1 John 5:6

1 John 5:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
• New International Version (NIV)This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
• English Standard Version (ESV)This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.
• New King James Version (NKJV)This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth.

Context of 1 John 5:6

4Because we have become God's children, we can live in a good way. We can refuse to live like people who belong to this world. We are able to win against the wrong ways of this world because we trust Jesus Christ. 5It is only people who believe that Jesus is the Son of God who can do that. Only they can win against the wrong ways of this world. Jesus Christ is the man that God sent into the world. John baptized Jesus in water. When Jesus died, his blood poured out. God showed that Jesus is his Son with the water and with the blood. It was not only with the water of Jesus' baptism. It was also with the blood of his death. God's Holy Spirit also shows us that Jesus is God's Son. The Holy Spirit always says what is true. 7So there are three things that show us clearly that Jesus came from God. 8Those things are the Holy Spirit, the water of Jesus' baptism and the blood of his death on the cross. These all show us the same thing, that Jesus came from God.

1 John 5:6 word by word

οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐλθὼν δι᾽ ὕδατος καὶ αἵματος, Ἰησοῦς Χριστός· οὐκ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι μόνον, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι καὶ ἐν τῷ αἵματι· καὶ τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστιν τὸ μαρτυροῦν, ὅτι τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστιν ἡ ἀλήθεια·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
• isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• he that cameἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064
• byδιάdia · through/because ofG1223
• waterὕδωρhudōr hudatos · waterG5204
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• bloodαἷμαaima · bloodG129
• JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
• Christὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• ChristΧριστόςChristos · ChristG5547
• notοὐou · noG3756
• byἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• onlyμόνονmonon · onlyG3440
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• the Spiritπνεῦμαpneuma · spirit/breath: spiritG4151
• that beareth witnessμαρτυρέωmartureō · to testifyG3140
• becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
• truthἀλήθειαalētheia · truthG225

Cross-references for 1 John 5:6

• John 19:34But one of the soldiers put a spear into Jesus' side. Immediately, blood and water came out of his body.
• Isaiah 45:3I will take valuable things that people have stored in secret places, and I will give them to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord, Israel's God. I am the one who calls you by your name.
• Ezekiel 36:25You will become pure, as if I splash you with clean water. I will remove all the things that make you unclean. I will take away the idols that you worship.
• John 1:31I did not know him. But I had to show Israel's people who he was. That is why I am baptizing people with water.’
• John 3:5Jesus explained, ‘I tell you this: Unless a person is born by water and by God's Spirit, he cannot come into the kingdom of God.
• John 4:10Jesus answered the woman, ‘You do not know what God could give to you. I asked you to give a drink to me. But you do not know who I am. If you did know, you would have asked me to give a drink to you. Then I would have given to you water that gives life.’
• John 7:38It says in the Bible, “God will cause streams of water to pour out from anyone who believes in me. Water that gives life will come out from inside that person.” ’
• Acts 8:36As they were travelling along the road, they came to a place with some water. The man said to Philip, ‘Look! There is some water here. Please will you baptize me? Is there anything to stop you?’ [
• Ephesians 5:25Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church. He even agreed to die on its behalf.
• 1 Peter 3:21That shows how God now saves you. It is like a picture of baptism. The water of baptism does not wash dirt from a person's body. Instead, it shows that a person has decided to obey God. He is choosing to do what is right. That saves you, because Jesus Christ became alive again after his death.
• 1 John 1:7But when we live in a right way, it is like living in the light. God is always in the light. So, if we live in the light, we share together in the life which God gives. And when Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross, he saved us from all our sins. The blood of his sacrifice makes us clean.
• 1 John 4:10This shows what love is: It is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us. He loved us so much that he sent his Son to save us from sin. He sent Jesus to die as a sacrifice, to take the punishment for our sins.
• Leviticus 17:11The blood of an animal gives it life. You must put the blood on the altar. God has given the blood to you to atone for your sins. It makes your life right again, because of the blood.
• Zechariah 9:11But I made a promise to you. I made that promise true with blood. I will free your people that are in a prison, in deep dark holes without water.
• Matthew 26:28This is my blood that shows God's promise. When I die, my blood will pour out of my body. In that way God will forgive many people for the wrong things that they have done. That is the promise that God makes because of my death.
• Mark 14:24Jesus said to them, ‘This is my blood that shows God's promise. When I die, my blood will pour out of my body. In that way God will save many people. That is the promise that God makes because of my death.

Commentaries on 1 John 5:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6This is he that came by water and blood - Jesus was attested to be the Son of God and promised Messiah by water, i.e. his baptism, when the Spirit of God came down from heaven upon him, and the voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Jesus Christ came also by blood. He shed his blood for the sins of the world; and this was in accordance with all that the Jewish prophets had written concerning him. Here the apostle says…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6This is he - This Son of God referred to in the previous verse. The object of the apostle in this verse, in connection with 1 John 5:8, is to state the nature of the evidence that Jesus is the Son of God. He refers to three well-known things on which he probably had insisted much in his preaching - the water, and the blood, and the Spirit. These, he says, furnished evidence on the very point which he was illustrating, by showing that that Jesus on whom…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-8Verses 6-8 We are inwardly and outwardly defiled; inwardly, by the power and pollution of sin in our nature. For our cleansing there is in and by Christ Jesus, the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Some think that the two sacraments are here meant: baptism with water, as the outward sign of regeneration, and purifying from the pollution of sin by the Holy Spirit; and the Lord's supper, as the outward sign of the shedding Christ's…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6This is the One who came by water and blood: A teacher named Cerinthus, who lived at the same time as John, taught a false idea. He said that “the Christ” came down as a spirit on the man Jesus at his baptism, but left him before Jesus died. John teaches the truth. The baptism and death of Jesus confirmed his identity as the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus of Nazareth was and is truly the Christ, the Son of God, from the beginning and forever.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. This--the Person mentioned in 1Jo 5:5. This Jesus. he that came by water and blood--"by water," when His ministry was inaugurated by baptism in the Jordan, and He received the Father's testimony to His Messiahship and divine Sonship. Compare 1Jo 5:5, "believeth that Jesus is the Son of God," with Joh 1:33, 34, "The Spirit ... remaining on Him ... I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God"; and 1Jo 5:8, below, "there are three that bear witness…Read the comment

Topics related to 1 John 5:6

• Atonement
• Blood
• Holy Spirit
• Jesus, the Christ
• Trinity

In the dictionaries

• Christ
• Jesus
• Christ, Messiah
• Jesus, Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus
• Jesus Christ
• Idol
• Blood and Water
• Christ, Offices of
• Hope
• Johannine Theology

Commentaries on 1 John 5

• 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
• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings