1 John 5:12

He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
hath	ἔχων echōn	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
Son	υἱὸν huion	G5207	a "son" (sometimes of animals) · noun — accusative singular masculine
hath	ἔχει echei	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
life	ζωήν· zōēn	G2222	life (literally or figuratively) · noun — accusative singular feminine
hath	ἔχων echōn	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
not	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
Son	υἱὸν huion	G5207	a "son" (sometimes of animals) · noun — accusative singular masculine
God	θεοῦ theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
hath	ἔχει.¶ echei	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
life	ζωὴν zōēn	G2222	life (literally or figuratively) · noun — accusative singular feminine

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on hi…
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into c…
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
1 Corinthians 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
2 John 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both th…
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by th…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 5:10-13

In those words we may observe, I. The privilege and stability of the real Christian: He that believeth on the Son of God, hath been prevailed with unfeignedly to cleave to him for salvation, hath the witness in himself, Jo1 5:10. He hath not only the outward evidence that others have, but he hath in his own heart a testimony for Jesus Christ. He can allege what Christ and the truth of Christ have done for his soul and what he has seen and found in him. As, 1. He has deeply seen his sin, and guilt, and misery, and his abundant need of such a Saviour. 2. He has seen the excellency, beauty, and office of the Son of God, and the incomparable suitableness of such a Saviour to all his spiritual wa…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 John 5:12

the Son . . . life--Greek, "THE life." BENGEL remarks, The verse has two clauses: in the former the Son is mentioned without the addition "of God," for believers know the Son: in the second clause the addition "of God" is made, that unbelievers may know thereby what a serious thing it is not to have Him. In the former clause "has" bears the emphasis; in the second, life. To have the Son is to be able to say as the bride, "I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine" [Sol 6:3]. Faith is the mean whereby the regenerate HAVE Christ as a present possession, and in having Him have life in its germ and reality now, and shall have life in its fully developed manifestation hereafter. Eternal life here…

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Adam Clarke on 1 John 5:12

He that hath the Son hath life - As the eternal life is given In the Son of God, it follows that it cannot be enjoyed without him. No man can have it without having Christ; therefore he that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son hath not life. It is in vain to expect eternal glory, if we have not Christ in our heart. The indwelling Christ gives both a title to it, and a meetness for it. This is God's record. Let no man deceive himself here. An indwelling Christ and Glory; no indwelling Christ, No glory. God's record must stand.

The Church Fathers

Here John testifies that no one has life unless he has Christ.
— Augustine of Hippo, AGAINST JULIAN 6.9.27

We believe not the testimony of God in which He testifies to us of His Son. "He that hath not the Son, hath not life." And that man has not the Son, who believes Him to be any other than the Son.
— Tertullian, Against Praxeas

He who has the Son, has life, etc. So that it may not seem too little to say that life is in the Son, he added that the Son Himself is life. Which the Son, glorifying the Father, also showed when He said: For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself (John V). But how the same life which is common to both the Son and the Father also enlightens believers, the same Son elsewhere intimates in prayer to the Father: As You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John XVII).
— Bede, Commentary on the Catholic Epistles

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Death, Spiritual · Unbelief is — Unbelief is

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

1 John 5:12

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 5:10-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 John 5:12

Adam Clarke on 1 John 5:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 John 5:12

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 John 5:10-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 John 5:12

Adam Clarke on 1 John 5:12

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 John 5:12

John Calvin on 1 John 5:9-12

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 John 5:11-12