For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
Parallel translations
- WEB For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
- KJV For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
- NKJV For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
- NASB For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
- NLT For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus came down from heaven to do not His own will but the Father's. His perfect submission secures the salvation of those given to Him.
Overview
Jesus affirms His heavenly origin and His complete obedience to the Father's plan. His mission is not self-directed but wholly aligned with the Father's saving purpose. This obedience, fulfilled at the cross, is the ground of the believer's security expressed in the surrounding verses.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- John 5:30I can do nothing by Myself; I judge only as I hear. And My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
- John 4:34Jesus explained, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.
- Phil 2:7–8but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.
- John 3:31The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The One who comes from heaven is above all.
- Ps 40:7–8Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll:
- Isa 53:10Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
- John 6:33For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
- John 3:13No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.
- Matt 26:39–42Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
- Heb 10:7–9Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about Me in the scroll: I have come to do Your will, O God.’”
- Heb 5:8Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from what He suffered.
- Rom 15:3For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “The insults of those who insult You have fallen on Me.”
- Matt 20:28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
- Eph 4:9What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth?
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 6:38 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.