John 8:41 kjv
Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
John 8:41 nkjv
You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father?God."
John 8:41 niv
You are doing the works of your own father." "We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself."
John 8:41 esv
You are doing the works your father did." They said to him, "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father ? even God."
John 8:41 nlt
No, you are imitating your real father." They replied, "We aren't illegitimate children! God himself is our true Father."
John 8 41 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| John 8:31 | If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples. | Condition for true discipleship |
| John 8:40 | But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth. | Contrasting Jesus' nature |
| John 8:42 | If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God. | Evidence of true parentage |
| John 8:44 | You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. | Direct accusation of spiritual lineage |
| Matthew 3:17 | And behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” | Jesus' divine Sonship confirmed |
| Luke 3:22 | ... and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove. | Divine authentication |
| 1 John 3:8 | Whoever makes a practice of sin is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. | Characteristic of devil's children |
| Romans 8:16 | The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. | Assurance of God's children |
| Galatians 3:26 | For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. | Way to become God's children |
| Ephesians 5:8 | for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. | Transformation in Christ |
| Colossians 1:13 | He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son. | Deliverance from darkness |
| Hebrews 2:14 | Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same... | Jesus' shared humanity |
| 1 Peter 1:18 | knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers... | Redemption from ancestral ways |
| Revelation 12:9 | And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. | Satan's deceptive nature |
| 1 Corinthians 10:20 | No, I will say that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. | Association with demons |
| Deuteronomy 18:18 | I will raise up for them a prophet from among their brothers, like you. | Messianic prophecy |
| Isaiah 42:1 | Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights. | Prophecy of the Servant |
| Acts 4:12 | And in no one else is there salvation, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. | Jesus as the sole savior |
| 1 John 2:23 | No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. | Confessing Jesus secures relationship with the Father |
| John 14:6 | Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” | Jesus as the exclusive way to God |
John 8 verses
John 8 41 Meaning
They claimed that Jesus was the Son of God, yet their understanding of His true identity was distorted. Jesus directly confronts this hypocrisy by stating they do not have Him (abide in Him, originating from Him). He highlights their true parentage, aligning them with the devil, the father of lies and rebellion, not God the Father. This statement exposes their inherent spiritual deadness and rejection of His divine mission and authority.
John 8 41 Context
In John 8, Jesus is in Jerusalem during the Feast of Tabernacles. He has just proclaimed Himself the Light of the World. He's engaging in a discourse with Jewish leaders who have been increasingly hostile and disbelieving. They question His authority and heritage. Jesus asserts His divine origin, stating He comes from the Father and speaks God's words. He exposes their attempts to understand Him apart from this truth. This specific verse (John 8:41) follows Jesus’ declaration that He does what He has seen the Father do, implying His intimate knowledge and oneness with the Father.
John 8 41 Word analysis
They said: (Greek: eipon - past tense of lego, meaning to speak or say) This indicates their spoken response to Jesus’ earlier claims.
to him: Refers to Jesus.
We are not (Greek: hēmeis ou - "we not"): A strong negation applied to the following statement.
born (Greek: gegennēmenoi - perfect passive participle of gennaō, meaning to give birth, to be born, to generate): This refers to a begetting, an origin or spiritual lineage.
of fornication (Greek: ek porneias - "from immorality/prostitution"): This phrase carries significant weight. In Jewish thought, porneia could refer to illicit sexual relations but also metaphorically to idolatry or spiritual unfaithfulness. Here, it directly links their spiritual parentage to a source of spiritual impurity and rebellion, contrasting it with the pure and holy origin from God. It is polemically directed against their claim of Abrahamic lineage as proof of their righteousness, suggesting a deeper, illegitimate spiritual origin that is impure.
We have (Greek: hēmeis echomen - "we possess"): Expressing possession or inherent nature.
one Father (Greek: heis Pater - "one Father"): Refers to God, their claimed Father.
even God. (Greek: theon - "God"): This is an appositive, reinforcing their claim to have God as their sole and true Father. The implication is that their claim of being "born of God" is untrue because their actions and beliefs demonstrate otherwise.
Word Group Analysis: The phrase "born of fornication" is a strong accusation suggesting illegitimacy. Combined with "We have one Father, even God," it creates a stark contrast between their self-perception and Jesus’ assessment of their true spiritual parentage, which He will clarify in the next verse.
John 8 41 Bonus Section
The phrase "born of fornication" is particularly pointed. While literally it refers to sexual immorality, in the Old Testament and later Jewish tradition, spiritual unfaithfulness to God was often described using the metaphor of adultery or harlotry. Idolatry was seen as spiritual prostitution (Jeremiah 3:1-9). By using porneia, Jesus could be implying that their allegiance to false traditions, human interpretations of the law, or their receptiveness to the devil's influence made them spiritually unfaithful to God, and thus illegitimate children in a spiritual sense. Their "birth" was not from genuine devotion and submission to God, but from a tainted, rebellious source that opposed God's truth, embodied in Jesus Himself. This highlights the exclusivity of the Father-Son relationship Jesus claimed.
John 8 41 Commentary
Jesus' statement that they are not "born of fornication" and do not have God as their true Father, when they claim to, highlights a crucial spiritual reality: identity is not determined by claimed heritage or outward affiliation, but by one's spiritual origin and allegiance. Their boast of Abrahamic descent and of God as their Father was invalidated by their opposition to Jesus, the one sent by God. Jesus' earlier teachings (John 8:24) stated that if they did not believe He was He, they would die in their sins. Here, He connects their "sins" and inherent rebellion directly to a father of lies and murder (John 8:44). Their claims were religious facade, masking a deeper, spiritual impurity and rebellion against God’s will, which Jesus identifies with the devil. The truth about their spiritual parentage, as revealed by Jesus, stood in direct opposition to their self-righteous claims.