He should be honored because he almost died for the work of Christ. He put his life in danger so that he could help me. This was help that you could not give me.
I don’t care about my own life. The most important thing is that I finish my work. I want to finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace (kindness).
This \{body\} that will ruin must clothe itself with something that will never ruin. And this \{body\} that dies must clothe itself with something that will never die.
Your faith makes you give your lives as a sacrifice {\cf2\super [13]} in serving God. Maybe I will have to offer my own blood (death) with your sacrifice. But if that happens, I will be happy and full of joy with all of you.
I have all the things I need. I have even more than I need. I have all I need because Epaphroditus brought your gift to me. Your gift is like a sweet-smelling sacrifice {\cf2\super [24]} offered to God. God accepts that sacrifice and it pleases him.
Our brothers defeated him by the blood (death) of the Lamb and by the message \{of God\} they told people. They did not love their lives too much. They were not afraid of death.