What Does John 5:38 Mean?
And you do not have his word remaining in you, for him whom he sent, you do not lean your weight on.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.THE KEY
The word’s true home within you is revealed by whether you trust the one God sends.
THE MEANING
God’s word is not information you possess at a distance; it is meant to remain within you. Its absence shows in the refusal of the one God sends. The verse names a split that is present now: holding words about God while withholding trust from God’s sent one.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
I can keep God’s word within me while rejecting the one God sends.
THE ROOT
μένω
menō
GROWS FROM
μεν-
men-
To remain, stay, or continue.
“remaining” in this verse is menō. English “abiding” can sound like agreeing with a statement, but μένω (menō) carries the sense of staying or dwelling. God’s word is pictured as something that has or has not taken up residence within you; refusal of the sent one exposes that absence.
ALSO GROWS
monē: dwelling, abode
μονή
The same word family makes remaining a dwelling, showing the word’s intended place within you.
epimenō: continue, persist, remain
ἐπιμένω
The added prefix intensifies the idea of staying, making clear that the word is meant to be a continuing presence, not a passing hearing.
πιστεύω
pisteuō
GROWS FROM
πιστ-
pist-
Trust, rely on, or lean your full weight on.
“lean your weight on” in this verse is pisteuō. πιστεύω (pisteuō) belongs to the same family as πίστις (pistis), trust that leans its weight. The verse names a relational refusal: trust is withheld from the person God sends, revealing that the word has not remained within.
ALSO GROWS
pistis: trust, reliance
πίστις
This noun names the trust that the verse says is withheld from the one God sends.
pistos: firm, steady, trustworthy
πιστός
The shared stem links trusting with steadiness and reliability, showing that belief involves reliance rather than bare agreement.
ἀποστέλλω
apostellō
GROWS FROM
στελλ-
stell-
To send or dispatch.
The verb carries the sense of sending someone out; its word family includes ἀπόστολος (apostolos), a sent one. The word remaining within and the person sent by God belong to one movement: inward reception is bound to the arrival of the one sent.
ALSO GROWS
apostolos: one sent, messenger
ἀπόστολος
The sent person is the human face of the sending named in the verse.
apostolē: sending, commission
ἀποστολή
This branch carries the purposeful act of dispatch, not merely the arrival of an idea.
THE PATTERN
A word meant to give life is received by being held within, where it remains and shapes response.
And these words, which I command you this day, shall be in your heart.I store your word in my heart, so that I do not miss the mark against you.If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.THE THREAD
If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, ask whatever you want, and it will be done for you.John uses the same verb μένω (menō, remain or abide), now describing mutual indwelling: the words remain in you, and you remain in Jesus. That makes the split in John 5:38 visible, the word’s inward dwelling is inseparable from trust in the one sent.
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