Limitless Word
For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
John 3:34 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure.
  • KJV For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
  • NKJV For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
  • NASB For He whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly.
  • NLT For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit.

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

The one God sent speaks God's own words because God gives him the Spirit without measure. Jesus' words are fully and uniquely the words of God.

Overview

Unlike the prophets who received the Spirit in measure, the Son is endowed with the Spirit without limit, so his speech perfectly conveys God's message. This explains the unique authority of Jesus' testimony. It affirms his unparalleled role as the definitive revealer of God.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 27

  • Acts 10:38how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
  • Matt 12:18“Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations.
  • John 15:26When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me.
  • John 5:26For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.
  • Isa 11:2–5The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
  • Col 2:9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form.
  • Luke 4:18“The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
  • John 7:37–39On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
  • Rom 8:2For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death.
  • John 7:16“My teaching is not My own,” Jesus replied. “It comes from Him who sent Me.
  • Col 1:19For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him,
  • John 3:17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
  • John 1:16From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace.
  • Eph 3:8Though I am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
  • John 8:47Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
  • John 16:7But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
  • Num 11:25Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and He took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and placed that Spirit on the seventy elders. As the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied—but they never did so again.
  • Rev 22:1Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
  • Ps 45:7You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you above your companions with the oil of joy.
  • John 8:40But now you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing.
  • Isa 59:21“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and grandchildren, from now on and forevermore,” says the LORD.
  • Rev 21:6And He told me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life.
  • John 8:26–28“I have much to say about you and much to judge. But the One who sent Me is truthful, and what I have heard from Him, I tell the world.”
  • 2 Kgs 2:9After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken away from you?” “Please, let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied.
  • Rev 22:16–17“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”
  • Isa 62:1–3For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep still, until her righteousness shines like a bright light, her salvation like a blazing torch.
  • Eph 4:7–13Now to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

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

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 3:34YouTube · 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 3:34 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.