹from ^2aselfish ambition or ^bvain glory, but with humility of mind ^cregarding one another as more important than yourselves, 4 ^anot merely looking out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 ^aHave this way of thinking ¹in yourselves which was also in ^bChrist Jesus, 6 who, although ^aexisting in the ^bform of God, ^cdid not regard equality with God a thing ¹to be grasped, 7 but ^1aemptied Himself, by taking the form of a ^bslave, by ^cbeing made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, ^aHe humbled Himself by becoming ^bobedient to the point of death, even ^cdeath ¹on a cross. 9 ^aTherefore, God also ^bhighly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him ^cthe name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus ^aEVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of ^bthose who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that ^aEVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS that Jesus Christ is ^1bLORD, to the glory of God the Father.

12 So then, my beloved, ^ajust as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your ^bsalvation with ^cfear and trembling; 13 for it is ^aGod who is at work in you, both to will and to work ^bfor His good pleasure.

14 Do all things without ^agrumbling or disputing, 15 so that you will be ^ablameless and innocent, ^bchildren of God without blemish in the midst of a ^ccrooked and perverse generation, among whom you ^dshine as ¹lights in the world, 16 holding ¹fast the word of life, so that in ^athe day of Christ I will have reason to boast because I did not ^brun in vain nor ^clabor in vain. 17 But even if I am being ^apoured out as a drink offering upon ^bthe sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. 18 And you also, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to ^asend ^bTimothy to you shortly, so that I also may be in good spirits when I learn of your circumstances. 20 For I have no one else ^aof kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned about your circumstances. 21 For they all ^aseek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 22 But you know ^aof his proven worth, that ^bhe served with me in the furtherance of the gospel ^clike a child serving his father. 23 ^aTherefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I ¹evaluate my own circumstances, 24 and ^aI am confident in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly. 25 But I regarded it necessary to send to you ^aEpaphroditus, my brother and ^bfellow worker and ^cfellow soldier, who is also your ^1dmessenger and ^eminister to my need; 26 because he was longing ¹for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. 27 For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned. 29 ^aReceive him then in the Lord with all joy, and ^bhold men like him in high regard 30 because he came close to death ^1afor the work of Christ, risking his life to ^bfulfill ²what was lacking in your service to me.

Therefore if there is any encouragement and comfort in Christ as there certainly is in abundance, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any ^afellowship that we share in the Spirit, if there is any great depth of ^baffection and compassion, 2 ^amake my joy complete by ^bbeing of the same mind, having the same ¹love toward one another, knit together in spirit, intent on one purpose and living a life that reflects your faith and spreads the gospel—the good news regarding salvation through faith in Christ. 3 Do nothing from ^aselfishness or empty ^bconceit through factional motives, or strife, but with an attitude of humility being neither arrogant nor self-righteous, ^cregard others as more important than yourselves. 4 ^aDo not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 ^aHave this same attitude in yourselves which was in ^bChrist Jesus look to Him as your example in selfless humility, 6 who, although He ^aexisted in the ^bform and unchanging essence of God as One with Him, possessing the fullness of all the divine attributes—the entire nature of deity, ^cdid not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or asserted as if He did not already possess it, or was afraid of losing it; 7 but ^aemptied Himself without renouncing or diminishing His deity, but only temporarily giving up the outward expression of divine equality and His rightful dignity by assuming the form of a ^bbond-servant, and ^cbeing made in the likeness of men He became completely human but was without sin, being fully God and fully man. 8 After He was found in terms of His outward appearance as a man for a divinely-appointed time, ^aHe humbled Himself still further by becoming ^bobedient to the Father to the point of death, even ^cdeath on a cross. 9 ^aFor this reason also because He obeyed and so completely humbled Himself, God has ^bhighly exalted Him and bestowed on Him ^cthe name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus ^1aEVERY KNEE SHALL BOW in submission, of ^bthose who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, Is 45:23 11 and that every tongue will confess and openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is ^aLord (sovereign God) , to the glory of God the Father.

12 So then, my dear ones, ^ajust as you have always obeyed my instructions with enthusiasm, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your ^bsalvation that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity with awe-inspired ^cfear and trembling using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ. 13 For it is not your strength, but it is ^1aGod who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose ^bfor His good pleasure.

14 Do everything without ^amurmuring or questioning the providence of God, 15 so that you may prove yourselves to be ^ablameless and guileless, innocent and uncontaminated, ^bchildren of God without blemish in the midst of a morally ^ccrooked and spiritually perverted generation, among whom you are ^dseen as bright lights beacons shining out clearly in the world of darkness, 16 holding out and offering to everyone the word of life, so that in ^athe day of Christ I will have reason to rejoice greatly because I did not ^brun my race in vain nor ^clabor without result. 17 But even if I am being ^apoured out as a ¹drink offering on ^bthe sacrifice and service of your faith for preaching the message of salvation, still I rejoice and share my joy with you all. Num 28:7; 2+@Tim 4:6 18 You too, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to ^asend ^bTimothy to you soon, so that I may also be encouraged by learning news about you. 20 For I have no one else like him who is ^aso kindred a spirit who will be genuinely concerned for your spiritual welfare. 21 For the others who deserted me after my arrest all ^aseek to advance their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know ^aof Timothy’s tested worth and his proven character, that ^bhe has served with me to advance the gospel ^clike a son serving with his father. 23 ^aTherefore, I hope that it is His will to send him immediately, just as soon as I see how ¹my case turns out; 24 and ^aI trust confidently in the Lord that soon I also will be coming to you. 25 However, I thought it necessary to send back to you ^aEpaphroditus, who has been my brother and ^bcompanion and ^cfellow soldier, who was also sent as your ^dmessenger to ^etake care of my needs. 26 For he has been longing ¹for all of you and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. 27 He certainly was sick and close to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 So I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned about you. 29 ^aWelcome him home in the Lord with great joy, and ^bappreciate and honor men like him; 30 ^abecause he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to ^bcomplete what was lacking in your service to me which distance prevented you from rendering personally.