Philippians 2:13

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for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13 (NKJV)

for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Philippians 2:13 (NIV)

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13 (KJV)

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Philippians 2:13 (NLT)

for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13 (ESV)

for it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13 (AMP)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13 (NASB)

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

That energy is God's energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.

Philippians 2:13 (MSG)

Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.

New Covenant Meaning

God Works the Willingness, Not Just the Ability

Most people read this verse and focus on the "to do" part: God gives you the strength to carry out His will. But the first part is just as important: God works in you "to will." That means God is the one producing the desire, the inclination, the want-to. This destroys the performance model that assumes you have to muster up enough spiritual desire on your own and then ask God to help you execute it. No. The entire process, from wanting to doing, originates in God working in you. Your job is not to generate more desire for righteousness. Your job is to stay connected to the One who produces that desire.

This Is the Engine Behind Philippians 4:13

Philippians 4:13 says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 2:13 tells you how that strengthening works: God is actively at work inside you. It is not an external boost of willpower. It is an internal working. The Greek energeo (to work, to be active, to be effective) is where we get "energy." God's own energy is at work in the believer. This is the New Covenant reality: the same God who fulfilled the old covenant from the outside now works the new covenant from the inside.

Verse 12 says "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling," which is often misread as "earn your salvation through effort." But verse 13 immediately explains what verse 12 means: the working out is possible because God is working in. The fear and trembling is not anxious striving. It is the appropriate awe of someone who realizes that the living God is at work inside them. You are not the power source. You are the vessel.

Application for Your Life

Your Desire to Do Good Comes From God

If you have a genuine desire to walk with God, to live righteously, to grow in faith, that desire itself is evidence of God at work in you. You did not generate it from raw human willpower. God produced it. This should give you confidence rather than pressure. When you feel the pull toward prayer, toward generosity, toward obedience, that is the God of Philippians 2:13 working in you. Trust the work He is doing. Cooperate with it. You are not trying to pull yourself up to God's standard. God is working His standard into you.

Replace Striving With Cooperation

The practical application of this verse is a shift from striving to cooperating. You are not pushing against a heavy door with your own strength. You are walking through a door that God has already opened from the inside out. When you feel the pressure to perform, to earn, to deserve, return to Philippians 2:13. God is at work in you. The will is His. The power is His. Your role is to yield to what He is already producing rather than try to manufacture a substitute through religious effort.

Prayer Based on This Verse

Father, I thank You that You are the one working in me, both to will and to do for Your good pleasure. I do not have to manufacture desire for You out of nothing. I do not have to perform in my own strength. You are the energy source. You are producing the want-to and the ability inside me right now. I cooperate with what You are doing rather than striving in my own effort. Work in me freely. Produce Your will through me today. I am Your vessel and You are the power. In Jesus' name. Amen.