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 ^amake my joy complete ¹by ^bbeing of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing ¹from ^2aselfishness or ^bempty conceit, but with humility of mind ^cregard one another 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 attitude ¹in yourselves which was also in ^bChrist Jesus, 6 who, although He ^aexisted in the ^bform of God, ^cdid not regard equality with God a thing to be ¹grasped, 7 but ^1aemptied Himself, taking the form of a ^bbond-servant, and ^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 ^aFor this reason also, God ^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 every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is ^aLord, 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 ¹prove yourselves to be ^ablameless and innocent, ^bchildren of God above reproach in the midst of a ^ccrooked and perverse generation, among whom you ^2dappear as ³lights in the world, 16 holding ¹fast the word of life, so that in ^athe day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not ^brun in vain nor ^ctoil 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 You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

19 But I hope ¹in the Lord Jesus to ^asend ^bTimothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else ^aof kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 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 see how things go with me; 24 and ^aI trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly. 25 But I thought 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 about you. 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 ^bcomplete ²what was deficient in your service to me.