in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.
Parallel translations
- WEB in hope of eternal life, which God, who can’t lie, promised before time began;
- KJV In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
- NKJV in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,
- NASB in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,
- NLT This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began.
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
Our faith and godliness rest on the hope of eternal life promised by a God who cannot lie. It matters because the certainty of salvation depends on God's unchanging truthfulness.
Overview
Paul anchors Christian hope in the character of God, who 'can't lie,' making His promise of eternal life absolutely sure. That this hope was promised 'before time began' shows salvation flows from God's eternal plan, not a later afterthought. This eternal purpose is fulfilled in Christ, in whom God's promises find their yes and amen.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 40
- Num 23:19God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill?
- 2 Tim 1:9He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.
- 1 Jn 2:25And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.
- Heb 6:17–18So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath.
- 1 Jn 5:11–13And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
- 2 Tim 1:1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
- Titus 2:13as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
- 1 Sam 15:29Moreover, the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man, that He should change His mind.”
- 2 Tim 2:15Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.
- 2 Tim 2:13if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
- Jude 1:21keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life.
- Rom 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Titus 3:7so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life.
- Matt 25:46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- 1 Pet 1:20–23He was known before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in the last times for your sake.
- 1 Jn 5:20And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
- Titus 2:7In everything, show yourself to be an example by doing good works. In your teaching show integrity, dignity,
- John 3:15–16that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.
- John 5:39You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me,
- 1 Th 5:8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of our hope of salvation.
- Rom 5:21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- 1 Pet 1:3–4Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
- John 10:28I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
- Matt 25:34Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
- 2 Tim 2:10For this reason I endure all things for the sake of the elect, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
- John 17:2For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
- John 6:68Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.
- 1 Jn 3:2–3Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.
- Rom 5:2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
- Rom 5:4perseverance, character; and character, hope.
- Prov 8:23–31From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, before the earth began.
- Rev 13:8And all who dwell on the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life belonging to the Lamb who was slain.
- Rom 1:2the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
- 1 Tim 6:19treasuring up for themselves a firm foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
- Rev 17:8The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be.
- Rom 2:7To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.
- Rom 16:25Now to Him who is able to strengthen you by my gospel and by the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery concealed for ages past
- John 17:24Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
- Acts 15:18that have been known for ages.’
- John 6:54Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
We await 'the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us' and purify a people of his own.
How Titus 1:2 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.