40 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
40 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
# Chapter 2
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1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate?
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2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
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3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
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4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
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5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
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6 Though he was God,
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he did not think of equality with God
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as something to cling to.
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7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
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he took the humble position of a slave
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and was born as a human being.
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When he appeared in human form,
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8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
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and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
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9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
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and gave him the name above all other names,
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10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
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in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
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11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
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to the glory of God the Father.
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12 Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.
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13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
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14 Do everything without complaining and arguing,
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15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.
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16 Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.
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17 But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy.
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18 Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.
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19 If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along.
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20 I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare.
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21 All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ.
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22 But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News.
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23 I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here.
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24 And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.
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25 Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need.
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26 I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill.
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27 And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.
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28 So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you.
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29 Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve.
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30 For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away. |