Study Desk

Grace be with all who have undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you,

always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer,

Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

These preach out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel;

For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose.

but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.

Since I am persuaded of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,

Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the faith of the gospel,

not being frightened in any way by your opponents. This is a sign of destruction for them, but of your salvation—and this is from God.

For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,

Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

For this reason God highly exalted himand gave him the namethat is above every name,

For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to his good purpose.

by holding firm to the word of life. Then I can boast in the day of Christ that I didn’t run or labor for nothing.

For I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests;

since he has been longing for all of you and was distressed because you heard that he was sick.

For this reason, I am very eager to send him so that you may rejoice again when you see him and I may be less anxious.