John 14:21 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
John 14:21
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
hath
ἔχωνechōn
G2192
to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
my
μοῦmoû
G3450
of me
commandments
ἐντολάςentolas
G1785
injunction · noun — accusative plural feminine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
keepeth
τηρῶνtērōn
G5083
perhaps akin to G2334 (θεωρέω)) · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
them
αὐτάς,autas
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative plural feminine
he
ἐκεῖνόςekeinos
G1565
that one (or (neuter) thing) · demonstrative pronoun — nominative singular masculine
it is
ἐστίestí
G2076
he (she or it) is
that
τὰςtas
G3588
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — accusative plural feminine
loveth
ἀγαπῶνagapōn
G25
to love (in a social or moral sense) · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
me
μουmou
G3165
me · personal pronoun — 1st person genitive singular
and
δὲde
G1161
but · conjunction
he that
ὁho
G3588
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
loveth
ἀγαπῶνagapōn
G25
to love (in a social or moral sense) · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
me
με·me
G3165
me · personal pronoun — 1st person accusative singular
shall be loved
ἀγαπηθήσεταιagapēthēsetai
G25
to love (in a social or moral sense) · verb — future passive indicative, 3rd person singular
of
ὑπὸhupo
G5259
under · preposition
my
μοῦmoû
G3450
of me
Father
πατρόςpatros
G3962
a "father" (literally or figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
and
κἀγὼkagō
G2532
and · personal pronoun — 1st person nominative singular + conjunction
I
ἐμαυτόν.¶emauton
G1473
I · reflexive pronoun
will love
ἀγαπήσωagapēsō
G25
to love (in a social or moral sense) · verb — future active indicative, 1st person singular
him
αὐτὸνauton
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
will manifest
ἐμφανίσωemphanisō
G1718
to exhibit (in person) or disclose (by words) · verb — future active indicative, 1st person singular
myself
ἐμαυτοῦemautoû
G1683
of myself so likewise the dative case
to him
αὐτῷautō
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
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).
1 John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
1 John 2:5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
2 John 1:6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in…
John 15:9-10 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
John 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
Deuteronomy 11:13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and…
Luke 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 14:18-24
When friends are parting, it is a common request they make to each other, "Pray let us hear from you as often as you can:" this Christ engaged to his disciples, that out of sight they should not be out of mind.
I. He promises that he would continue his care of them (Joh 14:18): "I will not leave you orphans, or fatherless; for, though I leave you, yet I leave you this comfort, I will come to you." His departure from them was that which grieved them; but it was not so bad as they apprehended, for it was neither total nor final. 1. Not total. "Though I leave you without my bodily presence, yet I do not leave you without comfort." Though children, and left little, yet they had received the adop…
He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, &c.--(See on Joh 14:15).
my Father and I will love him--Mark the sharp line of distinction here, not only between the Divine Persons but the actings of love in Each respectively, towards true disciples.
Adam Clarke on John 14:21
He it is that loveth me - See on Joh 14:15 (note).
And will manifest myself to him - All my faithful disciples shall see me after my resurrection; and I will manifest my power and goodness to all those who believe in and obey me, even to the end of the world.
John Gill on John 14:21
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them,.... He that has not merely the external revelation of them in the Bible; but has them written on his heart, by the finger of the Spirit of God, and keeps them under the influence of grace and strength received from him:
he it is that loveth me: others may talk of loving Christ, but this is the man that truly does love him; for his observance of Christ's commands is a proof and evidence that he loves him not in word only, but in deed and in truth: and to encourage souls to love and obedience, Christ adds,
he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father; not that love to is the cause, condition, or motive of the Father's love to his people; nor…
The Church Fathers
Whoever loves me and keeps my commandments will enjoy my love and that of the Father and will obtain in addition a vision of who I really am. They will not be disadvantaged by the fact that they did not see me in body. Indeed, they will also enjoy that vision at the appropriate time as well when they see me coming down from heaven.
Jesus has added the qualification "he who loves me," clearly showing that none other than those who have chosen to live most righteously will be allowed to choose such an incomparable grace, for they are the ones who love him. While it is true that Christ raises the bodies of all—for there will be a resurrection of the evil and the good alike—a new life of glory and happiness will not be given to all without distinction. For it is clear that some only rise again to punishment and will have a life worse than any death, while others … will live a desirable and holy life in Christ.
Even now the Son loves those who love him and the Father. But he loves them now so that they may live properly as a result of their faith, which works through love. Then (in the future), he will love them as well, but in such a way that they may come to the vision of the truth of which they only had a taste through faith. When he adds, "I will show myself to him," he will indeed show himself to all human beings but will show his very own being only to the elect. At the judgment even the damned will see Christ, but only the just will see the king in all his beauty.
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
Conduct, Christian · Obeying Christ — Obeying Christ
Duty · 22:5;23:11; — 22:5;23:11;
Fellowship · WITH CHRIST — WITH CHRIST
Love · 9:41; — 9:41;
Love Of Christ, The · To those who love him — — To those who love him —
Love To Christ · Manifested in: Obeying him — Manifested in: Obeying him
Righteousness · FRUITS OF — FRUITS OF
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).
John 14:21-24
21. He who hath my commandments, and keepeth them, is he that loveth me; and he that loveth me will be loved by my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22. Judas (not Iscariot) saith to him, Lord, why is it [70] that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not to the world? 23. Jesus answered and said to him, "If any one love me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him. 24. He who loveth me not keepeth not my words; and the word which you have heard is not mine, but that of the Father who sent me."
21. He who hath my commandments. He again repeats the former statement, that the undoubted pr…
Jesus’ resurrection (14:19) inaugurated his spiritual union with his disciples, which is parallel to the union he enjoys with the Father (see 15:4-5; 1 Jn 1:3).
