Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
- KJV Verily, 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.
- NKJV “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
- NASB “Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
- NLT “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
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 hears Jesus' word and believes the Father has eternal life and has passed from death to life. Faith in Christ brings present, secure salvation.
Overview
This is one of the clearest gospel promises in John: hearing Christ's word and believing the Father brings eternal life now and escape from condemnation. The believer has already crossed from death into life. Salvation is a present possession grounded in faith, not merely a future hope.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 23
- John 3:36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
- John 6:40For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
- 1 Jn 5:11–13And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
- John 3:18Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
- Rom 8:1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
- John 6:47Truly, truly, I tell you, he who believes has eternal life.
- John 11:26And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”
- John 10:27–30My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
- John 3:16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
- John 20:31But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.
- 1 Th 5:9For God has not appointed us to suffer wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 1 Jn 3:14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.
- John 8:51Truly, truly, I tell you, if anyone keeps My word, he will never see death.”
- Rom 10:11–13It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- 1 Jn 5:1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves those born of Him.
- Mark 16:16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
- Rom 8:16–17The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
- 2 Th 2:13–14But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.
- John 12:44Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in Me does not believe in Me alone, but in the One who sent Me.
- Rom 8:33–34Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
- 1 Pet 1:21Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him; and so your faith and hope are in God.
- 1 Pet 1:5who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
- Rom 8:28–30And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
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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 5:24 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.