Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
Parallel Translations
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Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
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Beleve me that I am [in] the father and the father in me. At the leest beleve me for the very workes sake.
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Beleeue me, that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me: at the least, beleeue me for the very workes sake.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to John 14:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- John 10:38 But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
- John 5:36 But the testimony which I have is greater than that of John, for the works which the Father gave me to accomplish, the very works that I do, testify about me, that the Father has sent me.
- John 10:25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you don’t believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name, these testify about me.
- John 14:10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works.
- Acts 2:22 “Men of Israel, hear these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved by God to you by mighty works and wonders and signs which God did by him among you, even as you yourselves know,
- Hebrews 2:4 God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, by various works of power and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?
- Matthew 11:4-5 Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
- John 10:32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?”
- Luke 7:21-23 In that hour he cured many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits; and to many who were blind he gave sight. Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you have seen and heard: that the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”
- John 12:38-40 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, “Lord, who has believed our report? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this cause they couldn’t believe, for Isaiah said again, “He has blinded their eyes and he hardened their heart, lest they should see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and would turn, and I would heal them.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (10 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 11 Believe me that I am in the Father,…
11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
Ver. 11. Believe me that I am, &c.] Take my bare word without any further pawn or proof. This is an honour due to Christ only, that he is αυτοπιστος, He is Amen, "the faithful and true witness," Rev 3:14.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Believe my words (for that is your duty); but…
Believe my words (for that is your duty); but yet if you will not believe my words, declaring to you my union with my Father, yet when you see me doing such works as none but God can do, believe me for their sake. It is true, that both the prophets and the apostles spake God’s words, not their own, to the people, and also did many great and mighty works; but still their doctrine led unto another, that was Christ; and their miracles were not wrought in their own names, but in the name of Christ. Elijah raised the Shunammite’s dead child to life by prayer to God that he would do it; and the apostles bid the lame man arise and walk, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ’s doctrine terminated in himself; he called men to believe in him, and he wrought miracles by his own power, and by a virtue proceeding out of and from himself, though by the power of his Father also, because he and his Father were one in essence.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Believe me that I am in the Father, and…
Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me,.... Take my word for the truth of this; you may assure yourselves that nothing is more certain; but if you will not believe upon my saying so, either believe for the sake of the doctrines I have preached unto you, which are such as never any mere man spoke, and which have been delivered in such a manner, and with such authority, as never were by man. Some copies read, by way of interrogation, and so the Ethiopic version; and the Vulgate Latin version reads, "believe ye not?"
or else believe me for the very work's sake: meaning his miraculous works, such as raising the dead, cleansing the lepers, causing the deaf to hear, and giving sight to the blind; and which were such as none but a divine person could ever perform.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Believe me - On my own word, because I…
Believe me - On my own word, because I am God. The works - This respects not merely the miracles themselves, but his sovereign, Godlike way of performing them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Believe me ... - Believe my declarations that I…
Believe me ... - Believe my declarations that I am in the Father, etc. There were two grounds on which they might believe; one was his own testimony, the other was his works.
Or else - If credit is not given to my words, let there be to my miracles.
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For the very works’ sake - On account of the works; or, be convinced by the miracles themselves. Either his own testimony was sufficient to convince them, or the many miracles which he had performed in healing the sick, raising the dead, etc.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 11. Believe me… or… for the very works’ sake—That…
11. Believe me… or… for the very works’ sake—That is, believe me from my own self-evident nature as you see me before you; or believe me for the sake of the very miracles I perform. The living character of Jesus was its own evidence, speaking for itself, and worthy to inspire faith of the highest kind in the higher order of mind. Even at the present day the person and character of Jesus, as mirrored in the Gospels, is a unique and powerful proof of its own divinity. But if Philip’s mind could not appreciate this proof, let him look at the divine works of Jesus, and acknowledge that he who possesses so supernatural a power in his deeds must possess a supernatural power in his words.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. Believe me] The English obliterates the fact that…
11. Believe me] The English obliterates the fact that Christ now turns from S. Philip and addresses all the eleven: ‘believe’ is plural not singular. ‘You have been with Me long enough to believe what I say; but if not, at any rate believe what I do. My words need no credentials: but if credentials are demanded, there are My works.’ He had said the same, somewhat more severely, to the Jews (Joh_10:37-38); and he repeats it much more severely in reference to the Jews (Joh_15:22; Joh_15:24). Note the progress from ‘believe Me’ here to ‘believe on Me’ in the next verse; the one grows out of the other.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11) Believe me that I am in the Father.—He…
(11) Believe me that I am in the Father.—He passes now from Philip, and addresses Himself to the whole body of the apostles. He claims from them a personal trust in Himself, which should accept His statement that He and the Father were immanent in each other.
Or else believe me for the very works’ sake.—If they cannot receive the truth on the testimony of His word, He will take lower ground with them. He will place before them the evidence He had placed before the Jews. Let them, if they will not hear Him, believe on account of the very works which He had done. (Comp. Note on Joh_5:19-20; Joh_10:37-38.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Believe me when I say that I am in…
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father, and the Father in me, on the ground of my simple affirmation. My words are spirit and life, and carry their own evidence with them. Christ is not here antithetically contrasting (as Lange suggests) words and works, as though the words were his, and the works the Father"s; but he is appealing to their spiritual intuition of truth which is legible by its own light as eternal and Divine, and then reminding them that they may fail in transcendental vision and fall back on reason and its processes, which will come nearer to their understandingOr else (ei de mh), if it be after all that you cannot take my words as the Father"s words, as the utterance of the Divine thought, believe me believe that I am in the Father, etc. by reason of the very works which are the witness of the Father"s power, holiness, and love. In this last appeal he turns from Philip to the whole group of the apostles. Miracles are, if not primary evidence, secondary and convincing evidence, where the eye has been blinded by the mists of doubt, and the vision of the Father confused and withheld by lack of inward purity. Moreover, by Christ"s erga are meant, not merely the supernatural portents, but all the work of his life, all the healing of souls, all the conversion of souls, all the indubitable issues of his approach to the heart of man. The great ergon is salvation from sin, the gift of righteousness, and the life where before there was moral death. (see notes, Vers. 19, 20 Joh_10:37, Joh_10:38)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Believe Me … for the very works sake
Joh_14:11
Believe Me … for the very works sake
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The miracles
I.
SHOULD WE BELIEVE THE MIRACLES?
1. Are miracles possible? Hume, Spinosa, and others say, No: reason pronounces them impossible. But whose reason? Theirs? Then that contradicts the all but universal reason, which affirms that with God all things are possible.
2. Are miracles improbable and incredible? Yes, say the same authorities. But did they live when they are alleged to have been performed? One ground of disbelief is, that it is impossible to believe what contradicts experience. But what remains to be proved is, Did miracles contradict the experience of the professed witnesses? The denizens of the equator never saw ice. Their experience contradicts that of the Greenlanders. But which shall we accept? Another ground is that it is unlikely that the Creator would disturb the beneficent order of events. Granted, except for the best and wisest purposes, and in such a way as not to derange the order of the universe. This is what is claimed for Christ; and, indeed, on behalf of the freedom and beneficence of the Creator. The anti-miraculous position is the dethronement of God in favour of natural law.
3. Have we satisfactory ground to believe that Christ performed miracles? There is the same evidence for them as that Caesar entered Gaul and
Britain. Upon this evidence the Christian Church is built; the witnesses died to support their testimony. The fabrication of this testimony would be more miraculous than what it records.
II. SHOULD WE BE INDUCED BY THEM TO ADMIT CHRISTS DIVINE CLAIMS? Yes, for
1. They are the acts of a Creator. We recognize the same Voice saying, Let there be light! that said, Lazarus, come forth! We believe Him for the works sake.
2. Christ is the efficient Agent in all miracles. He promised, and gave to, the apostles their supernatural power; and they referred the effects of it back to Him, and exerted it to produce faith in Him.
3. Christ performed miracles by His own power and in His own name, which the apostles never did.
Conclusion:
1. The blessedness of belief in Christ.
2. The peril of disbelief. (E. N. Kirk, D. D.)
The reasonableness of the evidence of miracles, and its impotence alone
It is quite consistent with Gods wisdom to reveal Himself to the senses,as well as to the soul; and if the gospel were utterly deficient in this latter kind of proof, one great evidence that it is from God would be wanted--an evidence that we are fortified in expecting from the analogies of nature. God has written His glory--e.g., in the heart--at the same time, He has so constructed the visible universe, that the heavens declare the glory of God. And when the eternal Word is manifested into the world, we naturally expect that Divine power shall be shown, as well as Divine beneficence. Miracles, therefore, are exactly what we should expect; and I acknowledge a great corroboration and verification of His claims to Sonship. Besides, they startled and aroused many to His claims who otherwise would never have attended to them. Still the great truth remains untouched, that they, appealing only to the natural man, cannot convey the spiritual certainty of truth which the spiritual man alone apprehends. However, as the natural and spiritual in us are both from God, why should God not have spoken to both, and why should not Christ appeal to natural works, subordinate always to the spiritual self-evidence of Truth itself? (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.