The Meaning of John 10:37 Explained

John 10:37

KJV: If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

YLT: if I do not the works of my Father, do not believe me;

Darby: If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not;

ASV: If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

If  I do  not  the works  of my  Father,  believe  me  not. 

What does John 10:37 Mean?

Context Summary

John 10:31-42 - The Works Of The Father
In the strongest terms known to the Jews, our Lord insisted on His oneness with God; and they understood His claims, threatening Him with the penalty of blasphemy. This quotation from Psalms 82:6 was originally addressed to magistrates, and our Lord argued that if unjust judges were described by this phrase, because they exercised the divine prerogative of judgment, surely His opponents had no right to stone Him, when, as the Sent of God and sanctioned by God's witness in His works, He spoke of Himself as the Father's equal and fellow. See Zechariah 13:7; and Philippians 2:6. But their vindictive hate would brook no parley; and as His hour was not yet come, Jesus deemed it better to go beyond Jordan into hiding, until the minute-hand should reach the exact figure on the dial.
There was a special reason why He was attracted to the region beyond Jordan. It was the place of John's early appearance. That ground had been black with crowds, those waters had witnessed countless baptisms. All that wonderful past trooped back to memory, and the people remembered John's word as they saw in Christ their precise fulfillment. We may work no miracle, but let us speak true words about Jesus Christ. [source]

Chapter Summary: John 10

1  Jesus is the door, and the good shepherd
19  Diverse opinions of him
23  He proves by his works that he is Jesus the Son of God;
31  escapes the Jews;
39  and goes again beyond Jordan, where many believe on him

Greek Commentary for John 10:37

If I do not [ει ου ποιω]
Condition of first class, assumed as true, with negative ου — ou not ει μη — ei mē = unless. Believe me not Prohibition with μη — mē and the present active imperative. Either “cease believing me” or “do not have the habit of believing me.” Jesus rests his case on his doing the works of “my Father” (του πατρος μου — tou patros mou), repeating his claims to sonship and deity. [source]
Believe me [πιστεύετέ μοι]
Notice believe, with the simple dative; believe me, not on me. It is a question of faith in His testimony, not in His person. See on John 1:12. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for John 10:37

Romans 4:5 Believeth on Him [πιστεύοντι ἐπὶ τὸν]
The verb πιστεύω tobelieve is used in the New Testament as follows: 1. Transitively, with the accusative and dative: to entrust something to one, Luke 16:11; John 2:24. In the passive, to be entrusted with something, Romans 3:2; 1 Corinthians 9:17; Galatians 2:7. With the simple accusative, to believe a thing, John 11:26; 1 John 4:16. -DIVIDER-
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2. With the infinitive, Acts 15:11. -DIVIDER-
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3. With ὅτι that Matthew 9:28; Mark 11:24; James 2:19. Especially frequent in John: John 4:21; John 11:27, John 11:42; John 13:19; John 14:10, John 14:11; John 16:27, John 16:30, etc. -DIVIDER-
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4. With the simple dative, meaning to believe a person or thing, that they are true or speak the truth, John 2:22; John 4:21; John 5:46. See on John 1:12; see on John 2:22, John 2:23; see on John 8:31; see on John 10:37. -DIVIDER-
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5. With the preposition ἐν inNot frequent, and questioned in some of the passages cited for illustration. In John 3:15, ἐν αὐτῷ inHim, is probably to be construed with have eternal life. The formula occurs nowhere else in John. In Mark 1:15we find πιστεύετε ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ believein the gospel. The kindred noun πίστις faithoccurs in this combination. Thus Galatians 3:26, though some join in Christ Jesus with sons. See also Ephesians 1:15; Colossians 1:4; 1 Timothy 3:13; 2 Timothy 3:15; Romans 3:25. This preposition indicates the sphere in which faith moves, rather than the object to which it is directed, though instances occur in the Septuagint where it plainly indicates the direction of faith, Psalm 78:22; Jeremiah 12:6. -DIVIDER-
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6. With the preposition ἐπί uponon to, unto. a. With the accusative, Romans 4:5; Acts 9:42; Acts 11:17; Acts 16:31; Acts 22:19. The preposition carries the idea of mental direction with a view to resting upon, which latter idea is conveyed by the same preposition. b. With the dative, 1 Timothy 1:16; Luke 24:25; compare Romans 9:33; Romans 10:11; 1 Peter 2:6. The dative expresses absolute superposition. Christ as the object of faith, is the basis on which faith rests. -DIVIDER-
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7. With the preposition εἰς into Matthew 18:6; John 2:11; Acts 19:4; Romans 10:14; Galatians 2:16; Philemon 1:29, etc. The preposition conveys the idea of the absolute transference of trust from one's self to another. Literally the phrase means to believe into. See on John 1:12; see on John 2:23; see on John 9:35; see on John 12:44.Is counted for righteousness ( λογίζεται εἰς δικαιοσύνην )Rev., is reckoned. See on Romans 4:3. The preposition εἰς has the force of as, not the telic meaning with a view to, or in order that he may be (righteous); nor strictly, in the place of righteousness. Faith is not a substitute for righteousness, since righteousness is involved in faith. When a man is reckoned righteous through faith, it is not a legal fiction. He is not indeed a perfect man, but God does not reckon something which has no real existence. Faith is the germ of righteousness, of life in God. God recognizes no true life apart from holiness, and “he that believeth on the Son hath life.” He is not merely regarded in the law's eye as living. God accepts the germ, not in place of the fruit, but as containing the fruit. “Abraham believed God … . No soul comes into such a relation of trust without having God's investment upon it; and whatever there may be in God's righteousness - love, truth, sacrifice - will be rightfully imputed or counted to be in it, because, being united to Him, it will have them coming over derivatively from Him” (Bushnell). The idea of logical sequence is inherent in λογίζεται isreckoned - the sequence of character upon faith. Where there is faith there is, logically, righteousness, and the righteousness is from faith unto faith (Romans 1:17). Nevertheless, in the highest development of the righteousness of faith, it will remain true that the man is justified, not by the works of righteousness, which are the fruit of faith, but by the faith which, in making him a partaker of the life and righteousness of God, generates and inspires the works. Observe that the believer's own faith is reckoned as righteousness. “In no passage in Paul's writings or in other parts of the New Testament, where the phrase to reckon for or the verb to reckon alone is used, is there a declaration that anything belonging to one person is imputed, accounted, or reckoned to another, or a formal statement that Christ's righteousness is imputed to believers” (President Dwight, “Notes on Meyer”). -DIVIDER-
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[source]

What do the individual words in John 10:37 mean?

If not I do the works of the Father of Me not believe Me
Εἰ οὐ ποιῶ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Πατρός μου μὴ πιστεύετέ μοι

ποιῶ  I  do 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: ποιέω  
Sense: to make.
ἔργα  works 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: ἔργον  
Sense: business, employment, that which any one is occupied.
τοῦ  of  the 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Πατρός  Father 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: προπάτωρ 
Sense: generator or male ancestor.
μου  of  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
πιστεύετέ  believe 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 2nd Person Plural
Root: πιστεύω  
Sense: to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in.
μοι  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.