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 Living Translation (NLT)And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony.

Context of 1 John 5:6

4For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 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. 7For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

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 pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
• Isaiah 45:3I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.
• Ezekiel 36:25Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
• John 1:31I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.”
• John 3:5Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
• John 4:10Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
• John 7:38He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
• Acts 8:36Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
• Ephesians 5:25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
• 1 Peter 3:21There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
• 1 John 1:7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
• 1 John 4:10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
• Leviticus 17:11For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’
• Zechariah 9:11“As for you also, Because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
• Matthew 26:28For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
• Mark 14:24And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.

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
• Idol
• Blood and Water
• Christ, Offices of
• Hope
• Johannine Theology
• John, the Epistles of
• Sacrifice
• Trinity

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