1 John 5:11

5:11 And this is the testimony: God ¹  has given us eternal life, ²  and this life is in his Son.

John 6:51

6:51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread ³  that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

John 6:57

6:57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so the one who consumes ⁴  me will live because of me.

John 10:10

10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill ⁵  and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. ⁶ 

John 10:28-30

10:28 I give ⁷  them eternal life, and they will never perish; ⁸  no one will snatch ⁹  them from my hand. 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, ¹⁰  and no one can snatch ¹¹  them from my Father’s hand. 10:30 The Father and I ¹²  are one.” ¹³ 

John 11:25-26

11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live ¹⁴  even if he dies, 11:26 and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. ¹⁵  Do you believe this?”

John 14:6

14:6 Jesus replied, ¹⁶  “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. ¹⁷  No one comes to the Father except through me.

Colossians 3:3-4

3:3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 3:4 When Christ (who is your ¹⁸  life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him.

¹ tn The ὅτι (Joti) clause in 5:11 is epexegetical (explanatory) to the phrase καὶ αὕτη ἐστίν (kai Jauth estin) at the beginning of the verse and gives the content of the testimony for the first time: “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”

² sn In understanding how “God’s testimony” (added to the three witnesses of 5:8) can consist of eternal life it is important to remember the debate between the author and the opponents. It is not the reality of eternal life (whether it exists at all or not) that is being debated here, but rather which side in the debate (the author and his readers or the opponents) possesses it (this is a key point). The letter began with a testimony that “the eternal life” has been revealed (1:2), and it is consummated here with the reception or acknowledgment of that eternal life as the final testimony. This testimony (which is God’s testimony) consists in eternal life itself, which the author and the readers possess, but the opponents do not. This, for the author, constitutes the final apologetic in his case against the opponents.

³ tn Grk “And the bread.”

⁴ tn Or “who chews”; Grk “who eats.” Here the translation “consumes” is more appropriate than simply “eats,” because it is the internalization of Jesus by the individual that is in view. On the alternation between ἐσθίω (esqiw, “eat,” v. 53) and τρώγω (trwgw, “eats,” vv. 54, 56, 58; “consumes,” v. 57) see the note on “eats” in v. 54.

⁵ tn That is, “to slaughter” (in reference to animals).

⁶ tn That is, more than one would normally expect or anticipate.

⁷ tn Grk “And I give.”

⁸ tn Or “will never die” or “will never be lost.”

⁹ tn Or “no one will seize.”

¹⁰ tn Or “is superior to all.”

¹¹ tn Or “no one can seize.”

¹² tn Grk “I and the Father.” The order has been reversed to reflect English style.

¹³ tn The phrase ἕν ἐσμεν ({en esmen) is a significant assertion with trinitarian implications. ἕν is neuter, not masculine, so the assertion is not that Jesus and the Father are one person, but one “thing.” Identity of the two persons is not what is asserted, but essential unity (unity of essence).

¹⁴ tn That is, will come to life.

¹⁵ tn Grk “will never die forever.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “Jesus said to him.”

¹⁷ tn Or “I am the way, even the truth and the life.”

¹⁸ tc Certain mss (B^[*^] D¹ H 0278 1739 Ï sy sa) read ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “our”), while others (Ì⁴⁶ א C D* F G P Ψ 075 33 81 1881 al latt bo) read ὑμῶν (Jumwn, “your”). Internally, it is possible that the second person pronoun arose through scribal conformity to the second person pronoun used previously in v. 3 (i.e., ὑμῶν) and following in v. 4 (ὑμεῖς, Jumeis). But in terms of external criteria, the second person pronoun has superior ms support (though there is an Alexandrian split) and ἡμῶν may have arisen through accident (error of sight) or scribal attempt to universalize the statement since all Christians have Jesus as their life. See TCGNT 557.