Loading ...For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16, NKJV)
Let us never forget the priceless gift given to us by Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of GOD, whom HE sent into the world to die for us, so that we may live.
In your moments of weaknesses (during and after temptation), think on Christ Jesus and what HE has done for you. And remember what HE asks us to do — pick up our cross and follow HIM. There is no one or anything more important than Jesus Christ the Eternal King, no one or anything worth putting down that cross for. So when you sin, repent quickly… and when you are tempted to sin… repent even faster. And do not think because you are saved and indeed follow Christ that you are perfected already; we all need to repent everyday. We must also be mindful of what we are repenting. Vain, empty words GOD ALMIGHTY takes no pleasure in… HE already knows our hearts and minds. Let us walk so as not to disappoint our FATHER in Heaven nor disgrace the sacrifice HE has made for us.
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As we sang in church this week -
I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!
I’ve been pondering John 3:16 of late, in context with the balance of chapter 3. The English word, “so”, can mean either “to this degree” or “in like fashion”. John 3:14 uses “so” in the former definition: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so (in like fashion) must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” On to verse 16 and the word “so” is typically portrayed as carrying the latter definition: “For God so (to such a great degree) loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Here’s the thought: Have we (I) attached the wrong meaning to verse 16 all these years? Does it really read: “For God loved the world in this fashion, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The more I think of verse 16 in what I’ll call the conventional context the more it seems to portray God as smitten with His creation, unable to keep Himself from loving it, like a small child with a new puppy. But I think, in concert with the doctrine of election, that’s the wrong perspective of this verse. If I may put verses 14 - 18 with expanded definitions of the word “so”:
“14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, in like fashion must the Son of man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 For God loved the world in this way, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
What thinkest thou?
Well, I certainly don’t agree that GOD ALMIGHTY is ‘obsessed’ or so smitten with HIS creation (as you said like a child with a puppy) that HE decided to throw us a rope, if you will. Our FATHER is truly about love — as the verse says, HE sent HIS Only Begotten Son…to bare all of our filthy sins and die for us (and be beaten, mocked, spit upon, etc.) so that eternal damnation wouldn’t be our lot. So it wasn’t due to some fancy or infatuation that the LORD our GOD sent HIS Son to die for us… HE gave us this gift with the most incomprehensible love. Who, when he/she thinks upon it, does not get overwhelmed? –LaVrai