Truly, truly, I tell you, he who believes has eternal life.
Parallel translations
- WEB Most certainly, I tell you, he who believes in me has eternal life.
- KJV Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
- NKJV Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
- NASB Truly, truly, I say to you, the one who believes has eternal life.
- NLT “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal 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
Jesus solemnly declares that whoever believes in Him has eternal life. Faith in Christ brings the present, sure possession of everlasting life.
Overview
With another emphatic 'Most certainly,' Jesus states the gospel in its simplest form: believing yields eternal life now. The present tense 'has' assures believers that this life is already theirs, not merely a future hope. This verse distills the message of John's Gospel into a single promise grounded in faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 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.”
- Col 3:3–4For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
- Rom 5:9–10Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him!
- John 5:24Truly, 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.”
- John 6:54Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
- John 14:19In a little while the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you also will live.
- 1 Jn 5:12–13Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 6:47 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.