My confident hope is that I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die.

And in the same way you also should be glad and rejoice together with me.

Nevertheless, you did well to share with me in my trouble.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

What is the result? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice,

And since I am sure of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for the sake of your progress and joy in the faith,

Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort provided by love, any fellowship in the Spirit, any affection or mercy,

More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung! – that I may gain Christ,

Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.

since you are encountering the same conflict that you saw me face and now hear that I am facing.

but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature.

As a result God exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,

In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless.

But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ.

Now if I am to go on living in the body, this will mean productive work for me, yet I don’t know which I prefer:

But you know his qualifications, that like a son working with his father, he served with me in advancing the gospel.

– though mine too are significant. If someone thinks he has good reasons to put confidence in human credentials, I have more:

I was circumcised on the eighth day, from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. I lived according to the law as a Pharisee.

My aim is to know him, to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings, and to be like him in his death,

Therefore let those of us who are “perfect” embrace this point of view. If you think otherwise, God will reveal to you the error of your ways.