What Does 1 John 5:13 Mean in the King James?
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The repeated “name” frames the promise: trust in the Son’s nature holds the certainty that the life of the age is already yours.
THE MEANING
These words meet you in a trust directed toward the nature of the Son of God. They make knowing present: you have the life of the age now. The repeated trust returns you to the same nature on which that knowledge rests.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that this life is only a future reward: the verse says you have it now.
THE ROOT
ὄνομα
onoma
GROWS FROM
ὀνομ-
onom-
Name; the identifying nature or character carried by a name.
The verse places trust “on” the Son’s name: in this lens, that means trust rests on his nature, not just on a label. Because the phrase appears at both ends, the knowledge of life is held inside trust in who the Son is.
ALSO GROWS
onomazō: To name or call by name.
ὀνομάζω
Naming identifies who or what something is, linking the spoken name to the nature it discloses.
eponomazō: To name after or call by a particular name.
ἐπονομάζω
This related verb shows a name being placed upon someone, making identity and designation inseparable.
πιστεύουσιν
pisteuousin
GROWS FROM
πιστ-
pist-
Trust; reliance on what is firm and dependable.
The word describes present trust, not merely agreement with a statement. Its word family connects trust with what is firm and steady: to believe on the Son’s name is to lean your full weight on his nature.
ALSO GROWS
pistis: Trust or reliance.
πίστις
The noun names the trust that the verse places in the Son’s name.
pistos: Firm, steady, trustworthy.
πιστός
This branch shows the dependable quality that gives trust somewhere to rest.
αἰώνιον
aiōnion
GROWS FROM
αἰών
aiōn
An age, era, or span of a world.
“eternal” in this verse is aiōnion. The phrase is ζωὴ αἰώνιος (zōē aiōnios), “life of the age.” Paired with “have,” it gives this life a present dimension alongside its enduring horizon.
ALSO GROWS
aiōn: An age or era.
αἰών
This is the root idea within the phrase translated “eternal life.”
aiōnios: Belonging to an age; age-long.
αἰώνιος
This adjective describes the life as belonging to the age, connecting its character with the age itself.
THE PATTERN
Trust rests in the nature disclosed by a name, and knowing that nature becomes assurance.
And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.THE THREAD
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.This verse uses the same Greek phrase, ζωὴ αἰώνιος (zōē aiōnios, life of the age), and locates that life in the Son. Verse 13 turns that given life into something you can know you have as you trust the Son’s nature.
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