Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn’t have God’s Son doesn’t have the life.
- KJV He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
- BSB Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
- NKJV He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
- NASB The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
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
Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God's Son does not have life. Eternal life depends entirely on possessing Christ.
Overview
John draws the sharp, exclusive conclusion of his argument: life is found in Christ alone, with no middle ground. To 'have the Son' is to belong to him by faith and so to share his eternal life. The verse leaves no room for salvation apart from Jesus, underscoring the necessity of personal trust in him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- John 3:36One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
- John 5:24“Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
- John 1:12But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name:
- 1 Cor 1:30Because of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
- Mark 16:16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned.
- John 3:15that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
- 2 Jn 1:9Whoever transgresses and doesn’t remain in the teaching of Christ, doesn’t have God. He who remains in the teaching, the same has both the Father and the Son.
- Heb 3:14For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm to the end:
- 1 Jn 2:23–24Whoever denies the Son, the same doesn’t have the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.
- Gal 2:20I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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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 5:12 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.