5For we through the Spirit eagerly wait"Eagerly wait for"—I love it! Those who are trying to be justified by works don’t ‘eagerly wait’ for anything; the future accounting is a source of apprehension. On the other hand, we who understand that we are justified by faith in the Christ do indeed have a hope we can ‘eagerly wait’ for. for the hope of righteousness by faith.
16the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking to add to my affliction while in chains,Just a minute: how does insincere preaching (by others) add to his affliction? I suppose we all know ‘Christian workers’ who are motivated by selfish ambition, and any such would want to ‘make hay’ while free from Paul’s ‘shadow’, as it were. Judging Paul by themselves, they would think he would be bothered by seeing them gaining prominence at his expense.
19You see, I know that this will turn out for my deliverance (through your supplication and the support of the Spirit of Jesus Christ)This is presumably a reference to the Holy Spirit (see John 16:13-15).
20according to my earnest expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in anything but be truly bold, so that now as always Christ will be glorified in my person, whether by life or by deathAlthough it appears that Paul actually hoped to be freed from prison, he is prepared to die. His main concern is not to do anything that will shame his Master.
17‘It will be in the last days, says God:I will pour out from my Spirit upon all flesh;your sons and your daughters will prophesy;your young men will see visions;your old men will dream a dream."Visions" is plural, but "dream" is singular, in the Text (albeit 15% of the Greek manuscripts do have ‘dreams’). When I was young I had all sorts of ‘visions’ of what I thought I was going to achieve in my lifetime. Now that I am old I am pretty well reduced to one ‘dream’. One’s focus must accompany his energy level. (My personal experience is probably not the intended meaning of the Text, but I am not sure what it might be—do all old men have the same dream?)
26Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced.Furthermore, even my flesh will repose upon hope,I take it that the emphasis here is upon the physical body; Jesus' body was preserved from decay by divine intervention—there was no bad smell in the empty tomb. The resurrection accounts refer to the wrappings, but not to the 100 pounds of spices—I wonder what happened to them (you know, that much spice would be hard to ignore).
47praising God and having favor with all the people. And day by day the Lord addedNotice who does the adding, and He cannot be deceived. to the ChurchThree percent of the Greek manuscripts, of inferior quality, omit "to the Church" (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.). those who were being saved.
5is not indecent, is not self-seeking, is not ‘short-fused’, is not malicious;All the negative qualities mentioned derive from self.
7it bears all, believes all, hopes all, endures all;Wow! But presumably agape love is not blind; it starts out by bearing, believing, hoping and enduring, until confronted with objective contrary evidence. God is love, but He is not blind, and neither is He deceived.
13For now these three obtain: faith, hope, love; and the greatest of these is love.We will not need faith and hope in Heaven, but love will continue.