EasyEnglish Bible 2018
John 1:4
4It is the Word who caused everything to live. Because of this, he has brought light to all people.
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 from the beginning. 3God made all things through the Word. God did not make anything without him. It is the Word who caused everything to live. Because of this, he has brought light to all people. 5The light shines in the dark, and the dark cannot put out the light. 6God sent a man to bring his message. His 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 5:21The Father raises dead people to make them alive again. In the same way, the Son gives life to whoever he chooses.
- John 11:25Jesus said to her, ‘I have authority over death. I raise dead people, and I give people true life. Anyone who believes in me will live. Even if that person dies, he will continue to live.
- John 14:6Jesus answered, ‘I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. Nobody comes to the Father except by me.
- 1 Corinthians 15:45It says in the Bible, ‘The first man, Adam, became a person who received life.’ But Christ is like the last Adam. He is a spirit who gives life to people.
- Colossians 3:4You have that new life because you belong to Christ. One day, Christ will show himself clearly to everyone. Then everyone will see that you are with him. They will see that you also are great, like he is.
- 1 John 1:2He showed himself clearly when he lived on this earth. From long ago he was together with God the Father, and he lives for ever. We saw him and we are telling you what is true. He is the one who has shown himself to us.
- 1 John 5:11This is what God has told us: God has given us life with him that never ends. We receive this life when we believe in his Son, Jesus.
- Revelation 22:1Then the angel showed me a river. It had water that gives true life to people. The water shone like clean glass. The river of water started from the throne where God and the Lamb sit to rule. It ran from the throne
- John 1:8John himself was not that light. God sent him to tell people about the light.
- John 8:12Jesus spoke to the people again. He said, ‘I am the light of the world. Those people who become my disciples will never walk in the dark. No, they will have the light that gives life.’
- John 9:5While I am still here in the world, I am the world's light.’
- John 12:35Jesus answered, ‘The light will be with you for only a short time longer. So continue to walk while you still have the light. Do that, so that the dark will not come over you. Anyone who walks in the dark does not know where they are going.
- Psalms 84:11The Lord God is like a sun and a shield for his people. He is kind to his people and he gives glory to them. To those who do what is right, he gives every good thing that they need.
- Isaiah 35:4Say this to people who are afraid: ‘Be strong! Do not be afraid! Your God is coming now. He is coming to punish his enemies for the bad things that they have done. He is coming to rescue you!’
- Isaiah 42:6‘I have chosen you to bring righteousness. I will take hold of your hand, and I will keep you safe. Through you, I will make a covenant with my people, and you will bring light to the other nations.
- Psalms 49:6Those people think that their money will keep them safe. They are proud about 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
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