6. I am sure that the good work God began in you will continue until he completes it on the day when Jesus Christ comes again.
7. I know I am right to think like this about all of you because you are so close to my heart. This is because you have all played such an important part in God’s grace to me—now, during this time that I am in prison, and whenever I am defending and proving the truth of the Good News.
8. God knows that I want very much to see you. I love all of you with the love of Christ Jesus.
9. This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love;
10. that you will see the difference between what is important and what is not and choose what is important; that you will be pure and blameless for the coming of Christ;
11. that your life will be full of the many good works that are produced by Jesus Christ to bring glory and praise to God.
12. Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that all that has happened to me has helped to spread the Good News.
13. All the Roman guards and all the others here know that I am in prison for serving Christ.
14. My being in prison has caused most of the believers to put their trust in the Lord and to show more courage in telling people God’s message.
15. Some people are telling the message about Christ because they are jealous and bitter. Others do it because they want to help.
16. They are doing it out of love. They know that God gave me the work of defending the Good News.
17. But those others tell about Christ because of their selfish ambition. Their reason for doing it is wrong. They only do it because they think it will make trouble for me in prison.
18. But that doesn’t matter. What is important is that they are telling people about Christ, whether they are sincere or not. So I am glad they are doing it. I will continue to be glad,
19. because I know that your prayers and the help the Spirit of Jesus Christ gives me will cause this trouble to result in my freedom.
20. I am full of hope and feel sure I will not have any reason to be ashamed. I am certain I will continue to have the same boldness to speak freely that I always have. I will let God use my life to bring more honor to Christ. It doesn’t matter whether I live or die.
21. To me, the only important thing about living is Christ. And even death would be for my benefit.
22. If I continue living here on earth, I will be able to work for the Lord. But what would I choose—to live or to die? I don’t know.