Both To Will And To Do

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

To “will” is capacity and potential. To “do” is the actual act, the energy output. Expressed another way to “will” is potential energy and to “do” is kinetic energy.

The word, “worketh” is transliterated from the Greek, “energeo”. It is where we get the word “energy” from. The word “do” in the verse above is also derived from the same Greek word, “energeo”.

God “worketh” on our will and our actions to do His pleasure. Since God is always good, righteous, and holy, whatever His desire is for us will always be good, righteous, and holy.

Now here’s where it gets interesting. The Greek word for power is “Dunamis”. It is used quite frequently in the Bible. For example, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

Dunamis can be actual energy output, or in this case the doing. Dunamis can also be capacity and potential, or as it is also used in the verse, the willing.

What this all means is that God gives us power, His power to both will and to do his good pleasure. God’s good pleasure is His intent and benevolence. God gives us the power, capacity, desire, and the ability to do as God Himself would do. He, “daily loadeth us with (these) benefits” (Psalm 69:19).

As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Be ye followers (imitators) of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:11). 

It’s not to hard to imitate God when God is daily infusing us with His power.

Bill Hitchcock