1 T herefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,

2 m ake my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

3 D o nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;

4 d o not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

5 H ave this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

6 w ho, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,

7 b ut emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

8 B eing found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

9 F or this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,

10 s o that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 a nd that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

12 S o then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

13 f or it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

14 D o all things without grumbling or disputing;

15 s o that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,

16 h olding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.

17 B ut even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.

18 Y ou too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me. Timothy and Epaphroditus

19 B ut I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition.

20 F or I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.

21 F or they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.

22 B ut you know of his proven worth, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father.

23 T herefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me;

24 a nd I trust in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly.

25 B ut I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need;

26 b ecause he was longing for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.

27 F or 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 T herefore 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 R eceive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold men like him in high regard;

30 b ecause he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.