John 3:15 kjv
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:15 nkjv
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:15 niv
that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him."
John 3:15 esv
that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
John 3:15 nlt
so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.
John 3 15 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Num 21:8-9 | And the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole... whoever is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." | Foreshadowing of looking to Christ for life. |
| John 3:16 | "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." | Expands on 3:15, central gospel summary. |
| John 3:18 | "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already..." | Direct consequence of belief/unbelief. |
| John 5:24 | "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life..." | Believers possess eternal life now. |
| John 6:40 | "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life..." | Seeing and believing leads to eternal life. |
| John 10:28 | "and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." | Security of eternal life. |
| John 11:25 | Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies..." | Jesus as the source of life. |
| Rom 6:23 | For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. | Contrasts death with eternal life in Christ. |
| Rom 10:9 | if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved... | Belief unto salvation. |
| Acts 4:12 | "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven... by which we must be saved." | Exclusivity of salvation through Christ. |
| Acts 16:31 | They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." | Simple command to believe for salvation. |
| 1 Tim 1:16 | Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Christ Jesus might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. | Jesus as an example for obtaining eternal life through belief. |
| Heb 11:6 | And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is... | Importance of faith for connecting with God. |
| 1 Jn 5:11-12 | And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life... | Eternal life resides in the Son. |
| 1 Jn 5:13 | These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. | Assurance of eternal life through belief. |
| Hab 2:4 | But the righteous will live by his faith. | Old Testament principle of living by faith. |
| Eph 2:8-9 | For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God... | Salvation is a gift received by faith. |
| 1 Pet 1:8-9 | and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him... obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. | Love and belief in Christ leads to salvation. |
| 2 Tim 1:10 | but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. | Jesus provides life and immortality. |
| Tit 3:5 | He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy... | Salvation by mercy, not works. |
| Mt 18:14 | "Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish." | God's desire for none to perish. |
John 3 verses
John 3 15 Meaning
John 3:15 declares God's provision for salvation, stating that all who believe in Jesus the Son of God will not face spiritual destruction but instead receive eternal life. It establishes a fundamental truth of Christian faith: belief in Christ as the path from perishing to an enduring, divine quality of life. The verse links directly to the preceding imagery of the bronze serpent in the wilderness, presenting Jesus as the divine solution to humanity's mortal condition.
John 3 15 Context
John 3:15 is part of Jesus' nocturnal discourse with Nicodemus, a prominent Pharisee and ruler of the Jews. Jesus challenges Nicodemus's earthly understanding of the Kingdom of God by introducing the necessity of spiritual new birth. The dialogue then shifts to the pivotal point of God's love and the Son's redemptive work. Verses 14-15 serve as a bridge, linking Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection ("lifted up") to the ancient incident of the bronze serpent in Numbers 21. Just as looking at the serpent saved physical lives from a plague, so too looking in faith to the "lifted up" Son of Man saves spiritual lives from eternal perishing. This sets the stage for the highly condensed gospel message in John 3:16-17. The immediate historical context involves Jewish expectation of a Messiah and Nicodemus's struggle to reconcile Jesus' teachings with traditional Pharisaic legalism, highlighting a polemic against reliance on works over divine grace.
John 3 15 Word analysis
- that: A conjunction (Greek: hina) indicating purpose or result. It introduces the intended outcome of Jesus being "lifted up" (v. 14).
- whoever: (Greek: pas ho pisteuōn - literally "all the one believing" or "everyone believing"). Emphasizes the universal scope of salvation offered through Christ, irrespective of ethnicity, social status, or past deeds. This challenged the prevalent Jewish belief in their exclusive claim to God's covenant blessings.
- believes: (Greek: pisteuō). Not mere intellectual assent or acknowledgement of facts, but active trust, reliance, commitment, and surrender to Jesus as the Son of God and Savior. It implies a continuing, active posture of faith, leading to transformed life. This is the condition God requires.
- in Him: (Greek: eis auton). The preposition eis with "Him" (referring to Jesus) signifies directional movement "into" or "unto" Christ, indicating an active, relational trust and union, rather than just about Him. It's the essential object and focus of saving faith.
- should not perish: (Greek: mē apollētai). Mē denotes prohibition/negation. Apollētai (from apollumi) means to be utterly destroyed, ruined, lost, or to experience ultimate spiritual death and separation from God. It refers to eternal ruin and not merely physical cessation of existence. It highlights the eternal consequence of unbelief.
- but have: (Greek: all' echē). Alla means "but" and indicates a strong contrast or direct antithesis to "perish." Echē (from echō) implies actual possession, not just a future hope. Believers already possess eternal life.
- eternal life: (Greek: zōēn aiōnion). This is more than endless duration. Zōē refers to "life" in its truest, highest sense, often used for divine, spiritual life. Aiōnion means "eternal" or "of the ages," referring not just to infinite quantity but also divine quality of life. It is the very life of God shared with the believer, beginning now and extending forever.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- whoever believes in Him: This phrase clearly states the sole, inclusive, and sufficient condition for receiving God's salvation. It breaks down any barrier based on nationality or works, placing the emphasis entirely on a personal, trusting relationship with Jesus.
- should not perish but have eternal life: This phrase presents a stark, non-negotiable dichotomy of two opposing outcomes. One leads to spiritual destruction, the other to life that is both endless and divine in quality. This establishes the profound consequence of one's response to Christ, offering ultimate deliverance from eternal separation from God and inviting into God's very own life.
John 3 15 Bonus section
The emphasis on "eternal life" being something believers "have" now (present tense of echē) is a profound Johannine theme. It means salvation is not merely a future hope but a present spiritual reality and relationship with God that begins the moment one believes. This concept radically contrasts with the legalistic Jewish understanding of achieving future life through strict adherence to the Law. The parallel with Numbers 21:8-9 highlights substitutionary atonement and the simple act of "looking" (which signifies belief/trust). Just as one had to "look" to the serpent to be saved from physical death, one must "look" (believe) in Jesus to be saved from spiritual death. This underscores the singular focus on Christ and faith as the sole means of rescue from perishing.
John 3 15 Commentary
John 3:15 succinctly encapsulates a core theological truth about salvation. It follows the narrative of Jesus' instruction to Nicodemus, directly linking the promised spiritual salvation to the symbolic act of faith from Numbers 21. The verse declares that God's solution to humanity's "perishing" spiritual state is belief in His Son, Jesus. "Perish" here signifies an eternal ruin and separation from God, contrasting sharply with "eternal life," which is not just unending existence but a profound, spiritual life that flows from God and is given as a present possession to the believer. It underscores God's immense love and His universal offer of salvation, conditioned not on human merit or heritage, but solely on an active, trusting faith in Jesus Christ, who was "lifted up" on the cross to provide this life. It's a call to look to Christ and live.
- Example 1: A person burdened by their failures understands that by believing in Jesus, their past does not condemn them to "perish" but instead grants them a new, eternal spiritual connection with God.
- Example 2: When faced with the inevitability of physical death, a believer finds peace in the knowledge that they already "have eternal life" through faith in Christ, overcoming the fear of ultimate perishing.