not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.
Parallel translations
- WEB Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father.
- KJV Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
- NKJV Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.
- NASB Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.
- NLT (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)
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
Jesus clarifies that no one has seen the Father except Him who is from God. He alone has direct knowledge of the Father and reveals Him.
Overview
Lest 'taught by God' be misunderstood, Jesus affirms that He alone, coming from God, has seen the Father. The Son is the unique revealer of the Father (cf. 1:18). To be taught by God, then, is to receive the truth that comes through Christ, the one who perfectly knows and makes known the Father.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 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 7:29but I know Him, because I am from Him and He sent Me.”
- Luke 10:22All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”
- Matt 11:27All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
- 1 Jn 4:12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us.
- 1 Tim 6:16He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
- Col 1:15The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
- John 14:9–10Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
- John 8:55You do not know Him, but I know Him. If I said I did not know Him, I would be a liar like you. But I do know Him, and I keep His word.
- John 15:24If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father.
- John 5:37And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form,
- John 8:19“Where is Your Father?” they asked Him. “You do not know Me or My Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew Me, you would know My Father as well.”
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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 6:46 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.