1 John 5:11
in 1 John 5And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
KJV
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
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This verse in 1 John 5
Commentary
12 notes on this verseHaving said this, he confirms his words with a proof from the lesser. If we accept human testimony about something, should we not all the more justly accept the greater testimony, from God? For this testimony about the Son of God, that is Christ, is …
This site's exposition
this life is in His Son
on 1 John 5:11-13
The testimony is stated in full: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. The line that follows is stark: whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. Verse 13 states the letter's purpose, assurance of eternal life.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Accordingly, those also who fell asleep received the seal of the Son of God. For before a man bears the name of the Son of God he is dead; but when he receives the seal he lays aside his deadness, and obtains life. The seal, then, is the water: they descend into the water dead, and they arise alive.
He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he does not believe the testimony that God has given of his Son. And this is the testimony, that God …
The Medieval Church2 voices
And this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life. He said, He has given us eternal life. And he who speaks, still living a temporal life and subject to death in the flesh. But he has given us eternal life, just as …
And this life is in His Son. Namely, in the faith and confession of His name, in the reception of His sacraments, in the observance of His commandments. Hence He Himself also said: No one comes to the Father except through Me (John XIV). And …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And this is the sum of that testimony, that God hath given us a title to, and the real beginning of, eternal life; and that this is purchased by, and treasured up in, his Son, who has all the springs and the fulness of it in himself, to communicate to his body, the church, first in grace and then in glory.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
He has designed it for us in his eternal purpose. He has prepared all the means that are necessary to bring us to it. He has made it over to us by his covenant and promise.
And this is the record,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Not only "promised" it. life is in his Son--essentially (Joh 1:4; 14:6); bodily (Col 2:9); operatively (2Ti 1:10) [LANGE in ALFORD]. It is in the second Adam, the Son of God, that this life is secured to us, which, if left to depend on us, we should lose, like the first Adam.
This is the record - The great truth to which the Spirit, the water, and the blood bear testimony. God hath given us eternal life - a right to endless glory, and a meetness for it. And this life is in his Son; it comes by and through him; he is its author and its purchaser; it is only in and through Him. No other scheme of salvation can be effectual; God has provided none other, and in such a case a man’s invention must be vain.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And this is the record - This is the sum, or the amount, of the testimony (μαρτυρία marturia) which God has given respecting him. That God hath given to us eternal life - Has provided, through the Saviour, the means of obtaining eternal life. See the notes at Joh 5:24; Joh 17:2-3. And this life is in his Son - Is treasured up in him, or is to be obtained through him. See the Joh 1:4; Joh 11:25; Joh 14:6 notes; Col 3:3 note.
The words behind it
21 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| αὕτη | haute | this | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| ἐστὶν | estin | is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ἡ | he | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| μαρτυρία | marturia | testimony | G3141 → | 37 times |
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| ζωὴν | zoen | life | G2222 → | 135 times |
| αἰώνιον | aionion | eternal | G166 → | 68 times |
| ἔδωκεν | edoken | has given | G1325 → | 412 times |
| ἡμῖν | hemin | to us | G3165 → | 1936 times |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| θεός· | theos | God; | G2316 → | 1312 times |
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| αὕτη | haute | this | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| ἡ | he | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| ζωὴ | zoe | life | G2222 → | 135 times |
| ἐν | en | in | G1722 → | 2738 times |
| τῷ | to | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| υἱῷ | huio | Son | G5207 → | 377 times |
| αὐτοῦ | autou | of Him | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἐστιν. | estin | is. | G1510 → | 2333 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
αὕτηthis
hauteG3778 →1381 times
ἐστὶνis
estinG1510 →2333 times
ἡthe
heG3588 →19766 times
μαρτυρίαtestimony
marturiaG3141 →37 times
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
ζωὴνlife
zoenG2222 →135 times
αἰώνιονeternal
aionionG166 →68 times
ἔδωκενhas given
edokenG1325 →412 times
ἡμῖνto us
heminG3165 →1936 times
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
θεός·God;
theosG2316 →1312 times
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
αὕτηthis
hauteG3778 →1381 times
ἡthe
heG3588 →19766 times
ζωὴlife
zoeG2222 →135 times
ἐνin
enG1722 →2738 times
τῷthe
toG3588 →19766 times
υἱῷSon
huioG5207 →377 times
αὐτοῦof Him
autouG846 →5565 times
ἐστιν.is.
estinG1510 →2333 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
it leads to
- John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
- Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.
- James 1:15
Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
- John 6:40
For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
- Ezekiel 18:20
The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of…
- John 3:36
Through
John 3:36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
it leads to
- John 5:24
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.
- John 5:24
Through
1 John 4:9This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
it leads to
- John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- John 3:16
Through
1 John 5:20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son…
it leads to
- John 17:3
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
- John 17:3
Where this verse is studied
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About 1 John

This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on 1 John; Shepherd of Hermas, Shepherd of Hermas, Similitude 9 and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 John.
