Born Again (40)
John 3:16 (F)
God's love is demonstrated in effective action. For the purpose of saving those whom he loves, God sends his Son. Verse 16 itself does not tell us the relevance of God sending his Son or what he sends the Son to accomplish. It only tells us that because he has been given, those who believe on him would not perish but have eternal life. This is because verse 15 has already informed us about his mission and how it relates to the salvation of men. It says that Christ would be lifted up so that those who believe would have eternal life. Verse 16, then, tells us what is at the back of this mission – God has sent his Son because he loves those whom he wishes to save.
We are so familiar with the verse that we might not realize it, but this verse tells us something that would be impossible for us to know other than by God's self-disclosure. As Paul writes, "For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us" (1 Corinthians 2:11-12). So we should regard it as a special gift to know, not only that God has sent his Son, but that he sent him because of love.
God has given something special, something unique, something precious, even his Son, in order to save those whom he loves. Not only does this tell us about the extent and intensity of God's love for those he saves, but it also teaches us that even his great love does not blind or nullify his justice. Rather, his love satisfies his justice. On the other hand, from this we also realize what it takes to satisfy this justice, and the divine wrath that our sins have incurred. And if this is what it takes to satisfy justice, we can be sure that this same justice will allow no one to escape everlasting hellfire who rejects the person and work of Jesus Christ.
We would prefer to revel longer in God's love and justice, and the perfect harmony between the two, but we must take time to deal with our opponents once again as they manipulate the next phrase to serve their own bias. John writes that God sent his Son out of love, so that "whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Our opponents differ in emphasis, but together, they have inferred from the text several unbiblical teachings, or rather, alleged support for unbiblical teachings that they already affirm.
First, coupled with their false interpretation of "the world," the term found earlier in the verse, they now infer from "whoever believes" that God loves every person the same way, and that Christ has died and made atonement for every person. Because I have already proved the biblical doctrine of a specific effective atonement elsewhere, I will not repeat the arguments here, as the topic is not the chief concern of this verse. Rather, I will just point out how the unbiblical doctrine of universal atonement cannot be inferred from it.
Second, it is suggested that to say "whoever believes in him shall not perish" implies that, since Christ has already accomplished his work of atonement, the salvation of each individual now depends on the person's free choice. A related implication is that the person is able to make such a free choice. Again, as I have also refuted human freedom elsewhere, here I will only point out how it is impossible to infer human freedom and ability from this verse.
(to be continued)
February 18 2006 | Expositions