No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.
Parallel translations
- WEB No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.
- KJV And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
- NKJV No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
- NASB No one has ascended into heaven, except He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
- NLT No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven.
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
Only the Son of Man, who came down from heaven, has access to heavenly truth. Jesus alone can reveal God because he comes from God.
Overview
Jesus claims a unique heavenly origin: no one has ascended to bring back divine knowledge, but he has descended from heaven. The title 'Son of Man' (from Daniel 7) joins his humanity to his divine authority. This establishes his sole qualification to disclose 'heavenly things' and points to his identity as the Word made flesh.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 22
- Prov 30:4Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His hands? Who has bound up the waters in His cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is the name of His Son—surely you know!
- Acts 2:34For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand
- John 6:38For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
- John 1:18No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
- John 13:3Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God.
- 1 Cor 15:47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.
- Eph 4:9–10What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth?
- John 6:62Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?
- Rom 10:6But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down)
- John 3:31The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The One who comes from heaven is above all.
- John 6:46not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.
- John 17:5And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.
- John 6:42They were asking, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then can He say, ‘I have come down from heaven?’”
- Mark 16:19–20After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.
- John 8:42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on My own, but He sent Me.
- Deut 30:12It is not in heaven, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’
- John 16:28–30I came from the Father and entered the world. In turn, I will leave the world and go to the Father.”
- John 6:51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And this bread, which I will give for the life of the world, is My flesh.”
- John 6:33For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
- Acts 20:28Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
- Matt 28:20and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Eph 1:23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
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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 3:13 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
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