2. Now make me completely happy! Live in harmony by showing love for each other. Be united in what you think, as if you were only one person.
3. Don't be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves.
4. Care about them as much as you care about yourselves
5. and think the same way that Christ Jesus thought:
6. Christ was truly God.But he did not try to remainequal with God.
7. Instead he gave up everythingand became a slave,when he becamelike one of us.
8. Christ was humble.He obeyed God and even diedon a cross.
9. Then God gave Christthe highest placeand honoured his nameabove all others.
10. So at the name of Jesuseveryone will bow down,those in heaven, on earth,and under the earth.
11. And to the gloryof God the Fathereveryone will openly agree,“Jesus Christ is Lord!”
12. My dear friends, you always obeyed when I was with you. Now that I am away, you should obey even more. So work with fear and trembling to discover what it really means to be saved.
13. God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey him.
14. Do everything without grumbling or arguing.
15. Then you will be the pure and innocent children of God. You live among people who are crooked and evil, but you must not do anything that they can say is wrong. Try to shine as lights among the people of this world,
16. as you hold firmly to the message that gives life. Then on the day when Christ returns, I can take pride in you. I can also know that my work and efforts were not useless.
17. Your faith in the Lord and your service are like a sacrifice offered to him. And my own blood may have to be poured out with the sacrifice. If this happens, I will be glad and rejoice with you.
18. In the same way, you should be glad and rejoice with me.
19. I want to be encouraged by news about you. So I hope the Lord Jesus will soon let me send Timothy to you.