For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.
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.
- BSB For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who 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.
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 of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is righteous; because I don’t seek my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me.
- John 4:34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.
- Phil 2:7–8but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.
- John 3:31He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
- Ps 40:7–8Then I said, “Behold, I have come. It is written about me in the book in the scroll.
- Isa 53:10Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring. He will prolong his days, and Yahweh’s pleasure will prosper in his hand.
- John 6:33For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
- John 3:13No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.
- Matt 26:39–42He went forward a little, fell on his face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; nevertheless, not what I desire, but what you desire.”
- Heb 10:7–9Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of me) to do your will, O God.’”
- Heb 5:8though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered.
- Rom 15:3For even Christ didn’t please himself. But, as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
- Matt 20:28even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
- Eph 4:9Now this, “He ascended”, what is it but that he also first descended into 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.