# Meaning of Matthew 7:21-23? **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [September 29, 2026, 7:07am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679 "2026-09-29T07:07:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![figtree\_shade](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/figtree_shade/32/1391_2.png) [@figtree\_shade](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/figtree_shade)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2026, 7:07am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/1 "2026-09-29T07:07:36Z")
In Matthew 7, Jesus says something like: not everyone who calls him Lord will enter the kingdom, only those who actually do what the Father wants. He goes further and describes people showing up on judgment day listing off their prophecies and miracles done in his name, and he tells them flat out that he never knew them. These people spent their lives doing what looked like powerful ministry work, and he still calls them workers of lawlessness and sends them away. I don’t know what to make of this. It sounds like a warning that plenty of people who genuinely believe they’re following Christ may find out they weren’t, which raises the question of how anyone can know where they stand. Is this about the difference between knowing about Jesus and being known by him, or am I missing something else here? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Russian](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/da6949/32.png) [@The\_Russian](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/The_Russian)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 12:11am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/2 "2026-09-30T00:11:08Z")
I think you nailed it with the ‘knowing about Jesus versus being known by him’ distinction. The people he turns away have impressive spiritual resumes, but the key phrase is ‘I never knew you.’ They defend themselves by pointing to their own works (‘did we not prophesy, cast out demons’). Their confidence was in what they did for God rather than in belonging to him. As for how anyone can [know where they stand](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/how-to-tell-if-youre-going-to-heaven/1655), the fact you’re asking that question puts you in a different category than the people in the passage. They show up on judgment day confident, with no self-examination at all. I think the ‘will of the Father’ he mentions is the ordinary, unglamorous stuff he’d spent the whole Sermon on the Mount describing: forgiving people, honesty, mercy, loving enemies. ---
**Author:** ![BackgroundEye](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/backgroundeye/32/1496_2.png) [@BackgroundEye](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/BackgroundEye)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 12:23am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/3 "2026-09-30T00:23:31Z")
I don’t think this passage is meant to make every sincere Christian panic over whether they’ve performed well enough. Jesus has warned about false prophets and said they’re recognized by their fruit. The point of Matthew 7:21-23 is that impressive ministry claims can sit right alongside lawlessness. A person can use Jesus’ name publicly while refusing his authority privately. A few verses later he describes the wise person as someone who hears his words and puts them into practice. He’s talking about a posture of trust and ongoing obedience. ---
**Author:** ![static.jones](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/static.jones/32/1426_2.png) [@static.jones](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/static.jones)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 12:27am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/4 "2026-09-30T00:27:31Z")
Someone can spend years convinced they’re serving him, then saying Lord, Lord, listing off the prophecies and the demons they cast out, and he still calls them workers of lawlessness and sends them away. The sermon before it already spells out what he does want. Drop the grudge, keep your word, love the person who hates you, give and pray when nobody’s watching. They brought the fireworks and skipped the life he’d already described. Nobody has to wait until judgment day to figure out where they stand. Am I living those words, or am I pointing at religious activity and calling that closeness? ---
**Author:** ![Extra-Emily](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Extra-Emily](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/Extra-Emily)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 1:16pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/5 "2026-09-30T13:16:45Z")
> [@static.jones](#): > > Nobody has to wait until judgment day to figure out where they stand. When someone asks themselves that and the answer is “I’m still holding the grudge and I’m not loving my enemy,” what do you think separates that struggling believer from the people Jesus sends away: the failure itself, or whether they keep bringing it back to him in repentance instead of covering it with religious activity? ---
**Author:** ![Nastaran](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/nastaran/32/65_2.png) [@Nastaran](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/Nastaran)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 2:26pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/6 "2026-09-30T14:26:31Z")
Your emphasis on hearing Jesus’ words and putting them into practice is helpful. The wise builder shows what obedience looks like, trust resting on Christ’s authority. ---
**Author:** ![THependulums](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/thependulums/32/878_2.png) [@THependulums](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/THependulums)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2026, 3:25pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/7 "2026-09-30T15:25:01Z")
> [@The\_Russian](#): > > Their confidence was in what they did for God rather than in belonging to him. As for how anyone can know where they stand, the fact you’re asking that question puts you in a different category than the people in the passage. They trusted the work of their own hands and called it belonging. You can have a whole record of good works and still not know him. The trembling question is a good sign, but it can’t become a resting place. If someone asks “do I belong to him?” and then goes right back to the same unforgiveness or the same hidden dishonesty, the question has done nothing but flatter them. Doing the Father’s will, like you said, is where knowing and being known happen. ---
**Author:** ![southerlyweighted](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/southerlyweighted/32/950_2.png) [@southerlyweighted](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/southerlyweighted)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 12:48am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/8 "2026-10-01T00:48:14Z")
> [@Extra-Emily](#): > > whether they keep bringing it back to him in repentance instead of covering it with religious activity I’d say the second, and Matthew 5 nearly settles it. Jesus says if you’re at the altar with your offering and remember your brother has something against you, leave the gift there and go reconcile first. He expects worshippers to show up with unresolved grudges. The people in Matthew 7 did the reverse. They kept stacking offerings on the altar so nobody would notice the brother still waiting outside. Picture two people at the gate. The first rolls up a wagon with a color-coded spreadsheet: 47 prophecies and 212 demons. The second shows up holding a crumpled sticky note they’ve been bringing to prayer for eleven years: ‘Still can’t forgive my brother-in-law over the lawnmower thing. Help.’ Notice who has been talking to Jesus. The second person has been in an ongoing, honest conversation with him. The first has mostly been talking about him to everyone else. The Lord’s Prayer assumes this too. ‘Forgive us our debts’ is meant to be prayed daily, which only makes sense if failure is daily. One caveat: the sticky note only counts if it’s a real request. If someone brings the lawnmower grudge up while privately planning to hold onto it forever, that’s just a quieter version of the same cover-up. ---
**Author:** ![PeacefulMind88](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/peacefulmind88/32/1228_2.png) [@PeacefulMind88](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/PeacefulMind88)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 5:49am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/9 "2026-10-01T05:49:49Z")
Had this exact conversation with someone at my church last week. She asked how we can be sure we’re following the real Jesus and not just our own idea of him. That’s why the early church put the creeds together, so everyone would be anchored to the same Christ, living in actual communion with him and with each other instead of inventing their own version to worship. ---
**Author:** ![notsocharmingprince](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/n/50afbb/32.png) [@notsocharmingprince](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/notsocharmingprince)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 5:52am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/10 "2026-10-01T05:52:17Z")
The part about most people going to hell is hard to shake. Jesus isn’t talking about some rare edge case. He’s describing a whole lot of people, not outsiders, who thought they were his followers. How do you check yourself without going crazy with doubt? ---
**Author:** ![Liqourice\_stick](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/liqourice_stick/32/15_2.png) [@Liqourice\_stick](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/Liqourice_stick)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 12:07pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/11 "2026-10-01T12:07:50Z")
Going through the motions. That’s exactly what Jesus is calling out. Following the teachings is the key part here, living out what Scripture says, not just wearing the label and showing up on Sundays. ---
**Author:** ![Casual\_bible](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/casual_bible/32/11_2.png) [@Casual\_bible](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/Casual_bible)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/12 "2026-10-01T23:52:09Z")
God grades the genuineness of our love by how we treat strangers and those who oppose us, not just the people who love us back. Wicked people throughout history have deeply loved their own families while committing terrible acts against others. So when Jesus says “I never knew you,” I think he means they never understood love the way he defines it. Loving God is loving people, especially those who can’t repay. ---
**Author:** ![orbit\_rachel](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/orbit_rachel/32/1488_2.png) [@orbit\_rachel](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/orbit_rachel)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/13 "2026-10-02T14:53:01Z")
The passage means that doing impressive spiritual stuff without submitting is like using someone else’s name without permission. The name has real authority behind it, which is why faking it can even happen. Take the exorcists in Ephesus from Acts 19. They saw that Jesus’ name carried power, so they tried using it though they had no real connection to him. It failed when a demon called them out on it. You can go around claiming the king’s authority everywhere while ignoring what the king commanded in private. ---
**Author:** ![TabithaJoy](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/tabithajoy/32/1217_2.png) [@TabithaJoy](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/TabithaJoy)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 1:43pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/14 "2026-10-03T13:43:26Z")
Our righteousness is filthy rags in God’s eyes. Filthy rags. So these people listing off their miracles were trusting their works for salvation. We’re only seen as righteous through the blood, not our deeds. ---
**Author:** ![tentmaker\_pauline](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/tentmaker_pauline/32/1474_2.png) [@tentmaker\_pauline](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/tentmaker_pauline)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 12:52pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/15 "2026-10-04T12:52:57Z")
That’s why he says he never knew them. Their confidence was in their works, not in him. The will of the Father he mentions is spelled out in John 6:40 (everyone who sees the Son and believes on him will have everlasting life). But these folks show up listing all their ministry work, pointing to what they did instead of to him. Their own track record is what they believed on for salvation. ---
**Author:** ![canyonpsalter](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/canyonpsalter/32/1421_2.png) [@canyonpsalter](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/canyonpsalter)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 12:25pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/16 "2026-10-05T12:25:39Z")
Saved by calling on the Lord and entering the kingdom by doing the Father’s will seem like two different things. One is about receiving divine life. The other is the practical side, how we live it out. ---
**Author:** ![Gonzio](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Gonzio](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/Gonzio)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2026, 1:55pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/17 "2026-10-08T13:55:21Z")
Living religiously without loving people, that’s what gets exposed here. Titus 1:16 fits well: professing to know God while the works tell a different story. A surrendered life separates knowing about him from being known by him. A heart turned toward Christ. A willingness to follow even when it costs everything. The Matthew 25 connection matters too. Jesus defines ‘doing the Father’s will’ in concrete terms there. ---
**Author:** ![Zealed](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/zealed/32/63_2.png) [@Zealed](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/Zealed)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2026, 6:41am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/18 "2026-10-11T06:41:19Z")
Serving a doctrine or tradition blurs so easily with serving the Lord. Trusting in a baptism or denomination or even the day we worship can become a substitute for knowing him and doing what he asks. ---
**Author:** ![Moses\_Grows](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Moses\_Grows](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/Moses_Grows)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2026, 3:31am UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/19 "2026-10-15T03:31:02Z")
The Judas connection blows my mind. In Matthew 10, Jesus sends out all twelve (Judas included) to heal the sick and cast out demons. So miracles in his name were never proof of belonging. ‘Knew’ in Scripture is a close, personal word. Amos 3:2 has God saying ‘you only have I known’ to Israel, and Paul in Galatians 4:9 cares more about being known by God than about knowing him. John 10:14 and 27 says ‘I know my sheep. They listen to my voice and follow me.’ His knowing comes first. You can see it in whether you’re following that voice, day to day. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonia](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/user_avatar/forum.victoriousinprayer.com/harmonia/32/13_2.png) [@Harmonia](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/u/Harmonia)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2026, 2:21pm UTC](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679/20 "2026-10-18T14:21:03Z")
This passage wrecked me a few years ago. I led our church’s prayer ministry for six years. Then surgery. I had to step away, and once there was no group, I barely prayed at all. When I reread Matthew 7, what convicted me was how those people say ‘in your name’ three times, yet every thing they list is something they did. So now, whenever I catch myself feeling spiritually secure just because I’m busy serving, I ask if every role I hold disappeared tomorrow, what would be left between me and Jesus. [Next page](https://forum.victoriousinprayer.com/t/meaning-of-matthew-7-21-23/1679.md?page=2)