2:1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any ①affection and compassion,
▷ ①Lit inward parts
2:2 make my joy complete ①by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
▷ ①Lit that you be
2:3 Do nothing ①from ②selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves;
▷ ①Lit according to ②Or contentiousness
2:4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
2:5 Have this attitude ①in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
▷ ①Or among
2:6 who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be ①grasped,
▷ ①Or seized
2:7 but ①emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and ②being born in the likeness of men.
▷ ①I.e., set aside His divine rights ②Or having come to be
2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death ①on a cross.
▷ ①Lit of
2:9 For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
2:10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
2:11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
2:12 So 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 own salvation with fear and trembling;
2:13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to ①desire and to work for His good pleasure.
▷ ①Or be willing
2:14 Do all things without complaining or arguments;
2:15 so that you will ①prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you ②appear as ③lights in the world,
▷ ①Or become ②Or shine ③Or luminaries, stars
2:16 holding firmly the word of life, so that on the day of Christ I can take pride because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.
2:17 But 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.
2:18 You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me.
2:19 But I hope, ①in the Lord Jesus, to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition.
▷ ①Or trusting in
2:20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.
2:21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.
2:22 But you know of his proven character, that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father.
2:23 Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me;
2:24 and I trust in the Lord that I myself will also be coming shortly.
2:25 But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your ①messenger and minister to my need,
▷ ①Lit apostle
2:26 because he was longing ①for you all and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.
▷ ①One early ms to see you all
2:27 For indeed he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have sorrow upon sorrow.
2:28 Therefore 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.
2:29 Receive him then in the Lord with all joy, and hold people like him in high regard,
2:30 because he came close to death ①for the work of Christ, risking his life to compensate ②for your absence in your service to me.
▷ ①Lit because of ②Lit your deficiency of service