Philippians 2 — Legacy Standard Bible

Christ’s Humility and Exaltation

2Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any ^afellowship of the Spirit, if any ¹^,^baffection and compassion, ²^afulfill my joy, that ^byou think the same way, by maintaining the same love, being united in spirit, thinking on one purpose, ³doing nothing ¹from ²^,^aselfish ambition or ^bvain glory, but with humility of mind ^cregarding one another as more important than yourselves, ⁴^anot merely looking out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. ⁵^aHave this way of thinking ¹in yourselves which was also in ^bChrist Jesus, ⁶who, although ^aexisting in the ^bform of God, ^cdid not regard equality with God a thing ¹to be grasped, ⁷but ¹^,^aemptied Himself, by taking the form of a ^bslave, by ^cbeing made in the likeness of men. ⁸Being found in appearance as a man, ^aHe humbled Himself by becoming ^bobedient to the point of death, even ^cdeath ¹on a cross. ⁹^aTherefore, God also ^bhighly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him ^cthe name which is above every name, ¹⁰so that at the name of Jesus ^aevery knee will bow, of ^bthose who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹and that ^aevery tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is ¹^,^bLord, to the glory of God the Father.

¹²So 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; ¹³for it is ^aGod who is at work in you, both to will and to work ^bfor His good pleasure.

¹⁴Do all things without ^agrumbling or disputing, ¹⁵so that you will be ^ablameless and innocent, ^bchildren of God without blemish in the midst of a ^ccrooked and perverse generation, among whom you ^dshine as ¹lights in the world, ¹⁶holding ¹fast the word of life, so that in ^athe day of Christ I will have reason to boast because I did not ^brun in vain nor ^clabor in vain. ¹⁷But 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. ¹⁸And you also, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus Sent

¹⁹But I hope in the Lord Jesus to ^asend ^bTimothy to you shortly, so that I also may be in good spirits when I learn of your circumstances. ²⁰For I have no one else ^aof kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned about your circumstances. ²¹For they all ^aseek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. ²²But 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 ¹evaluate my own circumstances, ²⁴and ^aI am confident in the Lord that I myself also will be coming shortly. ²⁵But I regarded it necessary to send to you ^aEpaphroditus, my brother and ^bfellow worker and ^cfellow soldier, who is also your ¹^,^dmessenger and ^eminister to my need; ²⁶because he was longing ¹for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick. ²⁷For 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. ²⁸Therefore I have sent him all the more eagerly so that when you see him again you may rejoice and I may be less concerned. ²⁹^aReceive him then in the Lord with all joy, and ^bhold men like him in high regard ³⁰because he came close to death ¹^,^afor the work of Christ, risking his life to ^bfulfill ²what was lacking in your service to me.