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And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
1 John 4:14 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world.
  • BSB And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.
  • NKJV And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.
  • NASB We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
  • NLT Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The apostles testify as eyewitnesses that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Christian faith rests on this reliable apostolic witness.

Overview

John appeals to firsthand testimony, as in the letter's opening (1:1-3), to ground the truth of the gospel. 'Savior of the world' affirms that Christ's saving mission is wide and sufficient, offered to people of every nation. The verse joins the Father's sending and the Son's saving work, presenting the heart of the gospel the church is called to confess and proclaim.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 18

  • 1 Jn 4:10Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
  • John 3:16–17For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
  • John 4:42And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
  • John 1:14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
  • 1 Jn 2:1–2My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
  • John 15:26–27But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
  • John 1:29The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
  • 1 Pet 5:12By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.
  • 1 Jn 5:9If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
  • John 3:34For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
  • John 12:47And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.
  • 1 Jn 1:1–3That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
  • John 5:39Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
  • John 5:36–37But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
  • Acts 18:5And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.
  • John 10:36Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
  • John 3:11Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
  • John 3:32And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 John 4:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Jesus is the Word of life made manifest, the propitiation for our sins, the Son in whom is eternal life — 'that you may know that you have eternal life.'

How 1 John 4:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.