Limitless Word
From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
John 1:16 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB From his fullness we all received grace upon grace.
  • KJV And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
  • ESV For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
  • NKJV And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
  • NASB For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.
  • NLT From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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

From Christ's fullness believers receive an overflowing succession of grace. God's generosity in Christ is abundant and continual.

Overview

'Grace upon grace' (or grace replacing grace) pictures God's favor given in inexhaustible supply from the fullness that dwells in Christ. Every spiritual blessing believers enjoy flows from Him. This sets up the next verse's contrast: the abundant grace of the gospel surpasses what came before, while fulfilling it.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 23

  • Col 1:19For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,
  • Rom 5:2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
  • Eph 2:5–10made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!
  • Col 2:9–10For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.
  • Eph 4:7–13Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
  • Eph 3:19of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
  • Eph 1:23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
  • Rom 5:17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive an abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
  • 1 Cor 1:4–5I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus.
  • Eph 1:6–8to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.
  • John 3:34For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
  • Col 2:3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
  • John 15:1–5“I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard.
  • Matt 13:12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
  • Rom 8:9You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
  • Luke 21:15For I will give you speech and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
  • Acts 3:12–16And when Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you surprised by this? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
  • Zech 4:7What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. Then he will bring forth the capstone accompanied by shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
  • 1 Pet 1:2according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
  • Matt 3:14But John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?”
  • Matt 3:11I baptize you with water for repentance, but after me will come One more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
  • 1 Pet 1:11trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
  • Rom 5:20The law came in so that the trespass would increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Pastoral

  • CommentaryCommentary on John 1Matthew Henry · Free

    Henry on the prologue — rich on the Word and the incarnation.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryThe Gospel According to John (Pillar NT Commentary)D. A. Carson · ~720 pp · Paid · reformed

    The go-to mid-level exegetical commentary on John — rigorous and readable.

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 1:16YouTube · 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 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

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 1:16 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.