All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
Parallel translations
- WEB All things were made through him. Without him was not anything made that has been made.
- BSB Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.
- NKJV All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
- NASB All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
- NLT God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
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
Everything that exists was made through the Word, with nothing excepted. This shows Christ is the Creator, not a creature.
Overview
John insists, both positively and negatively, that all created things came into being through the Word, leaving nothing outside His creative work (cf. Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2). Because He made all things, He stands above creation as God. This refutes any notion that the Son is merely the highest created being and grounds His authority to redeem the world He made.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Col 1:16–17For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
- 1 Cor 8:6But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
- Rev 4:11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
- Ps 33:6By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
- Gen 1:26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
- John 1:10He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
- Heb 1:2–3Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
- Isa 45:18For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.
- Isa 45:12I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
- Ps 102:25Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
- Gen 1:1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
- Heb 3:3–4For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
- Heb 1:10–12And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
- Eph 3:9And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
- John 5:17–19But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Pastoral
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
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
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 1:3 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.