For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer on His behalf,
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;
- BSB For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him,
- 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,
- 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 1:2Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations,
- 1 Pet 4:13But because you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory you also may rejoice with exceeding joy.
- Acts 5:41They therefore departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus’ name.
- Rom 5:3Not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces perseverance;
- Acts 14:22confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many afflictions we must enter into God’s Kingdom.
- Matt 5:11–12“Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
- Eph 2:8for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
- Jas 1:17–18Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.
- John 6:44–45No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.
- Col 2:12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
- Acts 14:27When they had arrived, and had gathered the assembly together, they reported all the things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith to the nations.
- John 1:12–13But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:
- Acts 13:39and by him everyone who believes is justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
- Matt 16:17Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.