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Philippians 2:13

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Philippians 2:13 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For it is God who works in you both to will and to work, for his good pleasure.
  • BSB For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.
  • NKJV for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
  • NASB for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.
  • NLT For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases 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 is God who works in believers to will and to act for His good purpose. Our effort is empowered by God's prior work within us.

Overview

This verse completes the previous one: we work out our salvation precisely because God is at work in us. He shapes both our desires and our deeds according to His good pleasure. Grace and human effort are not rivals; God's work enables and underlies ours.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 36

  • Heb 13:21Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
  • 2 Cor 3:5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
  • 2 Tim 1:9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
  • Rom 9:16So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
  • 1 Cor 15:10But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
  • Eph 1:11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
  • Jas 1:16–18Do not err, my beloved brethren.
  • John 3:27John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.
  • 2 Th 1:11Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
  • 1 Cor 12:6And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
  • 1 Kgs 8:58That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.
  • Eph 1:5Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
  • Eph 2:8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
  • Titus 3:4–5But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
  • Ps 119:36Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
  • Luke 12:32Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
  • Eph 2:4–5But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
  • Eph 1:9Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
  • John 6:65And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
  • Rom 9:11(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
  • Jer 32:38And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
  • Prov 21:1The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.
  • Jer 31:33But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
  • Ezra 7:27Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem:
  • 1 Chr 29:14–18But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.
  • Ezra 1:1Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
  • 2 Chr 30:12Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the LORD.
  • Ezra 1:5Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.
  • 2 Th 2:13–14But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
  • John 6:45It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
  • Isa 26:12LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.
  • Ps 141:4Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.
  • 1 Pet 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
  • Acts 11:21And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
  • Neh 2:4Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
  • Ps 110:3Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Philippians videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Philippians 2:13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PhilippiansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 2:13 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.