Christian Standard Bible
John 1:4
4In him was life, and that 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
2He was with God in the beginning. 3All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it. 6There was 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
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for John 1:4
- John 5:21And just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom he wants.
- John 11:25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live.
- John 14:6Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
- 1 Corinthians 15:45So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
- Colossians 3:4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
- 1 John 1:2that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us —
- 1 John 5:11And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
- Revelation 22:1Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
- John 1:8He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.
- John 8:12Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
- John 9:5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
- John 12:35Jesus answered, “The light will be with you only a little longer. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going.
- Psalms 84:11For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord grants favor and honor; he does not withhold the good from those who live with integrity.
- Isaiah 35:4Say to the cowardly: “Be strong; do not fear! Here is your God; vengeance is coming. God’s retribution is coming; he will save you.”
- Isaiah 42:6“I am the Lord. I have called you for a righteous purpose, and I will hold you by your hand. I will watch over you, and I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations,
- Psalms 49:6They trust in their wealth and boast of their abundant 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
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