The Humility of Christ

¹Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,

²then y’all make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind.

³Y’all must not act out of selfishness or vanity, but in humility, put others ahead of yourselves*,

⁴not just looking to y’all’s own interests, but also to the interests of others.

⁵Y’all should have the same mind as Christ Jesus,

⁶who though existing in the form of God,

didn’t consider equality with God

a thing to be held onto,

⁷but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being made in human likeness.

⁸Being found with full humanity,

he humbled himself by becoming obedient

to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

⁹Therefore God also highly exalted him,

and gave to him the name

which is above every name,

¹⁰that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bow in heaven,

on earth, and under the earth,

¹¹and that every tongue should publicly acknowledge

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Respond to Christ’s Work

¹²So then, my beloved, even as y’all have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your* salvation with fear and trembling.

¹³For it is God who works in y’all both to will and to work for ʜɪꜱ good pleasure.

¹⁴Y’all should do everything without complaining and arguing,

¹⁵so that y’all may become blameless and harmless, “children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation,” among whom you shine as lights in the world,[#Deuteronomy 32:5]

¹⁶holding on to the word of life. Then on the day of Christ I will have reason to boast that I didn’t run in vain or labor in vain.

¹⁷But even if I am poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of y’all’s faith, I am glad and rejoice with all y’all.

¹⁸In the same way, y’all also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Timothy and Epaphroditus

¹⁹I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to y’all soon, so that I also may be cheered up when I know how y’all are doing.

²⁰For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care for y’all.

²¹For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

²²But y’all know that he has proved himself. As a child serves a father, so he served with me in the gospel.

²³Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how it will go with me.

²⁴But I trust in the Lord that I myself will come shortly.

²⁵But I thought it necessary to send y’all Epaphroditus, my sibling, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your* messenger and minister of my needs,

²⁶since he longed for all y’all, and was very troubled because y’all had heard that he was sick.

²⁷For indeed he was sick nearly to death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me also, that I might not have sorrow upon sorrow.

²⁸So I am all the more eager to send him, so that when y’all see him again, y’all may rejoice, and that I may be less concerned.

²⁹Therefore y’all should receive him in the Lord with all joy, and hold people like him in honor,

³⁰because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to supply what was lacking in y’all’s service toward me.