Self-sufficiency
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
Autarkeia means sufficiency, contentment, or having enough for the situation at hand. Paul says God's grace abounds so believers may have all sufficiency for every good work, and he calls godliness with contentment great gain.
Reader summary
Full entry for αὐτάρκεια (G841) · Open the biblical lexicon
Autarkeia means sufficiency, contentment, or having enough for the situation at hand. Paul says God's grace abounds so believers may have all sufficiency for every good work, and he calls godliness with contentment great gain.
The BSB source-word alignment has 2 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include contentment (1), you need (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 2 Corinthians 9:8. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Timothy (1), 2 Corinthians (1).
Autarkeia means sufficiency, contentment, or having enough for the situation at hand. Paul says God's grace abounds so believers may have all sufficiency for every good work, and he calls godliness with contentment great gain. Food and covering mark a posture of received provision rather than endless acquisition. The word does not celebrate isolated self-reliance, emotional denial, or indifference to poverty.
In 2 Corinthians, sufficiency comes from God's ability and overflows in generosity; in 1 Timothy, it resists the fantasy that godliness is a route to profit. Christian contentment therefore trusts the Giver, receives ordinary provision gratefully, shares freely, works faithfully, and still brings real needs before God and the church.
Autarkeia describes enoughness received under God's care. Grace supplies sufficiency for generous good works, while godliness with contentment exposes acquisitive religion as counterfeit gain.
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
Second Corinthians 9:8 says God can make every grace abound so believers have all sufficiency in all things at all times for every good work. Enoughness is God-supplied and outward-moving.
Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain.
First Timothy 6:6 declares godliness with contentment to be great gain, overturning teachers who imagine devotion as a means of financial profit.
But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
First Timothy 6:8 says that with food and covering believers will be content. The statement trains desire around received necessities without forbidding work, planning, or care for others.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Contentment with what one has, not self-reliant independence; inner sufficiency despite external lack.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
2 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
self-sufficiency, independence
Read verseself-sufficiency, independence
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.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 2 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 2 lexical occurrence verses.
αὐτάρκεια is built from this root:
Contentment reveals a heart satisfied in God rather than in wealth. 1 Timothy 6:3-10
Autarkeia is not the heroic independence of a person who needs neither God nor neighbor. In 2 Corinthians, God makes grace abound and supplies enough so generosity can continue. In 1 Timothy, contentment dismantles the false equation between godliness and profit, teaching believers to receive basic provision without organizing life around becoming rich. The result is neither passivity nor romanticized deprivation.
Paul still commands work, family provision, sharing, and care for widows. Churches should help people discern the difference between needs, wise provision, and desires that continually redraw the line of enough. They must also meet genuine need rather than telling vulnerable people to be content with injustice. Grace-supplied sufficiency turns gratitude outward in good works.
2Cor.9.8
Autarkeia can denote sufficiency or contentment. In wider Greek it could suggest self-sufficiency, but Paul's contexts relocate enoughness within God's grace and faithful dependence.
Israel learned daily dependence through manna, wisdom asks for neither poverty nor riches, and covenant gleaning joins gratitude with provision for neighbors.
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