What does συνεργέω (synergéō) mean in the Bible?
Synergeo describes working together, with the participants and purpose supplied by the passage. Mark reports the Lord working through those who proclaim His word.
Greek · G4903
συνεργέω
Synergeo describes working together, with the participants and purpose supplied by the passage. Mark reports the Lord working through those who proclaim His word.
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συνεργέωG4903
Pronunciationsynergéō
What does συνεργέω (synergéō) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for συνεργέω (G4903) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4903?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [God’s] fellow workers (1), fellow worker (1), was working with (1), worked through [them] (1), works all things together (1).
Where does συνεργέω (synergéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 16:20. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Corinthians (1), 2 Corinthians (1), James (1), Mark (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Synergeo describes working together, with the participants and purpose supplied by the passage. Mark reports the Lord working through those who proclaim His word. First Corinthians recognizes those who labor in service, and Second Corinthians presents God's fellow workers urging a faithful response to grace. Romans says God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, then describes that purpose through conformity to His Son.
James says Abraham's faith worked with his actions, within an argument against empty claims that leave a needy neighbor unaided. Divine action, cooperative service and faith expressed in conduct are related within these texts without being interchangeable. The verb does not assign equal power to God and human workers or call every painful event good in itself.
It directs attention to the particular work, its gracious basis and the faithful conduct that the context names.
How the Bible Uses It
Five direct BSB verbal witnesses describe the Lord confirming proclamation, cooperative service, appeal to grace, God's purposeful good and Abraham's faith working with action.
- Mark.16.20
And they went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked through them, confirming His word by the signs that accompanied it.
The Lord works through proclamation and confirms His word in this concluding account; the sentence does not command dangerous sign-seeking experiments.
- 1Cor.16.16
To submit to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer.
Paul asks recognition for service and labor after naming the household devoted to the saints, not immunity from accountability.
- 2Cor.6.1
As God’s fellow workers, then, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.
The appeal follows reconciliation through Christ and urges a response to God's grace within costly, truthful ministry.
- Rom.8.28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
God's work for good stands amid groaning and the Spirit's help, with conformity to the Son defining the following purpose.
- Jas.2.22
You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did.
Faith works with Abraham's actions in James' argument that living faith cannot remain a claim detached from deeds.
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[God’s] fellow workers1×2 Corinthians 6:1
fellow worker1×1 Corinthians 16:16
was working with1×James 2:22
worked through [them]1×Mark 16:20
works all things together1×Romans 8:28
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 16:20συνεργοῦντοςtoworked through [them]Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine SingularRomans 8:28συνεργεῖtoworks all things togetherVerb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1 Corinthians 16:16συνεργοῦντιtofellow workerVerb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Singular2 Corinthians 6:1Συνεργοῦντεςto[God’s] fellow workersVerb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine PluralJames 2:22συνήργειtowas working withVerb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMark 16:20
Aligned rows5
Books represented5
Mark1Romans11 Corinthians12 Corinthians1James1
Source forms
συνεργεῖ1xsynergeiRomans 8:28
Συνεργοῦντες1xSynergountes2 Corinthians 6:1
συνεργοῦντι1xsynergounti1 Corinthians 16:16
συνεργοῦντος1xsynergountosMark 16:20
συνήργει1xsynērgeiJames 2:22
Parsing patterns
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xJames 2:22
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xRomans 8:28
Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Singular1x1 Corinthians 16:16
Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Singular1xMark 16:20
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural1x2 Corinthians 6:1
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Cooperate through truthful service while respecting bodily limits and safeguarding vulnerable people.
- Offer assurance without minimizing loss or promising a particular visible outcome.
Avoid claiming...
- This verb does not establish equality between divine power and human ministry.
- Working together cannot supply a technique that guarantees healing, prosperity or safety.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Cooperative action toward shared purpose; often divine empowerment working alongside human effort.
Strong'sG4903
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances5 timesWord forms2 forms5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkJames 2:21–24Source Gloss
to work with
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Cooperative action toward shared purpose; often divine empowerment working alongside human effort.
1prop., to work together (with): absol., Mrk.16:20, 1Co.16:16, 2Co.6:1; with dative, Jas.2:22; dative commod., Rom.8:28, T, R, txt. (but see infr.).
2In Hellenistic writers (M, Pr., 65), trans., to cause to work together (cf. ICC, in l): with accusative of thing(s), Rom.8:28 [WH] R, mg. (but see supr.).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 16:20Verb Present Active Participle Genitive Singular Masculine
συνεργοῦντος,sunergountov
I work together
Read verseRomans 8:28Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
συνεργεῖsunergei
I work together
Read verse1 Corinthians 16:16Verb Present Active Participle Dative Singular Masculine
συνεργοῦντιsunergounti
I work together
Read verse2 Corinthians 6:1Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
συνεργοῦντεςsunergountev
I work together
Read verseJames 2:22Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative
συνήργειsunhrgei
I work together
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 groups2Aligned forms5TensesPresent, ImperfectVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality3×
Present ActiveMark 16:20 · 1 Cor 16:16 · 2 Cor 6:13×
Indicativestates a fact or reality2×
Present ActiveRom 8:281×
Imperfect ActiveJas 2:221×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present4imperfect1
Voice
active5
Mood
participle3indicative2
NT Occurrences
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.
New Testament Witnesses
working together
Additional Occurrences
was working together with
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
συνεργέω is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Shows cooperation between faith and works.James 2:21–24
Canonical Themes
For the Preacher and Teacher
Romans places God's purposeful working amid real suffering, creation's groaning and believers' weakness. The Spirit helps in that weakness, and the following verses describe God's purpose through the image of His Son. Assurance therefore rests on God rather than a demand that wounded people call their harm desirable. James addresses a different problem: professed faith that supplies words while withholding practical help from a brother or sister in need.
Abraham's faith working with action supports the insistence that faith is living rather than empty speech. Genesis' full account also records God stopping the harm to Isaac and providing a ram; it cannot license a modern leader to demand injury as proof of faith. Paul's service passages recognize devoted labor within grace and reconciliation, while Mark centers the Lord's confirmation of His word.
These contexts support cooperative, accountable work whose purpose is received from God, without turning the verb into a formula for controlling outcomes or exhausting workers.
Anchor passage
Rom.8.28
Doctrinal connections
- The Spirit helps believers in weakness within Romans' groaning and hope.
- God's stated purpose includes conformity to the image of His Son.
- James joins living faith to concrete help for a needy neighbor.
- The Genesis account ends the threatened injury and records God's provision.
- Second Corinthians grounds the ministry appeal in reconciliation through Christ.
- Mark attributes the confirming work to the Lord accompanying proclamation.
The five forms include active participles and present and imperfect indicatives. Participants differ across the witnesses; verbal tense cannot settle wider theological debates about justification or the precise syntax of Romans 8:28.
From Old to New Testament
Genesis 22:1-19 supplies the Abraham narrative invoked by James, including the command that stops injury to Isaac and the ram God provides. Its specific divine test cannot authorize contemporary coercion, abuse or a leader demanding dangerous demonstrations as evidence of faith.