The Wisdom of John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that
the world through him might be saved. John 3:16-17
This scripture has been preached
on and taught the most in the history of the Christian church. It is the most
common verse of scripture. I will be the last person to convince that there is
a single person in the church who does not know its existence. It is the most
memorised verse at Sunday school, Sabbath school, kindergarten and elementary
school.
I first memorised it before I
could read and write. I know that many of you, like me, first memorised it
before you were able to read it. This is one of those rare verses in the entire
bible around which no competing or rival doctrines are based. All Christian
church organisations agree in unison that this scripture teaches about the
salvation of humanity.
In the midst of all this unison
and agreement, how many people have taken time to critically analyse the
meaning, teaching and wisdom of the scripture. To me, short as it may be, the
scripture is laden with a deep reservoir and wealth of information, revelation
and wisdom. It tells us deep secrets about God and his relationship with
humanity. No human being will ever be able to fully excavate all this wealth of
data.
The phrase, “For God…” refers to
a supreme being. The God being alluded to here is not any other god but a specific
being. The mere fact that the phrase is in the Christian library, it follows
that the God being referred to is the Judeo-Christian God. The scripture does
not refer to Buddha, Allah, or any other diet. The fact that the writer of the
gospel made no effort to identify which God was being referred to in this
scripture speaks volumes about Jesus Christ’s perception about gods. The Greek
word used is theos (θεός), the root of
which is of uncertain affinity referring to a deity, especially the supreme
Divinity. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of the New
Testament says that “…… the word was appropriated by Jews and retained by
Christians to denote "the one true God." In the Sept. theos
translates (with few exceptions) the Hebrew words Elohim and Jehovah, the former
indicating His power and pre-eminence, the latter His unoriginated, immutable,
eternal and self-sustained existence.”
Jesus never considered any other
deity as a god hence he never identified the deity he was making reference to
because as far as he was concerned there is only one God whose name is YHW (יְהֹוָה) (see Exodus 6:3). Even the apostles
believed and taught this. In 1st Corinthians 8:5&6 Paul says, “For
though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there
be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of
whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all
things, and we by him.” Effectively, it does not matter what title or name is
ascribed to any form of diet, only one God exists and it is this God whom Jesus
Christ he loved the word so much.
This sole true God is the creator
of all that is in existence. The prophet Jonah said that he is “the God of
heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” The apostle said, “in him we live,
and move, and have our being.” Acts 17:28. Apart from him there is no other
god. Whatever people may have termed gods are not gods at all. The Philistines
had many gods of which Dagon was one of them. One day the Philistines defeated
Israel and captured the ark of יְהֹוָה (Jehovah) which they took to the house of
Dagon their god. The ark was not a god but merely a symbol of the presence of
the true living God and within it was stored the laws of God. The Philistines
placed the ark in Dagon’s temple beside Dagon.
Dagon was the prime deity of the
Philistines and was the god of fertility. Dagon was worshiped in the more
general society of Canaanite peoples, in addition to his role in the Philistine
religion. He was the foremost deity in the cities of Azotus, Gaza, and Ashkelon
and his celebrants depended on him for victory in war and they offered various
sacrifices for his favour. He was also worshiped outside the confederacy of
Philistine city-states, as in the rest of the Canaanite territories.
The placing of the ark in the temple of Dagon by
Dagon’s side was very symbolic in that had it remained there, that would have
implied that Jehovah was at par with Dagon or that would have added Jehovah’s
name to the list of gods who were subject to Dagon. However, to prove that
Dagon was not a god, “When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold,
Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they
took Dagon and set him in his place again.” 1st Sam 5:3. This was a
clear sign that Dagon was no match to Jehovah. As if to confirm that Dagon was
not a god, his priests set him up again and retired to bed. “But when they
arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the
ground before the ark of the LORD. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of
his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to
him.”
The fact that Dagon failed to
defend himself proved that he was not a god. Decades before this event, an old
man and his son had challenged his community when he said a god must be able to
fight for himself. This time it was to do with another Canaanite god called
Baal. When the people wanted to punish Gideon for destroying baa’s shrine, his
father sprang to his defence. The bible says, “Then the men of the city said to
Joash, "Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has torn down the
altar of Baal, and indeed, he has cut down the Asherah which was beside
it." But Joash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend
for Baal, or will you deliver him? Whoever will plead for him shall be put to
death by morning. If he is a god, let him contend for himself, because someone
has torn down his altar."
Therefore, on that day he named him Jerubbaal, that is to say, "Let
Baal contend against him," because he had torn down his altar.” Judges
6:30-32
These incidences show that all
other deities on earth are not gods because there is only one God. It is this
one true God being referred to in John 3:16 as having loved the world. God is a
loving God and he does not respond to our love but he initiates the love. In my
book Saints Made Merchandise I write the following about his great and unwavering love.
“Love does not seek its own gain
but the success of others. John 3:16 does not say that God loved the world and
gave his son so that he would have worshippers or loyal followers. God gave his
son so that the beneficiaries of that love would have life and have it
abundantly. He gave for the purpose and profit of men and not for his own
gains. If the entire human race were to perish God would not have lost anything
at all but he loved us anyway. Man sinned against God but it is God who first
loved man and sought reconciliation with man. Did it ever occur to you that we
never loved God and probably we do not love God? Our love for God is in
response to his love for us so it is his love for us that drives us to love
him. Our love is responsive whilst his is not responsive. He loved us when we
were still in sin and when we were still camped in the compounds of his arch
enemy, the devil. Before we had regretted our sinful nature and before we had
repented of our sins, Christ died for us. My friend, that is love, first class
love. Today you tell me that you love God, did you ever love him before he
loved you or would you do it had he not sought to reconcile you to him. Our
love for him is in response to his love so we greatly need his love to operate
within us.”
Get yourself a copy and read more
about this love.
Because he loved man so much, he
gave his only begotten son. God gave. In fact, he is the first giver hence he
is the creator of giving. God does not struggle to give. Verse 17 reads, “God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved.” His purpose for giving was not to condemn man but
to save him. Jesus came for our benefit rather than God’s benefit. Man was in
sin and already condemned but Jesus came to save man. It is not sinful man who
sought God but rather it is a holy God who sought sinful man. 2 Corinthians
5:21 says, “For He (God) made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us,
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Christ).
It is written, “…. he gave his
one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life.” The open secret here is that anyone who is in sin will perish
because, “the wages of sin is death.” Rm 3:23. In contrast Jesus is saying
whosoever believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life. Believing
in Christ refers to being committed to Christ or committing oneself to Christ’s
trust. It talks of being totally depending on Christ regarding anything in one’s
life. This is not hollow claiming and getting it but being completely depended
on Christ. It is trusting on Christ completely.
The commitment that readily comes
to my mind is that of the three Hebrew sons who were prepared to trust Jehovah
even if it led them in to a fiery furnace. Faced with the reality of painful
death by being grilled in fire the three said, “…… O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not
careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is
able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out
of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will
not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.”
Daniel 3:16-18. This is total commitment. Putting your total faith and trust in
Jesus Christ is the true faith. This is the trust that led Stephen to his death
without an iota of complaint. A faith which says without Christ I am nothing.
Remember, “… without faith it is impossible to please him (God): for he that
cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him. Hebrew 11:6
When you believe in him you will
not perish. It is an open secret that the wages of sin is death. The bible says
that there is someone who is to destroy both soul and body in hell. Jesus said,
“fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but
rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew
10:28. Some preachers fear or abhor teaching about this topic but the truth is
that those who do not believe in Christ will someday perish but those who
believe in him will have everlasting life.
God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved
God bless you
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