For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him,
Parallel translations
- WEB Because it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer on his behalf,
- KJV For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
- NKJV For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
- NASB For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf,
- NLT For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.
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
It has been granted to them not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for Him. Even suffering for Christ is a gift of grace.
Overview
Both faith and suffering are described as things "granted," gifts from God. This reframes persecution not as misfortune but as a privilege of belonging to Christ. The verse prepares believers to endure hardship as part of their union with their crucified Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Jas 1:2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
- 1 Pet 4:13But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.
- Acts 5:41The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.
- Rom 5:3Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
- Acts 14:22strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
- Matt 5:11–12Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
- Eph 2:8For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,
- Jas 1:17–18Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- John 6:44–45“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
- Col 2:12And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.
- Acts 14:27When they arrived, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them, and how He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
- John 1:12–13But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—
- Acts 13:39Through Him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.
- Matt 16:17Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The one who, being in the form of God, emptied himself to the point of death on a cross and was exalted to the name above every name — the joy and prize of the believer.
How Philippians 1:29 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.