1 John 2:23

1 John 2:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
• New International Version (NIV)No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
• English Standard Version (ESV)No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Context of 1 John 2:23

21I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie [nothing false, no deception] is of the truth. 22Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)? This is the antichrist [the enemy and antagonist of Christ], the one who denies and consistently refuses to acknowledge the Father and the Son. Whoever denies and repudiates the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses and acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24As for you, let that remain in you [keeping in your hearts that message of salvation] which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you too will remain in the Son and in the Father [forever]. 25This is the promise which He Himself promised us—eternal life.

1 John 2:23 word by word

πᾶς ὁ ἀρνούμενος τὸν υἱὸν οὐδὲ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει· ὁ ὁμολογῶν τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἔχει.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whosoeverπᾶςpas · allG3956
• deniethὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• deniethἀρνέομαιarneomai · to denyG720
• the Sonυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
• the same hathἔχωechō · to have/beG2192
• notοὐδέoude · norG3761
• the Fatherπατήρpatēr · fatherG3962

Cross-references for 1 John 2:23

• 1 John 2:22Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed)? This is the antichrist [the enemy and antagonist of Christ], the one who denies and consistently refuses to acknowledge the Father and the Son.
• 1 John 4:15Whoever confesses and acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
• Matthew 11:27All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Son except the Father; and no one fully knows and accurately understands the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son [deliberately] wills to reveal Him.
• Luke 10:22All things have been transferred and turned over to Me by My Father and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him.”
• John 5:23so that all will give honor (reverence, homage) to the Son just as they give honor to the Father. [In fact] the one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who has sent Him.
• John 8:19Then the Pharisees said to Him, “Where is this Father of Yours?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”
• John 10:30I and the Father are One [in essence and nature].”
• John 14:9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and you do not know Me yet, Philip, nor recognize clearly who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?’
• John 15:23The one who hates Me also hates My Father.
• 2 John 1:9Anyone who runs on ahead and does not remain in the doctrine of Christ [that is, one who is not content with what He taught], does not have God; but the one who continues to remain in the teaching [of Christ does have God], he has both the Father and the Son.

Commentaries on 1 John 2:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23Whosoever denieth the Son - He who denies Jesus to be the Son of God, and consequently the Christ or Messiah, he hath not the Father - he can have no birth from above, he cannot be enrolled among the children of God, because none can be a child of God but by faith in Christ Jesus. He that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also - This clause is printed by our translators in Italics to show it to be of doubtful authority, as it was probably wanting in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father - That is, has no just views of the Father, and has no evidence of his friendship. It is only by the Son of God that the Father is made known to people, Matthew 11:27; Hebrews 1:2-3, and it is only through him that we can become reconciled to God, and obtain evidence of His favor. See the notes at John 5:23. But he that acknowledges the Son, hath the Father also - This passage, in the common version…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-23Verses 18-23 Every man is an antichrist, who denies the Person, or any of the offices of Christ; and in denying the Son, he denies the Father also, and has no part in his favour while he rejects his great salvation. Let this prophecy that seducers would rise in the Christian world, keep us from being seduced. The church knows not well who are its true members, and who are not, but thus true Christians were proved, and rendered more watchful and humble…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-23You, however, have an anointing from the Holy One: The Holy Spirit gives Christians the ability to recognize spiritual truth (see Isaiah 61:1; Acts 10:38; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22). Those who have the Spirit know the truth about the Father and the Son. They can also identify teachings that do not match the apostles' teachings.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. Greek, "Every one who denieth the Son, hath not the Father either" (1Jo 4:2, 3): "inasmuch as God hath given Himself to us wholly to be enjoyed in Christ" [Calvin]. he--that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. These words ought not to be in italics, as though they were not in the original: for the oldest Greek manuscripts have them. hath--namely, in his abiding possession as his "portion"; by living personal "fellowship." acknowledgeth--by…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 2:23

• God
• Jesus Continued
• Unbelief

In the dictionaries

• Acknowledge
• Advocate
• Lie
• Stumble
• Baptism of the Holy Spirit
• Deny
• Johannine Theology
• John, the Epistles of
• God the Father, heavenly Father, Father

Commentaries on 1 John 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings