Matthew 7:21

Matthew 7:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
• New International Version (NIV)“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Context of Matthew 7:21

19A farmer will cut down any tree that does not make good fruit. He will burn it on a fire. 20In the same way, look at the way people live. Then you will know what they are really like. Some people say to me, “Master, Master!” But not all of them will come into the kingdom of heaven. Only the people who obey God, my Father in heaven, will come in. They do what he wants them to do. 22On the day when God judges people, many of them will say, “Master, Master! We used your authority and we spoke a message from you. We used your authority and we sent bad spirits out of people. We used your authority to do many powerful things.” 23But I will say to these people, “I never knew you. You do not obey God. You are bad. So go away from me.” ’

Matthew 7:21 word by word

Οὐ πᾶς ὁ λέγων μοι· κύριε κύριε, εἰσελεύσεται εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ πατρός μου τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Notοὐou · noG3756
• everyπᾶςpas · allG3956
• one that saithλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto meἐγώegō · I/weG1473
• Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• shall enterεἰσέρχομαιeiserchomai · to enterG1525
• intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• the kingdomβασιλείαbasileia · kingdomG932
• of heavenοὐρανόςouranos · heavenG3772
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• he that doethποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• the willθέλημαthelēma · will/desireG2307
• Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962
• which is inἐνen · in/on/amongG1722

Cross-references for Matthew 7:21

• Matthew 25:11Later, the five silly women also came to the house. They said, “Sir, Sir, please open the door for us.”
• Hosea 8:2Israel's people call out to me for help. They say, “We know you as our God.”
• Luke 6:46Jesus said, ‘If you refuse to obey me, do not call me, “Master, Master.”
• Luke 13:25Soon the master of the house will get up and he will shut the door. And then you may still be standing outside the door. You will knock and you will say, “Master, please open the door for us to come in.” But the master will reply, “I do not know you. I do not know where you come from.”
• Acts 19:13There were some Jewish men who travelled about to different places. They caused bad spirits to leave people. Some of them wanted to use the name of the Lord Jesus when they did this. These Jews said to the bad spirits, ‘We tell you to come out of these people. We say this with the authority of Jesus, the man that Paul teaches people about.’
• Romans 2:13Who does God accept as right with himself? It is those people who obey his Law. It is not the people who only know his Law but do not obey them.
• James 1:22But be careful to do what God says in his message. Do not only listen to it. Do not make that mistake!
• James 2:20You fool! If someone's faith does not lead them to do good things, it is not worth anything. You should know that!
• Matthew 18:3He said, ‘I tell you this: You must change and become like little children. If not, you will never come into the kingdom of heaven.
• Matthew 19:24The hole in a needle is very small. A camel cannot go through it! But I tell you, it is even more difficult than that for a rich person to let God rule in their life.’
• Matthew 21:31Tell me, which of the man's sons did what his father wanted?’ The Jewish leaders replied, ‘The older son did what his father wanted.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you this: The men who take taxes from people are going into the kingdom of God before you. It is the same with prostitutes. They also are going into the kingdom of God before you.
• Isaiah 48:1Listen to this, family of Jacob. You are called ‘Israel’, and you are Judah's descendants. You use the name of the Lord when you make promises. You pray to Israel's God. But you do not do those things honestly and fairly.
• Mark 9:47If your eye causes you to do wrong things, then you should remove it. Then you will only have one eye, but you can go into the kingdom of God. It will be much worse if you keep both your eyes and God throws you into hell.
• Mark 10:23Jesus looked round and he said to his disciples, ‘It is very difficult for rich people to let God rule in their lives.’
• Luke 18:25The hole in a needle is very small. A camel cannot go through it! But it is even more difficult than that for a rich person to let God rule in their life.’
• John 3:5Jesus explained, ‘I tell you this: Unless a person is born by water and by God's Spirit, he cannot come into the kingdom of God.

Commentaries on Matthew 7:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Not every one - , a Hebraism, say some, for no person. It is a Graecism and a Latinism too: , not All of the gods, i.e. not Any of the gods, Hom. Odyss. Z. 240. So Terence Sine omni periclo, without All danger, i.e. without Any danger. And Juvenal: Sine omni labe, without All imperfection, i.e. without Any. See more in Mr. Wakefield. The sense of this verse seems to be this: No person, by merely acknowledging my authority, believing in the Divinity of my…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Not every one that saith … - The Saviour goes on to say that many, on the ground of a mere profession such as he had just referred to, would claim admittance into his kingdom. Many would plead that they had done miracles, and preached or prophesied much, and on the ground of that would demand an entrance into heaven. The power of working miracles had no necessary connection with piety. God may as well, if he chooses, give the power of raising the dead to…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-29Verses 21-29 Christ here shows that it will not be enough to own him for our Master, only in word and tongue. It is necessary to our happiness that we believe in Christ, that we repent of sin, that we live a holy life, that we love one another. This is his will, even our sanctification. Let us take heed of resting in outward privileges and doings, lest we deceive ourselves, and perish eternally, as multitudes do, with a lie in our right hand. Let every…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21The will of My Father: The teachings of Jesus show what the will of the Father is (see also 12:50; 21:28–32; Romans 2:13; James 1:22–27).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord--the reduplication of the title "Lord" denoting zeal in according it to Christ (see Mr 14:45). Yet our Lord claims and expects this of all His disciples, as when He washed their feet: "Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am" (Joh 13:13). shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven--that will which it had been the great object of this…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 7:21

• Commandments
• Confession
• Doer
• Hypocrisy
• Readings, Select
• Religion
• Self-Delusion

In the dictionaries

• Ask
• Descend
• Destruction
• Gather
• Judge
• Measure
• Mote
• None
• Profess
• Rock

Commentaries on Matthew 7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings