Limitless Word
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
John 3:36 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
  • BSB Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
  • NKJV He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
  • NASB The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
  • NLT And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

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

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life now, but whoever rejects him will not see life and remains under God's wrath. One's relationship to the Son is a matter of life and death.

Overview

This concluding verse sharpens the choice: present possession of eternal life through faith, or abiding wrath through disobedient unbelief. 'Disobeys' shows that unbelief is a refusal to submit to the Son, not mere doubt. It presents the gospel's urgency, that life is found only in trusting and obeying Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 31

  • John 5:24Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
  • John 1:12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
  • 1 Th 5:9For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
  • Eph 5:6Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
  • John 3:15–16That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
  • 1 Jn 5:10–13He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
  • Rom 1:17–18For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
  • Rom 5:9Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
  • John 8:51Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
  • John 3:3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
  • John 10:28And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
  • 1 Th 1:10And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.
  • Rev 21:8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
  • John 6:47–54Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
  • 1 Jn 3:14–15We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
  • Rev 6:16–17And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
  • Rom 8:1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
  • Ps 106:4–5Remember me, O LORD, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation;
  • Num 32:11Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:
  • Ps 36:9For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
  • Rom 8:24–25For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
  • Gal 3:10For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
  • Heb 2:3How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
  • Luke 3:6And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
  • Job 33:28He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light.
  • Ps 49:19He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.
  • Hab 2:4Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
  • Heb 10:29Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
  • Ps 2:12Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
  • Rom 4:15Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
  • Luke 2:30For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

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 3:36YouTube · 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 3:36 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.