For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Parallel translations
- WEB For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself.
- BSB For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.
- NKJV For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,
- NASB For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;
- NLT The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son.
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
As the Father has life in himself, he has granted the Son to have life in himself. The Son possesses divine, self-existent life.
Overview
The Father's life is underived and self-existent, and Jesus says this same fullness of life has been given to the Son. This expresses both the Son's deity and his eternal relation to the Father. Because Christ has life in himself, he can be the source of life for all who believe.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 23
- John 11:26And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
- John 1:4In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
- John 14:6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
- Exod 3:14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
- John 17:2–3As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
- 1 Cor 15:45And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
- 1 Tim 1:17Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
- Jer 10:10But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
- Ps 36:9For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.
- Rev 22:17And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
- 1 Jn 1:1–3That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
- Col 3:3–4For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
- Rev 22:1And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
- John 7:37–38In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
- John 14:19Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
- John 4:10Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
- Ps 90:2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
- Acts 17:25Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;
- Rev 21:6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
- 1 Tim 6:16Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
- John 8:51Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
- Rev 7:17For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
- John 6:57As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
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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 5:26 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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