4. I always pray with joy in my every prayer for all of you
5. because of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.
6. For I am sure of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
7. For it is right for me to think this about all of you, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel all of you became partners in God’s grace together with me.
8. For God is my witness that I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
9. And I pray this, that your love may abound even more and more in knowledge and every kind of insight
10. so that you can decide what is best, and thus be sincere and blameless for the day of Christ,
11. filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
12. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my situation has actually turned out to advance the gospel:
13. The whole imperial guard and everyone else knows that I am in prison for the sake of Christ,
14. and most of the brothers and sisters, having confidence in the Lord because of my imprisonment, now more than ever dare to speak the word fearlessly.
15. Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.
16. The latter do so from love because they know that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel.
17. The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, because they think they can cause trouble for me in my imprisonment.
18. 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,