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Work together with each other
1 Listen. You know that you belong to Jesus Christ, and he helps you to be strong and brave. You know that he loves you, so you are happy. You know that God’s spirit is in you, and you share your lives with him. You know how to feel sorry for each other, and how to help each other. You know all that, right? 2 So now make me properly happy. I want you all to love each other properly, and I want you all to agree with each other, and work together, and think the same way about what is right. 3-4 Each of you has to think about what is good for the others. Don’t only think about what is good for yourself. Don’t think that you are better than other people, but think that they are better than you. And don’t do things only to get people to say you are good. And don’t try to be a boss over other people.
Be like Jesus, and think like he did
5 You have to think the same way that Jesus Christ thought.
6 He was the same as God.
He was just as important as God.
But he didn’t reckon that he had to keep on being important, like God is.
7 Instead, he left all that, and he made himself like a nobody.
He was born into this world and looked like other human beings.
He was a man living here.
And he worked hard to help people.
8 And then he made himself even less important.
He did everything that God wanted him to do, he even died.
He let people nail him to a cross and kill him.
9 So then God made him alive again and lifted him up to the most important place in heaven.
And God made him more powerful than everyone else.
10 One day, everyone will hear the name of Jesus, and they will get down on their knees and show him respect.
All the people and spirits will show respect to Jesus. Everything in heaven, and everything on the earth, and everything under the earth, they will all show respect to Jesus.
11 And every one of them will say out loud, “Jesus Christ is the boss.”
That will happen to show that God our father is very great and good.* Isaiah 45:23
God gives you the power to do good things
12 So, my good friends, you always have to do what God wants. I know that you did that when I was with you, and I reckon you still do it now that I’m not with you any more. So you have to work hard and keep on trying to do what God wants. You see, God saved you, so give him proper respect and try to live his way. You have to be too frightened to do any bad thing that will make him angry. 13 God is the one that is working inside you. He helps you think the right way, so that you want to do the good things that make him happy, and he gives you the power to do those good things.
14 And while you do those things, don’t get angry or argue about them. 15 Then you will be properly good, so that nobody can blame you for anything. You are God’s kids living among really bad people that always go wrong. So you have to live in a way that is properly good. Then everyone will see that you are properly good. You will be like bright stars in a dark sky.* Deuteronomy 32:5 16 And you have to keep on believing the message about Jesus that gives us real life. Then when Jesus Christ comes back, I will be very happy, and I will know that I didn’t waste my time when I worked among you.
17 Yes, I’m happy about you. And even if they kill me, I will still be happy. I know that you believe in Jesus and you work for him, and when you do that, you are giving yourselves to God. And if they are going to kill me, I will be giving my body to God too. So we can all be happy about it together. 18 Yes, you can be happy too. Even if they are going to kill me, you can be happy with me.
Paul wanted Timothy to find out about the mob at Philippi
19 Now I will tell you what I want to do. Timothy is here with me, and I want to send him to you soon. So if that is what our leader Jesus wants, I will send him to you. After that, he will come back and tell me all about you, and that will make me happy. 20 Timothy is different from the other people here. He really cares about you and about how you are going. 21 The others think about the things they want, not the things that Jesus Christ wants. 22 But you know Timothy. Everyone can see that he is a good man. He works with me just like a son works with his father. Together we tell people the good news about Jesus. 23 So I will send him to you. But first I will wait and see what they are going to do to me, then I will send him to you, 24 even though I’m sure that God will let me visit you soon too.
Epafroditus wanted to go back to Philippi
25 Right now I’m sending Epafroditus back to you. You sent him to me a while ago when I needed help. He came here and looked after me. He has been a good Christian friend to me here. We work together. We are both like soldiers fighting for God. But now I reckon I have to send him back to you. 26 He really wants to see you all again. And you know, after he came here, he got sick, and then somebody told you about it. So now he worries about you. He doesn’t want you to be sad and feel sorry for him. So he really wants to go back and see you all again. 27 Yes, he was very sick a while ago, and he nearly died. But God felt sorry for him, and for me too. God was good to him and made him better. And when God did that, he was good to me too. You know, I am already sad about some things, and if Epafroditus died, that would make me really sad. But he didn’t die. 28 So now I really want to send him to you, and when you see him again you will be happy, and I will not worry about you any more. 29-30 Epafroditus belongs to our leader, Jesus, just like you do. You couldn’t come and help me a while ago, so he came instead of you. And then he nearly died. But he didn’t worry. He knew he was working for Jesus Christ while he was helping me, and he was ready to die for Jesus. You have to really respect people like Epafroditus. So when he comes back to you, be happy and say, “Good to see you again. You are our good Christian friend.”