Philippians 3:12

Plain English Version

I’m not saying that I have already done all that. I’m not saying that I’m properly good now. But, you see, Jesus Christ picked me to be one of his people, so I’m trying hard to be the sort of person that he wants me to be.

Cross References

Matthew 5:48

So this is what I say. You have to be properly good, just like your father in heaven is properly good.”

Acts 9:15

But Jesus said to Ananias, “Don’t worry. Go to him anyway. You see, I picked that man to do my work. He will tell a lot of people about me. He will tell Jewish people about me. And he will tell people that are not Jews about me, even their biggest bosses too.

1 Corinthians 13:10

Right now we only have a little bit of what God wants to give to us. But the time will come when he will let us understand everything properly. Then we will not worry about the little bits any more.

1 Corinthians 13:12

This is what that story means. Now we only understand a little bit. It is like we are looking at things in a dark mirror now. But the time will come when everything will be clear to us, like we are looking straight at them, not in a mirror. Right now we only know a little bit, but at that time we will know everything properly, just like God knows us properly.

1 Corinthians 9:24

Now think about the people that run in a race. They all run, but only one of them wins that race and gets the prize. Well, we have to be like those people that run in a race. We have to try hard to win. That is, we have to try hard to do whatever God wants, so that in the end God will give us new life. That will be like our prize.

Galatians 5:17

You see, it is like this. We all have a bad part in us that makes us want to do bad things, to make us feel good. And we also have God’s spirit in us, and he makes us want to do good things. Those 2 are both in you, and they both want to control you, so they are fighting each other inside you all the time. Whenever you listen to God’s spirit and try to do good things, that bad part in you tries to stop you, so you don’t do what you really want to do.

Ephesians 1:4

A long time ago, before God made the world, he picked us to be his people, and he joined us to Jesus Christ, so that now God can say we are good, like we never did anything wrong. He loved us,

Philippians 1:1

I am Paul, and this letter is from me, and it is from Timothy too, because he is helping me write it. We work all the time for Jesus Christ. We are sending this letter to all God’s special people at Philippi, you people that belong to Jesus Christ. We are writing to you Christian leaders, and to you church helpers, and to all you Christians.

Philippians 3:16

We started to learn about the way God wants us to live, so we have to keep on living his way and keep on doing the things he taught us to do. That is the most important thing for all of us to do.

Philippians 3:8

Yes, they are useless. But I know Jesus Christ. That is the only important thing. He is my leader, and he is really special to me now. I have left every other way, and I only follow him now. I reckon all those other things are rubbish, and I have chucked them away, so that I can join up with Jesus Christ,

1 Thessalonians 5:15

If somebody does something bad to you, don’t try to do payback to them, but always try to be good to each other and to everyone else too.

2 Thessalonians 2:13

But, Christian friends, we thank God that you are not in that mob. Right from the start, God picked you to be the ones that he will save. And he put his Holy Spirit into you, to save you. We told you the true message about Jesus, and you believed it. It is like God called to you, at that time, to come and join his mob. And now God’s spirit works in you all the time to change you into God’s special people. And God will make you great, like our leader Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 5:10

She has to be the sort of woman that everybody respects because she always did good things for people. She has to be a woman that brought her kids up properly. She has to be a woman that always gave strangers food and a place to sleep. She has to be a woman that did all sorts of things to help God’s people. She has to be a woman that always helped people in trouble and was always ready to do good things.

1 Timothy 6:19

If they do that, they will really be giving it to God, and he will keep it for them for later on, after they die. In that way, they will get a good start in their new life. That is the really good life.

1 Peter 5:10

But trouble doesn’t last for ever. After you have trouble for a short time, God will be good to you. He will make everything right for you and make you properly strong for him. He picked you to join you up with Jesus Christ. He did that so that, in the end, you will be very great with Jesus for ever.

2 Peter 3:18

Don’t do that. You have to believe that our leader, Jesus Christ, will be good to you, and you have to believe it more and more. He is the one that saves us. You have to know him better and better all the time. Everyone has to say that Jesus Christ is very great and good. Everyone has to always say that, now and for ever. That’s right. From Peter