Devine Scripture

John 1:3

What does John 1:3 mean?

A plain-English look at John 1:3 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What John 1:3 means

Here, the Gospel attributes all creation to the Word. Everything that exists, without exception, came into being through Him. This shows the Word as the active agent in creation, bringing order and existence out of nothing. It underscores His omnipotence and crucial role in the universe's origin, making it clear that He is not part of creation but its divine source. This highlights the Word’s absolute authority and power over all things within the cosmos.

John 1:3 in context

John 1 — The Word Made Flesh

John lifts the curtain higher than any other Gospel. Before there was a Bethlehem, there was the Word — with God, who was God, by whom all things were made. The same Word who was the agent of creation became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. John the Baptist points him out as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; the first disciples follow him; Nathanael confesses him as the Son of God and King of Israel. The eternal becomes near enough to touch.

  • Pre-existence of Christ
  • Incarnation
  • Light and life
  • First disciples

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made.

KJV

King James Version · 1611

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

All things were made through him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made.

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

All things came into existence through him, and without him nothing was.

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

all things through him did happen, and without him happened not even one thing that hath happened.

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

All things were made by him: and without him was made nothing that was made.

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

All things received being through him, and without him not one [thing] received being which has received being.

Context

Having established the Word's eternal nature and deity, this verse logically progresses to His creative work. It demonstrates the practical outworking of His divine essence and co-equality with God in the act of bringing the universe into existence. This transition from eternal being to active creator provides a comprehensive view of the Word's foundational significance, preparing the reader to appreciate His subsequent incarnation as the One through whom all life and light come.

v.2The same was in the beginning with God.

v.3This passage

v.4In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Genesis 1:26

    And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

  • Isaiah 45:18

    For thus saith Jehovah that created the heavens, the God that formed the earth and made it, that established it and created it not a waste, that formed it to be inhabited: I am Jehovah; and there is none else.

  • Revelation 4:11

    Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power: for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were, and were created.

  • Isaiah 45:12

    I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens; and all their host have I commanded.

  • John 5:17

    But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh even until now, and I work.

  • Hebrews 3:3

    For he hath been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by so much as he that built the house hath more honor than the house.

Sermon ideas from John 1:3

Angles a pastor or small-group leader might preach or teach from this passage, drawn from the chapter's main themes.

  • What John 1:3 teaches us about pre-existence of christ

  • What John 1:3 teaches us about incarnation

  • What John 1:3 teaches us about light and life

  • What John 1:3 teaches us about first disciples

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