Bible Strands
1 John 2:23
Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The apostle John writes to early believers confronting false teachers who rejected Jesus's divine identity. He addresses them directly to warn that rejecting the Son severs the relationship with God.
The words — ἀρνοῦμενος (arnoumenos) means "is denying" or "disowns," and υἱὸν (huion) means "Son." The text states that denial of the Son results in having no Father, while confession of the Son establishes that relationship.
The thread — This linkage appears in 1 John 4:15, where confessing Jesus as the Son of God results in God abiding in the believer. It runs parallel to John 8:19 and John 5:23, which tie knowing and honoring the Father directly to knowing and honoring the Son.
Why it lands — The verse demands a clear, public acknowledgment of Jesus's identity as the Son of God. It establishes that relationship with God is contingent upon accepting this revelation rather than rejecting it.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
Cross-references
- 1 John 4:15 If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
- John 8:19 “Where is Your Father?” they asked Him. “You do not know Me or My Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew Me, you would know My Father as well.”
- John 5:23 so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
- John 10:30 I and the Father are one.”
- John 15:23 Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well.
- 2 John 1:9 Anyone who runs ahead without remaining in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever remains in His teaching has both the Father and the Son.
- 1 John 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves those born of Him.
- John 14:9 Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
- Matthew 11:27 All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
- Luke 10:22 All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”