I John 5:11
A plain-spoken deep dive on this verse. Read the chapter →
And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
hath given--Greek, aorist: "gave" once for all. Not only "promised" it. life is in his Son--essentially (Joh 1:4; Joh 11:25; Joh 14:6); bodily (Col 2:9); operatively (Ti2 1:10) [LANGE in ALFORD]. It is in the second Adam, the Son of God, that this life is secured to us, which, if left to depend on us, we should lose, like the first Adam.
Open source ↗In this chapter the apostle asserts, I. The dignity of believers (Jo1 5:1). II. Their obligation to love, and the trial of it (Jo1 5:1-3). III. Their victory (Jo1 5:4, Jo1 5:5). IV. The credibility and confirmation of their faith (Jo1 5:6-10). V. The advantage of their faith in eternal life (Jo1 5:11-13). VI. The audience of their prayers, unless for those who have sinned unto death (Jo1 5:14-17). VII. The preservation from sin and Satan (Jo1 5:18). VIII. Their happy distinction from the world (Jo1 5:19). IX. Their true knowledge of God (Jo1 5:20), upon which they must depart from idols (Jo1 5:21).
Open source ↗5:11-12 Whoever has the Son has life: Those who have the Son of God living in them have God’s eternal life now—they enjoy the presence of God’s Spirit (2:20, 25, 27), and they have the guarantee of eternity with God (see Eph 1:13-14).
Open source ↗Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And this is the promise that He Himself made to us: eternal life.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
And 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.
In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
For as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted the Son to have life in Himself.
Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.
The one who saw it has testified to this, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.