KneEmail - a devotional by Mike Benson associated with Forthright Magazine
John 3:16
WITHOUT QUESTION, THE best-known verse in the Bible is John 3:16...
Martin Luther called it the Bible in miniature, and some even go so far as to say that if the Bible were lost except for John 3:16, we would have all the Scripture we need in order to be saved. Here is how the Golden Text reads: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
Is John 3:16 all we need? Jesus didn't think so. John 3:16 is JUST ONE VERSE in a lengthy conversation with Nicodemus. And when we look at the WHOLE picture, we are better able to flesh out what Jesus meant to summarize in this verse.
John 3:16 has often been cited to support the idea that a person can be saved by faith alone. Those who make this claim have not carefully studied the whole chapter.
The following information gives context to what Jesus proclaimed in John 3:16:
Near the beginning of His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" ( John 3:5). "Water is clearly a reference to baptism. Later in the narrative we read of Jesus and John baptizing in the Jordan River ( John 3:22-23; 4:1-2)
In the two verses prior to John 3:16, Jesus alluded to the bronze serpent Moses lifted up in the wilderness as a symbol of the crucifixion. In consulting the original account of that event, it is evident that the case of the bronze serpent was one of obedient faith: those who were bitten by the fiery serpents were not healed by merely believing in the bronze serpent; they had to look upon it to live ( Numbers 21:9).
In the verses FOLLOWING John 3:16, Jesus explains what He meant by "believe" in terms of "coming to light." In verse 21 He says, "But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." What is meant by, "does what is true" and "works" in this statement if these words do not apply to the conditions of salvation?
Finally, the last verse of John 3 reads, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." The close observer will notice that John the Baptist, who is speaking here, uses the terms "believes" and "obey" interchangeably. THE FAITH OF JOHN 3 IS LIKE THE FAITH THROUGHOUT THE NEW TESTAMENT--AN OBEDIENT FAITH.
John 3:16 will remain the favorite text of Christians. But if we are not careful, we will damage a priceless piece of revelation with reckless interpretation. We must be careful in our excavations not to separate the Golden Text from its context. (Drew Kizer)
KneEmail: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:14-18
Bible reading for 06.02.09: John 13:1-20; 2 Chronicles 17, 18
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