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Philippians 2
1If therefore there is any exhortation in , if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender mercies and compassion,
2make my joy full by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind;
3doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself;
4each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
5Have this in your mind, which was also in Jesus,
6who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
8And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of .
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, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth,
11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, work out your own with fear and trembling.
13For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14Do all things without complaining and arguing,
15that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without defect in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world,
16holding up of life, that I may have something to boast in the day of that I didn’t run in vain nor labor in vain.
17Yes, and if I am poured out on the and service of your , I am glad and rejoice with you all.
18In the same way, you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
19But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered up when I know how you are doing.
20For I have no one else like-minded, who will truly care about you.
21For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus .
22But you know that he has proved himself. As a child serves a father, so he served with me in furtherance of the Good News.
23Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it will go with me.
24But I that I myself also will come shortly.
25But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, fellow soldier, and your apostle and servant of my need,
26since he longed for you all, and was very troubled because you 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 on sorrow.
28I have sent him therefore the more diligently, that when you see him again, you may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.
29Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such people in honor,
30because for the work of he came near to death, risking his life to supply that which was lacking in your service toward me.
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Questions this passage answers
How should I pray?
When the disciples asked this, Jesus answered with a pattern rather than a technique. Pray to your Father, in private, without performance and without needing many words, because he already knows what you need. The prayer he gave begins with God's name, kingdom and will, then asks for bread, forgiveness and protection. Scripture adds that we may bring everything, that the Spirit helps our weakness, and that we can ask with confidence when we ask according to God's will.
Does God provide for my needs?
Scripture says yes, and it is careful about the word need. God promises to supply what his people need, often daily rather than in advance, and he does not promise surplus, comfort or the removal of hard seasons. Paul, who wrote that God will supply every need, also wrote that he had learned to be hungry.
What does the Bible say about contentment?
Scripture presents contentment as something learned rather than felt, grounded in a promise rather than in circumstances. Paul says he learned it in plenty and in hunger, Hebrews grounds it in God's word that he will never forsake us, and 1 Timothy calls godliness with contentment great gain while naming food and clothing as enough.
What does the Bible say about worry?
Jesus forbids worry about food, drink and clothing, and he argues rather than scolds: your Father knows what you need, he feeds the birds, worry adds nothing to your life. Scripture then gives the worrier something to do, prayer with thanksgiving and casting the burden on God, and it limits the horizon to one day at a time.