¹⁸ At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God.

¹² I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.

¹⁶ And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.

¹² So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem^[a] will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God.

Paul Commends Epaphroditus

²⁵ Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need. ²⁶ I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill.

² Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us^[a] and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

⁵ And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests.^[a] Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.

Encouragement during Persecution

³ Dear brothers and sisters,^[a] we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing.

Ministers of the New Covenant

¹⁴ But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. ¹⁵ Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

A Living Sacrifice to God

12 And so, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.^[b]