Limitless Word
And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
John 1:16 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB From his fullness we all received grace upon grace.
  • BSB 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 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 it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
  • Rom 5:2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
  • Eph 2:5–10Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
  • Col 2:9–10For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
  • Eph 4:7–13But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
  • Eph 3:19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
  • Eph 1:23Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
  • Rom 5:17For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
  • 1 Cor 1:4–5I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;
  • Eph 1:6–8To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
  • John 3:34For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
  • Col 2:3In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
  • John 15:1–5I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
  • Matt 13:12For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
  • Rom 8:9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
  • Luke 21:15For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
  • Acts 3:12–16And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
  • Zech 4:7Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.
  • 1 Pet 1:2Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
  • Matt 3:14But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
  • Matt 3:11I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
  • 1 Pet 1:11Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
  • Rom 5:20Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

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.