John 1:16

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And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.

John 1:16 (NKJV)

Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.

John 1:16 (NIV)

And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

John 1:16 (KJV)

From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.

John 1:16 (NLT)

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

John 1:16 (ESV)

For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.

John 1:16 (NASB)

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift].

John 1:16 (AMP)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift.

John 1:16 (AMPC)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

We all live off his generous bounty, gift after gift after gift.

John 1:16 (MSG)

Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.

New Covenant Meaning

Out of His Fullness, Not His Surplus

The Greek pleroma means fullness, completeness, the full measure of everything something contains. John is not saying we receive from what God can spare or from the overflow of His leftover provision. We receive from His fullness: the total, complete, undivided measure of who He is. Colossians 2:9-10 makes the connection explicit: in Christ all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, and you are complete in Him. The same pleroma that describes Christ in Colossians 2 is the source from which we receive in John 1:16. You are not drawing from a limited reserve. You are drawing from the One in whom all fullness dwells. There is no shortage at the source.

Grace Replacing Grace Without End

The phrase "grace for grace" is charin anti charitos in Greek. The preposition anti means in the place of, as a replacement. This is grace that replaces grace in an unbroken sequence: each wave of grace is replaced by the next, not exhausted by the drawing. The image is of an endless sequence of supply, one grace arriving as the previous one is received, a continuous and uninterrupted flow. This is not a fixed quantity of grace that depletes as it is used. It is grace that replenishes itself from the inexhaustible fullness of Christ. Romans 5:17 describes the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness: those who receive the abundance of grace reign in life. The abundance is the point. The supply does not run out.

John 1:16 pairs two immovable truths: the source is His fullness (not partial, not selective, but complete), and the supply is grace replacing grace without interruption. In Christ there is no shortage. There is no moment when you have drawn too much or arrived at the bottom of the well. The fullness of God is the source, and it is inexhaustible by definition.

Application for Your Life

You Are Complete in the One Who Is Full

Colossians 2:10 says you are complete (pepleromenoi, from the same root as pleroma) in Him. Your completeness is grounded in His fullness. You are not partially complete and working toward fullness. You are complete in the One who is full. This means there is no deficiency in your standing before God. There is no gap between who you are in Christ and who you need to become. The fullness that John 1:16 says you have received is the same fullness Colossians says makes you complete. You are not reaching toward something. You are standing in something that was given to you in full.

Draw Freely from the Source

Grace for grace means the supply replenishes as it is received. You do not need to ration grace or worry that you will exhaust God's patience, His provision, or His goodness toward you. Every need you bring to the throne of grace finds grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16). The throne is not a limited supply counter. It is the place of access to the One from whose fullness wave after wave of grace flows. Approach freely. Draw deeply. The source is not diminished by your drawing. Out of His fullness, you have received; and out of His fullness, you keep receiving, grace replacing grace without end.

Prayer Based on This Verse

Father, I receive what John declares: out of His fullness I have received, and grace for grace. I come to the source today, not to a limited supply but to the fullness of the One in whom all fullness dwells. I am complete in Him. I draw from His completeness, not from my own. Every grace I have received is replaced by the next one. The supply does not run out. The well does not go dry. I receive this truth in my heart and release any sense of spiritual shortage, any fear that I have drawn too much or that Your patience has limits. You give grace upon grace upon grace without end. I receive it. I live from it. I am complete in You. In Jesus' name. Amen.