“Make 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.”
My Notes
What Does Hebrews 13:21 Mean?
The writer of Hebrews prays a benediction: make you perfect in every good work to do his will. The making perfect (katartizo) means to equip, to complete, to put in order. God is being asked to prepare believers for the work he has assigned.
"Working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight" — the work is God's. He works in you. The good works you produce are the result of his working inside you. You are not generating the output. He is.
"Through Jesus Christ" — the mediator through whom everything flows. The equipping, the working, the good pleasure — all of it comes through Christ.
"To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen" — the prayer ends in worship. The equipping is for God's glory, not yours. The works are his glory. The praise is his. The amen seals it.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does God 'making you perfect' differ from you perfecting yourself?
- 2.What does 'working in you' mean for the source of the good you produce?
- 3.How does 'through Jesus Christ' keep Christ central to every good work?
- 4.How does the doxology — 'to whom be glory' — reorient the purpose of everything from you to God?
Devotional
Make you perfect in every good work to do his will. The prayer is not that you would try harder. It is that God would equip you — complete you, prepare you, put you in order for the work he has designed.
Working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight. The working is his. Inside you. The good that comes out is the result of something God is doing in. You are not the source. You are the vessel. He works in you. What pleases him flows out of you.
Through Jesus Christ. Every good work. Every act of obedience. Every pleasing thing — it comes through Christ. Not around him. Not alongside him. Through him.
To whom be glory for ever and ever. The glory belongs to God. The works are his glory. The equipping is for his glory. The entire arrangement — his working, your doing, the good that results — it all circles back to glory. His glory. Forever.
Amen. So be it. Let this prayer land. Let God equip you. Let him work in you. Let the good works flow. And let every bit of glory return to the one who made it all possible.
You are not the source of the good in your life. You are the location where God works. And the working is for his glory. Amen.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Make you perfect in every good work to do his will,.... The Alexandrian copy reads, "in every good work and word"; as in…
Make you perfect - The apostle here does not affirm that they were then perfect, or that they would be in this life. The…
Make you perfect - Καταρτισια ὑμας· Put you completely in joint. See the note on Co2 13:9, where the meaning of the…
Here, I. The apostle recommends himself, and his fellow-sufferers, to the prayers of the Hebrew believers (Heb 13:18):…
make you perfect Not the verb so often used to express "perfecting" but another verb "may He fit" or "stablish" or…
Cross References
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