Love That Learns to Discern

¹Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and servants:

²Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³I thank my God whenever I remember you,

⁴always in every request of mine on behalf of you all, making my requests with joy,

⁵for your partnership in furtherance of the Good News from the first day until now;

⁶being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

⁷It is even right for me to think this way on behalf of all of you, because I have you in my heart, because both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the Good News, you all are partakers with me of grace.

⁸For God is my witness, how I long after all of you in the tender mercies of Christ Jesus.

⁹This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment,

¹⁰so that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ,

¹¹being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

¹²Now I desire to have you know, brothers, that the things which happened to me have turned out rather to the progress of the Good News,

¹³so that it became evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my bonds are in Christ,

¹⁴and that most of the brothers in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear.

¹⁵Some indeed preach Christ even out of envy and strife, and some also out of good will.

¹⁶The former insincerely preach Christ from selfish ambition, thinking that they add affliction to my chains;

¹⁷but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the Good News.

¹⁸What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. I rejoice in this, yes, and will rejoice.

¹⁹For I know that this will turn out to my salvation through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

²⁰according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will in no way be disappointed, but with all boldness, as always, now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

²¹For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

²²But if I live on in the flesh, this will bring fruit from my work; yet I don’t know what I will choose.

²³But I am hard pressed between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

²⁴Yet to remain in the flesh is more needful for your sake.

²⁵Having this confidence, I know that I will remain, yes, and remain with you all for your progress and joy in the faith,

²⁶that your boasting may abound in Christ Jesus in me through my presence with you again.

²⁷Only let your way of life be worthy of the Good News of Christ, that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your state, that you stand firm in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the Good News;

²⁸and in nothing frightened by the adversaries, which is for them a proof of destruction, but to you of salvation, and that from God.

²⁹Because it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer on his behalf,

³⁰having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me.