Verses 9-11: If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
In the previous 3 verses, John has provided the definitive witnesses which testify to the authenticity of the divine person and works of Jesus Christ. He now proceeds to consider the reliability of the testimonies that may be proposed to us.
The Testimony of Men
Keep in mind that John has already presented substantial witnesses: the Spirit, the water and the blood (5:6-8). But since John’s readers lived in the 1st Century a.d. they also had a great number of human witnesses, consisting of many who had been actual eye-witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. They included His apostles, disciples, family members, Jewish and Roman leaders and many who simply refused to believe in Him.
Likewise, today we also have those who offer testimony of Jesus Christ: preachers, priests, missionaries, Sunday school teachers, parents, and also those who refuse to believe in Him. And what is more, we have and even greater source of witnesses, those who, whether accurately or falsely, claim to give testimony of Jesus from across the world-wide internet that can be accessed instantaneously.
John opens verse 9 with the word if, the beginnings of a conditional phrase that assumes the reality of the fact which he proposes. Therefore, it should be translated with a sense of certainty: “since we indeed receive the testimony of men.” This pertains to spiritual truths, specifically about the person of Jesus Christ. And because we may receive testimony from men today, what should be realized is that just as John had to contend with the Gnostics in his day, we are confronted by an overwhelming multitude of unreliable men who present questionable testimonies contrary to biblical truths. We need to be aware of these individuals just as Peter foretold:
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. (2 Peter 2:1)
The emphasis which John is attempting to make by asserting that we indeed “receive the testimony of men,” is not solely about the testimony that he objects to, but also for the fact that their deceitful testimony comes from men uttering flawed and unsound human viewpoint.
The Testimony of God
John concludes that in distinct contrast to the testimony of men, “the testimony of God is greater,” since He has already provided indisputable witnesses that verify the person (the God-man) and works of Jesus Christ (v.8). The phrase “for the testimony of God is this” is a statement of absolute fact, that this greater testimony of God is based upon God’s divine viewpoint is divine truth, for God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18). Vincent clarifies that John is “not explaining why it is greater, but why the principle of the superior greatness of divine testimony should apply and be appealed to in this case.”1 It follows then that the word greater is understood to imply God’s superlative wisdom, unparalleled to human wisdom, as the apostle Paul proclaimed: “Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” (1 Corinthians 1:20b).
And the testimony which God has presented (testified) is an indisputable certification concerning His Son. Lenski observes that this is “the objective testimony of God and thus all that God’s testimony contains.”2 But before John discloses God’s precise testimony, he assures us in verse 10 that “the one who believes in the Son of God has (always and forever) the testimony in himself.” He further states that the one who does not believe God, specifically in His testimony concerning His Son, that person has made or established God to be a liar.
Eternal Life
In verse 11 John now pronounces what God’s testimony is: “that God has given us (fallen man) eternal life” and this (eternal) life exists absolutely and exclusively in His Son. This is what Our Lord had proclaimed this to Nicodemus when He said “that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life” (John 3:15). Note carefully, that once a person believes, he continuously has His eternal life. This is the abundant life promised by Our Lord: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Vine indicated that the Greek word for abundant primarily means “‘what is above and over, superadded,’ hence [it] came to denote ‘what is superior and advantageous.’”3
For mankind to fully perceive exactly how His eternal life is a superior and advantageous life, they must objectively consider the great disadvantage of not having eternal life as succinctly explained by John the baptizer:
“He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36)
What is the wrath of God? It is God’s “divine judgment to be inflicted upon the wicked.”4 The apostle Paul explained that the wicked are those who “do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness” (Romans 2:8):
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18)
Those who fail to believe the testimony of God concerning the person and work of His only begotten Son and His provision of eternal life made to all mankind, will be subjected to God’s wrath. John proclaimed the judgment of these sinners:
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15)
John revealed that the lake of fire is a real place where the unbeliever “will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb [Jesus Christ]” (Revelation 14:10). There they will continuously dwell for all eternity, “tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10b). Thus, Hell is not humorous or a place to frivolously consider.
Summary
From this study we are reminded that there are only two types of people in the world: those who believe in the Son of God, and those who do not believe God and conclude that He is and always will be a liar. Therefore, it is the responsibility of us who believe in Jesus Christ to do everything possible to project ourselves as living witnesses of the truth of the gospel of salvation. Let us emulate the apostle Paul’s example:
To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. (1 Corinthians 9:22)
[1] Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word Studies in the New Testament. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2.367.
[2] Lenski, R.C.H. (2001). Commentary on the New Testament, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 11.530.
[3] Vine, W. E., Unger, M. F., & White, W., Jr. (1996). In Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 2.15.
[4] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, G3709.
© 2026 David M. Rossi
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