Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 13:21

"make you perfect in every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom [be] the glory for ever and ever. Amen." — Hebrews 13:21 (ASV)

The prayer is that God will “equip” (GK 2936) the readers “with everything good for doing his will.” “Equip” in this context means to supply one with what one needs to live the Christian life. “Everything good” is comprehensive; the writer wants nothing to be lacking. Notice the emphasis on doing the will of God, a thought we have had before in this letter.

It is also interesting to notice the juxtaposition of “doing his will” and “may he work in us.” From one point of view any deed is the deed of a human being, but from another it is God working in and through his servant. We should not overlook the significance of the word “us,” by which the writer again links himself with his readers. He looks for God to do his perfect work in them and in him alike. He needs the grace of God as much as they do. He wants God to do in us “what is pleasing [GK 2298] to him,” a word that usually refers to people being acceptable to God. We can do what is acceptable only through Jesus Christ.

Whether “to whom” refers to the Father or to Christ poses a problem.

Grammatically it could be either, and a good case can be made for either. Perhaps the writer himself was not making a sharp distinction.

The doxology concludes with “for ever and ever. Amen.” It is curious that doxologies should include “Amen,” as this one does, for the word was normally the response of a congregation. Perhaps initially a doxology was spoken by the leader of a congregation, and the people responded with their “Amen.” In time the response was added to the doxology as being the normal thing. In any case, the “Amen” makes a satisfying close.