What does ἐνεργέω (energéō) mean in the Bible?
Ἐνεργέω means to work, operate, be active, or produce an effect. The New Testament uses it for powers and passions whose activity must be identified carefully.
Greek · G1754
ἐνεργέω
To be active, efficient
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ἐνεργέω G1754
Pronunciation energéō
What does ἐνεργέω (energéō) mean in the Bible?
Ἐνεργέω means to work, operate, be active, or produce an effect. The New Testament uses it for powers and passions whose activity must be identified carefully.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐνεργέω (G1754) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1754?
The BSB source-word alignment has 21 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include are at work (2), at work (2), works (2), [is] at work (1), [now] at work (1).
Where does ἐνεργέω (energéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 14:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Ephesians (4), Galatians (4), 1 Corinthians (2), 2 Corinthians (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Ἐνεργέω means to work, operate, be active, or produce an effect. The New Testament uses it for powers and passions whose activity must be identified carefully. Herod wrongly interprets Jesus' mighty works as John the Baptist's powers operating after resurrection, so the verb reports his fearful conclusion rather than validating it. Romans 7 describes sinful passions working in the members and bearing fruit for death.
First Corinthians 12 places diverse workings under the one God who works all things in all believers. Second Corinthians 1 says divine comfort works patient endurance in sufferers. The verb itself does not mean divine energy or guarantee a good effect. Subject, sphere, and result determine whether the activity is sinful, mistaken, gracious, or Spirit-given.
How the Bible Uses It
Ἐνεργέω names effective activity. Paul applies it to sin, divine gifting, and comfort-produced endurance, while Gospel narratives can report mistaken claims about power at work.
- Matt.14.2
And said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Herod's statement is a guilty and superstitious interpretation of Jesus' miracles, not the narrator's doctrine of resurrection power.
- Mark.6.14
Now King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
Mark likewise reports public speculation about Jesus' identity and the source of His works.
- Rom.7.5
For when we lived according to the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, bearing fruit for death.
Sinful passions are active in fallen members and bear death, preparing the contrast with new life in the Spirit.
- 1Cor.12.6
There are different ways of working, but the same God works all things in all people.
Different operations do not imply competing gods; the same God actively works across the body's diverse gifts.
- 2Cor.1.6
If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience.
God's comfort becomes effective in patient endurance as believers share sufferings rather than merely removing every affliction.
Passage contextCanonical parallelBook context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It are at work 2× Matthew 14:2, Mark 6:14
at work 2× Ephesians 2:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:7
works 2× 1 Corinthians 12:6, Philippians 2:13
[is] at work 1× Ephesians 3:20
[now] at work 1× 1 Thessalonians 2:13
accomplishes 1× 2 Corinthians 1:6
are the work 1× 1 Corinthians 12:11
expressing itself 1× Galatians 5:6
has great power 1× James 5:16
He exerted 1× Ephesians 1:20
is at work 1× 2 Corinthians 4:12
to act 1× Philippians 2:13
was also at work 1× Galatians 2:8
was at work 1× Galatians 2:8
were at work 1× Romans 7:5
work 1× Galatians 3:5
working 1× Colossians 1:29
works out 1× Ephesians 1:11
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 14:2 ἐνεργοῦσιν to are at work Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Mark 6:14 ἐνεργοῦσιν to are at work Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Romans 7:5 ἐνηργεῖτο to were at work Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 1 Corinthians 12:6 ἐνεργῶν to works Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 1 Corinthians 12:11 ἐνεργεῖ to are the work Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2 Corinthians 1:6 ἐνεργουμένης to accomplishes Verb - Present Participle Middle - Genitive Feminine Singular 2 Corinthians 4:12 ἐνεργεῖται to is at work Verb - Present Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Galatians 2:8 ἐνεργήσας to was at work Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Galatians 2:8 ἐνήργησεν to was also at work Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Galatians 3:5 ἐνεργῶν to work Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 14:2
Aligned rows 21
Books represented 12
Matthew 1 Mark 1 Romans 1 1 Corinthians 2 2 Corinthians 2 Galatians 4 Ephesians 4 Philippians 2 Colossians 1 1 Thessalonians 1 2 Thessalonians 1 James 1
Source forms
ἐνεργεῖται 3x energeitai 2 Corinthians 4:12, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:7
ἐνεργῶν 3x energōn 1 Corinthians 12:6, Galatians 3:5, Philippians 2:13
ἐνεργουμένη 2x energoumenē Galatians 5:6, James 5:16
ἐνεργουμένην 2x energoumenēn Ephesians 3:20, Colossians 1:29
ἐνεργοῦντος 2x energountos Ephesians 1:11, Ephesians 2:2
ἐνεργοῦσιν 2x energousin Matthew 14:2, Mark 6:14
ἐνεργεῖ 1x energei 1 Corinthians 12:11
ἐνεργεῖν 1x energein Philippians 2:13
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 3x 2 Corinthians 4:12, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Thessalonians 2:7
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 3x 1 Corinthians 12:6, Galatians 3:5, Philippians 2:13
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 2x Matthew 14:2, Mark 6:14
Verb - Present Participle Middle - Accusative Feminine Singular 2x Ephesians 3:20, Colossians 1:29
Verb - Present Participle Middle - Nominative Feminine Singular 2x Galatians 5:6, James 5:16
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Galatians 2:8
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Galatians 2:8
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 1x Romans 7:5
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not identify an activity as divine merely because it is effective, impressive, or described with power language.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not treat Herod's explanation of Jesus' miracles as the narrator's approved theology.
- Do not claim that God's effective comfort guarantees immediate escape from affliction; 2 Corinthians joins comfort to endurance.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Divine or supernatural power actively operating within persons or circumstances, not merely potential.
Strong's G1754
Lexical occurrences 21 verses Greek text appearances 21 times 16 shown below Word forms 3 forms 21 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Ephesians 1:11-14 Source Gloss
to be active, efficient
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 21 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 14:2 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ἐνεργοῦσιν energousin
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse Mark 6:14 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ἐνεργοῦσιν energousin
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse Romans 7:5 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle Indicative
ἐνηργεῖτο enhrgeito
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse 1 Corinthians 12:6 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐνεργῶν energwn
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse 1 Corinthians 12:11 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἐνεργεῖ energei
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse 2 Corinthians 1:6 Verb Present Middle Participle Genitive Singular Feminine
ἐνεργουμένης energoumenhv
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse 2 Corinthians 4:12 Verb Third Person Singular Present Middle Indicative
ἐνεργεῖται, energeitai
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse Galatians 2:8 Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐνεργήσας energhsav
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse Galatians 2:8 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐνήργησε enhrghsen
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse Galatians 3:5 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐνεργῶν energwn
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse Galatians 5:6 Verb Present Middle Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
ἐνεργουμένη. energoumenh
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse Ephesians 1:11 Verb Present Active Participle Genitive Singular Masculine
ἐνεργοῦντος energountov
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse Ephesians 1:20 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐνήργησεν enhrghsen
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse Ephesians 2:2 Verb Present Active Participle Genitive Singular Neuter
ἐνεργοῦντος energountov
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse Ephesians 3:20 Verb Present Middle Participle Accusative Singular Feminine
ἐνεργουμένην energoumenhn
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verse Philippians 2:13 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἐνεργῶν energwn
I work, accomplish, am operative
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 3 Aligned forms 21 Tenses Present, Imperfect, Aorist, Perfect Voices Active, Middle
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 11×
Present Active 1 Cor 12:6 · Gal 3:5 · Phil 2:13 · Eph 1:11 · Eph 2:2 5×
Present Middle Gal 5:6 · Jas 5:16 · Eph 3:20 · Col 1:29 · 2 Cor 1:6 5×
Aorist Active Gal 2:8 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 9×
Present Middle 2 Cor 4:12 · 1 Thess 2:13 · 2 Thess 2:7 3×
Present Active Matt 14:2 · Mark 6:14 · 1 Cor 12:11 3×
Imperfect Middle Rom 7:5 1×
Aorist Active Gal 2:8 1×
Perfect Active Eph 1:20 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Present Active Phil 2:13 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 21 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 17 aorist 2 perfect 1 imperfect 1
Voice
active 12 middle 9
Mood
participle 11 indicative 9 infinitive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 14:2 ἐνεργοῦσιν present active indicative ongoing Mark 6:14 ἐνεργοῦσιν present active indicative ongoing Romans 7:5 ἐνηργεῖτο imperfect middle indicative background 1 Corinthians 12:11 ἐνεργεῖ present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 12:6 ἐνεργῶν present active participle participle 2 Corinthians 1:6 ἐνεργουμένης present middle participle participle 2 Corinthians 4:12 ἐνεργεῖται present middle indicative ongoing Galatians 2:8 ἐνεργήσας aorist active participle participle Galatians 2:8 ἐνήργησεν aorist active indicative completed Galatians 3:5 ἐνεργῶν present active participle participle Galatians 5:6 ἐνεργουμένη present middle participle participle Ephesians 1:11 ἐνεργοῦντος present active participle participle Ephesians 1:20 ἐνήργηκεν perfect active indicative resultant Ephesians 2:2 ἐνεργοῦντος present active participle participle Ephesians 3:20 ἐνεργουμένην present middle participle participle Philippians 2:13 ἐνεργῶν present active participle participle Philippians 2:13 ἐνεργεῖν present active infinitive infinitive Colossians 1:29 ἐνεργουμένην present middle participle participle 1 Thessalonians 2:13 ἐνεργεῖται present middle indicative ongoing 2 Thessalonians 2:7 ἐνεργεῖται present middle indicative ongoing James 5:16 ἐνεργουμένη present middle participle participle
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
God's active power effecting or accomplishing purposes in believers
God's mighty power actively at work, demonstrated in Christ's resurrection and exaltation
Evil spiritual forces actively operating in those disobedient to God
God's power actively at work within believers, far exceeding human capacity
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 21 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἐνεργέω is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Activity must be interpreted, not merely admired. Herod sees mighty works and reaches a false conclusion shaped by guilt. Romans 7 names another activity: sinful passions work through fallen humanity and bear fruit for death. First Corinthians 12 directs attention to the one God who works diverse operations in the church, preventing both rivalry and self-credit.
Second Corinthians 1 shows divine comfort operating through suffering to produce patient endurance. These uses give teachers a disciplined way to discuss spiritual power. Visible results, emotional intensity, or unusual experiences do not identify their source by themselves. Scripture tests activity by truth, confession of Christ, holy fruit, and God's revealed purpose.
Believers can also trust that God's work is not absent when pain remains; His comfort may actively sustain endurance and equip sufferers to console others.
Anchor passage
Matt.14.2
Doctrinal connections
- Romans 7:4-8:11, sin's activity and life in the Spirit
- 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, one God working diverse gifts
- 2 Corinthians 1:3-11, comfort operating in endurance
- Isaiah 55:10-11, God's word accomplishing His purpose
- Philippians 2:12-13, God working willing and doing
- Galatians 5:6, faith working through love
Ἐνεργέω is related to ἐνέργεια and ἐνεργής and expresses being operative or producing an effect. It may occur actively or in middle/passive-looking forms. Grammar identifies participants, while context evaluates the power.
From Old to New Testament
God's word and Spirit accomplish His purposes, while sin and idolatrous powers also produce destructive effects. In Christ, divine power raises, sanctifies, gifts, comforts, and brings faith to expression through love.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain