Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son.
Parallel translations
- WEB If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is God’s testimony which he has testified concerning his Son.
- KJV If 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.
- BSB Even if we accept human testimony, the testimony of God is greater. For this is the testimony that God has given about His Son.
- NKJV If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son.
- NASB If we receive the testimony of people, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son.
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
If we accept human testimony, God's testimony about his Son is far greater and more trustworthy. We should believe God's witness above all.
Overview
John reasons from the lesser to the greater: people routinely rely on human testimony, so how much more should they trust God's own witness concerning Jesus. God himself has testified about his Son, making unbelief inexcusable. This testimony of God carries supreme authority and demands the response of faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Matt 3:16–17Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him.
- Acts 17:31because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.”
- John 8:17–19It’s also written in your law that the testimony of two people is valid.
- Matt 17:5While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.”
- 1 Jn 5:10He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who doesn’t believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son.
- Acts 5:32We are His witnesses of these things; and so also is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
- Heb 2:4God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, by various works of power, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?
- John 10:38But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works; that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
- John 5:39“You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me.
- John 3:32–33What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies; and no one receives his witness.
- John 5:31–37“If I testify about myself, my witness is not valid.
- Heb 6:18that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to take hold of the hope set before us.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 5:9 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.