Greeting

1 Paul^(A) and Timothy,^(B) servants of Christ Jesus:

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,^(C) including the overseers^(D) and deacons.^(E)

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

Thanksgiving and Prayer

³ I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you,^{[a] 4} always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day^(A) until now.^{(B) 6} I am sure of this, that he who started a good work^(C) in you^[b] will carry it on to completion^(D) until the day of Christ Jesus.

Lights in the World

¹² Therefore, my dear friends,^(A) just as you have always obeyed,^(B) so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. ¹³ For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.

Reaching Forward to God’s Goal

¹² Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold^(A) of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not^[a] consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind^(B) and reaching forward to what is ahead, ¹⁴ I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly^[b] call in Christ Jesus.^{(C) 15} Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal^(D) this also to you. ¹⁶ In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.