Then He told them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world.
- KJV And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
- NKJV And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
- NASB And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.
- NLT Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not.
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 says they are from below and of this world, while He is from above and not of this world. He highlights the radical difference between His heavenly origin and their earthly outlook.
Overview
Jesus contrasts His divine, heavenly origin with the earthbound, sinful orientation of His hearers, explaining why they cannot understand or follow Him. This gulf can be bridged only by being born from above through faith in Him (John 3:3). His words press home that salvation requires receiving the one who comes from heaven to give life to those below.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- John 3:31The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The One who comes from heaven is above all.
- 1 Jn 2:15–16Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
- John 17:14I have given them Your word and the world has hated them; for they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
- John 17:16They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
- 1 Jn 4:5–6They are of the world. That is why they speak from the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them.
- 1 Jn 5:19–20We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
- Jas 4:4You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.
- Ps 17:4As for the deeds of men—by the word of Your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.
- John 1:14The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- Jas 3:15–17Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
- John 3:13No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.
- 1 Cor 15:47–48The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.
- John 15:18–19If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.
- Rom 8:7–8because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
- Phil 3:19–21Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
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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 8:23 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.