American Standard Version
John 1:4
4In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
John 1:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
- New International Version (NIV)In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
- English Standard Version (ESV)In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
- New King James Version (NKJV)In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Context of John 1:4
2The same was in the beginning with God. 3All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not. 6There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John.
Read all of John 1John 1:4 word by word
ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων,Read the interlinear
Cross-references for John 1:4
- John 5:21For as the Father raiseth the dead and giveth them life, even so the Son also giveth life to whom he will.
- John 11:25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth on me, though he die, yet shall he live;
- John 14:6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.
- 1 Corinthians 15:45So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
- Colossians 3:4When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory.
- 1 John 1:2(and the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us);
- 1 John 5:11And the witness is this, that God gave unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
- Revelation 22:1And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,
- John 1:8He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.
- John 8:12Again therefore Jesus spake unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.
- John 9:5When I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
- John 12:35Jesus therefore said unto them, Yet a little while is the light among you. Walk while ye have the light, that darkness overtake you not: and he that walketh in the darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
- Psalms 84:11For Jehovah God is a sun and a shield: Jehovah will give grace and glory; No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
- Isaiah 35:4Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; he will come and save you.
- Isaiah 42:6I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
- Psalms 49:6They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
Commentaries on John 1:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4In him was life - Many MSS., versions, and fathers, connect this with the preceding verse, thus: All things were made by him, and without him was nothing made. What was made had life in it; but This Life was the light of men. That is, though every thing he made had a principle of life in it, whether vegetable, animal, or intellectual, yet this, that life or animal principle in the human being, was not the light of men; not that light which could guide…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4In him was life - The evangelist had just affirmed John 5:3 that by the ́ Logosor “Word” the world was originally created. One part of that creation consisted “in breathing into man the breath of life,” Genesis 2:7. God is declared to be “life,” or the “living” God, because he is the source or fountain of life. This attribute is here ascribed to Jesus Christ. He not merely made the material worlds, but he also gave “life.” He was the agent by which the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4In Him was life: Life was God’s original gift to his creatures at creation (Genesis 1:20–28; 2:7). Now the logos gives people the possibility of new life, which comes through rebirth from God (John 1:13). This means receiving new life from God, not a second physical birth. It describes a spiritual beginning in which God gives people new life through faith, making them his children As one of his first creative acts, God brought light into the world…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. In Him was life--essentially and originally, as the previous verses show to be the meaning. Thus He is the Living Word, or, as He is called in 1Jo 1:1, 2, "the Word of Life." the life ... the light of men--All that in men which is true light--knowledge, integrity, intelligent, willing subjection to God, love to Him and to their fellow creatures, wisdom, purity, holy joy, rational happiness--all this "light of men" has its fountain in the essential…Read the comment
Topics related to John 1:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on John 1
- 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
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- 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
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries