What does ἀγωνίζομαι (agōnízomai) mean in the Bible?
Ἀγωνίζομαι means to contend, strive, compete, or struggle with focused exertion. Paul draws on athletic effort without turning discipleship into salvation by achievement.
Greek · G75
ἀγωνίζομαι
To struggle
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ἀγωνίζομαι G75
Pronunciation agōnízomai
What does ἀγωνίζομαι (agōnízomai) mean in the Bible?
Ἀγωνίζομαι means to contend, strive, compete, or struggle with focused exertion. Paul draws on athletic effort without turning discipleship into salvation by achievement.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀγωνίζομαι (G75) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G75?
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include competes in the games (1), Fight (1), I have fought (1), Make every effort (1), strive (1).
Where does ἀγωνίζομαι (agōnízomai) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 13:24. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Timothy (2), Colossians (2), 1 Corinthians (1), 2 Timothy (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Ἀγωνίζομαι means to contend, strive, compete, or struggle with focused exertion. Paul draws on athletic effort without turning discipleship into salvation by achievement. First Corinthians 9 pictures competitors practicing self-control for a perishable crown, while Paul disciplines himself for an imperishable goal and for faithful gospel service. First Timothy 4 says ministry labors and strives because hope is set on the living God.
In 2 Timothy 4, the completed struggle belongs to a life that has kept the faith. The verb therefore combines effort, direction, discipline, and endurance under grace. It is not frantic activism, rivalry with other believers, or a promise that willpower can secure eternal life. God is the living Savior on whom hope rests, and striving is the obedient response of those entrusted with His gospel.
How the Bible Uses It
Paul uses ἀγωνίζομαι for disciplined, hopeful exertion in gospel ministry and faithful perseverance. Grace does not eliminate effort; it redirects and sustains it.
- 1Cor.9.25
Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable.
The athlete's self-control illustrates purposeful discipline for an imperishable crown, within Paul's larger commitment to serve others for the gospel.
- 1Tim.4.10
To this end we labor and strive, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, and especially of those who believe.
Labor and striving arise because hope is fixed on the living God, so exertion is dependent rather than self-saving.
- 2Tim.4.7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Paul's past struggle is interpreted by the completed race and preserved faith as he entrusts himself to the righteous Judge.
Book contextPassage 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 competes in the games 1× 1 Corinthians 9:25
Fight 1× 1 Timothy 6:12
I have fought 1× 2 Timothy 4:7
Make every effort 1× Luke 13:24
strive 1× 1 Timothy 4:10
striving 1× Colossians 1:29
would fight 1× John 18:36
wrestling 1× Colossians 4:12
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 13:24 Ἀγωνίζεσθε to Make every effort Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Plural John 18:36 ἠγωνίζοντο» to would fight Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Plural 1 Corinthians 9:25 ἀγωνιζόμενος to competes in the games Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular Colossians 1:29 ἀγωνιζόμενος to striving Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular Colossians 4:12 ἀγωνιζόμενος to wrestling Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular 1 Timothy 4:10 ἀγωνιζόμεθα to strive Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 1st Person Plural 1 Timothy 6:12 ἀγωνίζου to Fight Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Singular 2 Timothy 4:7 ἠγώνισμαι to I have fought Verb - Perfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 1st Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Luke 13:24
Aligned rows 8
Books represented 6
Luke 1 John 1 1 Corinthians 1 Colossians 2 1 Timothy 2 2 Timothy 1
Source forms
ἀγωνιζόμενος 3x agōnizomenos 1 Corinthians 9:25, Colossians 1:29, Colossians 4:12
Ἀγωνίζεσθε 1x Agōnizesthe Luke 13:24
ἀγωνιζόμεθα 1x agōnizometha 1 Timothy 4:10
ἀγωνίζου 1x agōnizou 1 Timothy 6:12
ἠγωνίζοντο» 1x ēgōnizonto John 18:36
ἠγώνισμαι 1x ēgōnismai 2 Timothy 4:7
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular 3x 1 Corinthians 9:25, Colossians 1:29, Colossians 4:12
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Plural 1x John 18:36
Verb - Perfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 1st Person Singular 1x 2 Timothy 4:7
Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Plural 1x Luke 13:24
Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Singular 1x 1 Timothy 6:12
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 1st Person Plural 1x 1 Timothy 4:10
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Join every call to strive with the passage's stated hope, goal, and dependence on God's power.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that ἀγωνίζομαι teaches salvation or final acceptance earned by disciplined performance.
- Do not use striving language to glorify exhaustion, ignore bodily limits, or excuse neglect of prayer and dependence.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to struggle
Strong's G75
Lexical occurrences 7 verses Greek text appearances 7 times Word forms 3 forms 7 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 13:22–30 Source Gloss
to struggle
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
(ἀγών), [in LXX: Da TH 6:14 (שׂוּם בָּל), Sir.4:28, I, II, 4Mac .5 * ;]
1to contend for a prize: 1Co.9:25,
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
7 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 13:24 Verb Second Person Plural Present Middle or Passive Deponent Imperative
Ἀγωνίζεσθε agwnizesqe
I strive, contend
Read verse John 18:36 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἠγωνίζοντο, hgwnizonto
I strive, contend
Read verse 1 Corinthians 9:25 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἀγωνιζόμενος agwnizomenov
I strive, contend
Read verse Colossians 1:29 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἀγωνιζόμενος agwnizomenov
I strive, contend
Read verse Colossians 4:12 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἀγωνιζόμενος agwnizomenov
I strive, contend
Read verse 1 Timothy 6:12 Verb Second Person Singular Present Middle or Passive Deponent Imperative
ἀγωνίζου agwnizou
I strive, contend
Read verse 2 Timothy 4:7 Verb First Person Singular Perfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἠγώνισμαι, hgwnismai
I strive, contend
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 7 Tenses Present, Imperfect, Perfect Voices 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 3×
Present Middle 1 Cor 9:25 · Col 1:29 · Col 4:12 3×
Imperative command or strong request 2×
Present Middle Luke 13:24 · 1 Tim 6:12 2×
Indicative states a fact or reality 2×
Imperfect Middle John 18:36 1×
Perfect Middle 2 Tim 4:7 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 7 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 5 perfect 1 imperfect 1
Voice
middle 7
Mood
participle 3 imperative 2 indicative 2
NT Occurrences
Luke 13:24 Ἀγωνίζεσθε present middle imperative imperative John 18:36 ἠγωνίζοντο imperfect middle indicative background 1 Corinthians 9:25 ἀγωνιζόμενος present middle participle participle Colossians 1:29 ἀγωνιζόμενος present middle participle participle Colossians 4:12 ἀγωνιζόμενος present middle participle participle 1 Timothy 6:12 ἀγωνίζου present middle imperative imperative 2 Timothy 4:7 ἠγώνισμαι perfect middle indicative resultant
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.
Additional Occurrences
Luke 13:22–30 ἀγωνίζεσθε agōnízomai
Strive, struggle
New Testament Witnesses
strive earnestly
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 7 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἀγωνίζομαι is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Conveys urgency and seriousness in seeking entry.
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
Paul can speak strongly about striving because he never makes human effort the ground of salvation. The competitor trains for a crown, but Paul's discipline belongs to gospel service and self-denial, not personal glory. Timothy's labor is anchored explicitly in hope in the living God. Paul's final confidence rests in the righteous Lord who will award the crown, even as Paul truthfully recounts a life of persevering effort.
Christian striving is therefore responsive and dependent. Believers work because grace has called them, hope because God lives, discipline desires that would disqualify their witness, and continue when ministry is costly. Churches should resist two distortions: passive spirituality that baptizes neglect, and anxious activism that treats rest, weakness, or dependence as failure.
Faithful exertion has a God-given object, uses God-approved means, accepts creaturely limits, and trusts the outcome to the Lord.
Anchor passage
1Cor.9.25
Doctrinal connections
- 1 Corinthians 9:19-27, gospel service, self-denial, and discipline
- 1 Timothy 4:6-16, training in godliness and hope in the living God
- 2 Timothy 4:6-8, completed striving and the righteous crown
- Joshua 1:1-9, courageous obedience sustained by God's presence
- Psalm 127:1-2, labor dependent on the Lord
- Colossians 1:28-29, laboring with God's energy powerfully at work
Ἀγωνίζομαι is the verbal member of the ἀγών word family. Its middle-form morphology is standard for the verb and need not imply reflexive action. The context supplies the arena and goal, whether athletic competition, ministry labor, prayer, or persevering faith.
From Old to New Testament
Covenant servants are repeatedly commanded to labor courageously while depending on God's presence and power. Jesus completes His obedient mission, and the apostles labor with strength God supplies. Christian striving is neither autonomous achievement nor passive waiting.
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