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Philippians 3:21

who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.
Philippians 3:21 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB who will change the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working by which he is able even to subject all things to himself.
  • KJV Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
  • NKJV who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
  • NASB who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
  • NLT He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

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

Christ will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious resurrection body, by the same power that subjects all things to him. Final salvation includes the redemption of the body.

Overview

Paul caps the chapter with the believer's bodily hope: the same Lord who is awaited from heaven will conform our frail, mortal bodies to the likeness of his glorified body. This rests on his almighty power, the power by which he will subdue everything to himself. Salvation is thus not escape from the body but its glorious renewal in conformity to the risen Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 17

  • 1 Jn 3:2Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.
  • Col 3:4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
  • 1 Cor 15:42–56So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable.
  • Rom 8:29For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.
  • John 11:24–26Martha replied, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
  • Isa 26:19Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.
  • Matt 28:18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
  • Matt 17:2There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
  • Eph 1:19–20and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength,
  • John 5:25–29Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.
  • Rev 1:13–20and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest.
  • Rev 1:8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.
  • Isa 25:8He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
  • Hos 13:14I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from Death. Where, O Death, are your plagues? Where, O Sheol, is your sting? Compassion is hidden from My eyes.
  • 1 Cor 15:25–28For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
  • Rev 20:11–15Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
  • Matt 22:29Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 3:21YouTube · 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 3:21 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.