The Greatest Text
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The Greatest Text
The Greatest Text
16 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.
The greatest
Team
president
College football team
To say the greatest text .....
The Lord’s conversation with Nicodemus seems to end with the statement in verse 15, so from here on we seem to have John’s inspired commentary, beginning where Jesus left off and with similar words.
We have now arrived at the great gospel truth.
No other single statement in the Bible so aptly sums up God’s redemptive purpose in Christ for the human race.
Volumes have been written on it. Its each and every word has been weighed and examined and marveled at and preached on.
Who will ever know until the judgment seat of Christ how many millions of Adam’s ruined race have found their way to heaven by the discovery of
The text itself revolves around ten words: God, loved, world, gave, Son, whosoever, believeth, perish, have, life.
Ten words-of creation
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Ten Commandments
Ten words of salvation
I. God So Loved the World
I. God So Loved the World
We think, for instance, who it is who loves this poor lost world.
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Elaborate on this verse.....
God, we read, so loved the world. The world here includes all mankind.
God does not love men’s sins or the wicked world system, but He loves people and is not willing that any should perish.
look who God is ...
It is God, eternal, self-existing, uncreated, having need of nothing. It is God, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent.
3 The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
It is God, Elohim, Jehovah, Adonai, the God who has revealed himself by so many names, who now reveals himself as incarnate love.
7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
It is God, the one who sits, high and lifted up, worshiped by adoring angels, by cherubim and seraphim, and in whose presence they hide behind their wings and cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.”
It is God, the one who sits, high and lifted up, worshiped by adoring angels, by cherubim and seraphim, and in whose presence they hide behind their wings and cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord.”
1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
It is God, creator and sustainer of the universe, who gazes out on stellar empires, on galaxy after galaxy, on mighty burning orbs that rush through space that obey laws he has ordained.
He takes the initiative
GOD LOVES AND GIVES
It is God who takes the initiative, God who loves and gives.
, like and , begins with God.
16 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.
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
1 And God spake all these words, saying,
ex 201.1
This text sets before us a glimpse of the heart of God. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son …”
7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me.
PS 139.7-
This is love that is stronger than death, the love that will not let me go, the love that many waters cannot quench, the love that suffers long and is kind, the love that never fails, the love that passes knowledge.
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
This God the creator of the universe will never leave or forget us....
II. He Gave His Son
II. He Gave His Son
He gave His son ...
His one and only son ....
This text also gives us a revelation of the mind of God, especially along two lines.
We have here the thought of God concerning his Son.
The extent of His love is shown by the fact that He gave His only begotten Son.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
God has no other Son like the Lord Jesus. It was an expression of His infinite love that He would be willing to give His unique Son for a race of rebel sinners.
In the thinking of God, all centers on his Son.
God has no plan, no program for this world or any other, no purpose in the universe or in time or eternity, that does not center in his Son.
Any thinking that is not Christ-centered is in that measure out of harmony with the mind of God. Our plans and purposes can succeed in the long run only in proportion to whether or not they are centered in God’s Son.
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
1 john 5,11-12
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
acts
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
God gave his son ..... to pay the price for our sins .......
24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.
ladies and gentlemen the price has been paid.....
Think about that love.....
III. Believe on Him
III. Believe on Him
We have here, too, the thought of God concerning our salvation: “whosoever believeth in him …” Again we are brought back to Jesus.
Repeatedly, Jesus rejected the claim that His sacrificial death provided salvation for everyone—believers and unbelievers alike. Instead, Jesus linked eternal life to personal belief (; ; )
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
john
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
john 11.2
Jesus was not saying that we need to believe in Him the same way we believe in a historical figure like Abraham Lincoln.
Many people erroneously equate belief with intellectual assent to a certain body of facts: Jesus was the Son of God who died on a cross for the sins of the world and rose from the dead on the third day.
A person can believe in all those facts and still not receive eternal life. In fact, as you read the New Testament you will discover that some of the greatest professions about Jesus being the Messiah came from the lips of demons who immediately recognized Him as the Son of God (; ).
Satan and his minions fully believe that Jesus is the Son of God. They believe that Jesus died for the sins of the world (which is why they tried to destroy His life prematurely before He could accomplish His mission). And yes, they believe that He rose again from the dead. In fact, they believe all those facts about Jesus more than we do—because they were eyewitnesses to those events! But no one expects to see Satan and his demons in heaven because of their belief in the facts about Jesus.
So what does it mean to believe in Jesus?
Jesus equated belief with “trusting in, clinging to, resting in” His sacrificial death for salvation. I think it is very significant that of all the illustrations Jesus could have used to explain how a person can be saved from eternal death, He chose this one: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life ().”
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
john 3.14-15In the verse that follows, Jesus applies that story to the issue of salvation: “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 ().”
In the verse that follows, Jesus applies that story to the issue of salvation: “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 ().”
In the verse that follows, Jesus applies that story to the issue of salvation: “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 ().”
Jesus linked eternal life to personal belief (; ; )
Eternal life is given only to those who exercise faith in His ability to deliver them from the eternal consequences of sin.
For the Israelites, a one-time glance at the bronze serpent brought healing ().
For us today, a one-time belief in Jesus’s ability to forgive our sins brings eternal life. It really doesn’t matter how much or how little faith we have. It’s not the amount of faith that saves us but the object of our faith that saves us.
Jesus taught that our faith is what bridges the gap between our desperate need for God’s forgiveness and His provision for our need. Only those who take that leap into the Savior’s arms will be eternally saved. This is the urgent message we should be boldly and clearly sharing with everyone.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Since Jesus claimed eternal salvation only belongs to those who believe in Him, it is critical that we understand what Jesus had in mind when He talked about belief.
Jesus was not saying that we need to believe in Him the same way we believe in a historical figure like Abraham Lincoln.
Many people erroneously equate belief with intellectual assent to a certain body of facts: Jesus was the Son of God who died on a cross for the sins of the world and rose from the dead on the third day.
A person can believe in all those facts and still not receive eternal life.
In fact, as you read the New Testament you will discover that some of the greatest professions about Jesus being the Messiah came from the lips of demons who immediately recognized Him as the Son of God (; ).
Satan and his minions fully believe that Jesus is the Son of God. They believe that Jesus died for the sins of the world (which is why they tried to destroy His life prematurely before He could accomplish His mission). And yes, they believe that He rose again from the dead.
In fact, they believe all those facts about Jesus more than we do—because they were eyewitnesses to those events!
But no one expects to see Satan and his demons in heaven because of their belief in the facts about Jesus.
So what does it mean to believe in Jesus?
Jesus equated belief with “trusting in, clinging to, resting in” His sacrificial death for salvation.
I think it is very significant that of all the illustrations Jesus could have used to explain how a person can be saved from eternal death, He chose this one: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life ().”
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
In the verse that follows, Jesus applies that story to the issue of salvation: “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 ().”
Eternal life is given only to those who exercise faith in His ability to deliver them from the eternal consequences of sin.
For the Israelites, a one-time glance at the bronze serpent brought healing ().
For us today, a one-time belief in Jesus’s ability to forgive our sins brings eternal life. It really doesn’t matter how much or how little faith we have. It’s not the amount of faith that saves us but the object of our faith that saves us.
Jesus taught that our faith is what bridges the gap between our desperate need for God’s forgiveness and His provision for our need.
Only those who take that leap into the Savior’s arms will be eternally saved. This is the urgent message we should be boldly and clearly sharing with everyone.
The word that activates it all is the word believeth. Simply and solely, God calls on us to trust his Son.
The belief is a supernatural act of God on the human heart..
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
This text also gives us a revelation of the will of God. God is “not willing that any should perish” (); it is a great revealed truth. Our text says that whosoever believeth in him “should not perish, but have everlasting life.” That is God’s earnest desire for all the children of Adam.
Since Jesus claimed eternal salvation only belongs to those who believe in Him, it is critical that we understand what Jesus had in mind when He talked about belief. Jesus was not saying that we need to believe in Him the same way we believe in a historical figure like Abraham Lincoln. Many people erroneously equate belief with intellectual assent to a certain body of facts: Jesus was the Son of God who died on a cross for the sins of the world and rose from the dead on the third day.
A person can believe in all those facts and still not receive eternal life. In fact, as you read the New Testament you will discover that some of the greatest professions about Jesus being the Messiah came from the lips of demons who immediately recognized Him as the Son of God (; ).
Satan and his minions fully believe that Jesus is the Son of God. They believe that Jesus died for the sins of the world (which is why they tried to destroy His life prematurely before He could accomplish His mission). And yes, they believe that He rose again from the dead. In fact, they believe all those facts about Jesus more than we do—because they were eyewitnesses to those events! But no one expects to see Satan and his demons in heaven because of their belief in the facts about Jesus.
So what does it mean to believe in Jesus?
Jesus equated belief with “trusting in, clinging to, resting in” His sacrificial death for salvation. I think it is very significant that of all the illustrations Jesus could have used to explain how a person can be saved from eternal death, He chose this one: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life ().”
In the verse that follows, Jesus applies that story to the issue of salvation: “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 ().”
Eternal life is given only to those who exercise faith in His ability to deliver them from the eternal consequences of sin. For the Israelites, a one-time glance at the bronze serpent brought healing (). For us today, a one-time belief in Jesus’s ability to forgive our sins brings eternal life. It really doesn’t matter how much or how little faith we have. It’s not the amount of faith that saves us but the object of our faith that saves us.
Jesus taught that our faith is what bridges the gap between our desperate need for God’s forgiveness and His provision for our need. Only those who take that leap into the Savior’s arms will be eternally saved. This is the urgent message we should be boldly and clearly sharing with everyone.s Son. That is the greatest insult one can offer the Lord, to say to him verbally or otherwise, “I can’t trust you.”
This text also gives us a revelation of the will of God. God is “not willing that any should perish” (); it is a great revealed truth. Our text says that whosoever believeth in him “should not perish, but have everlasting life.” That is God’s earnest desire for all the children of Adam.
The idea of a limited atonement, that God chose certain ones of the human race, an elect company, and that Christ died for the elect alone is a slander on the love of God. He died “for the sins of the whole world” (). 1 john 2.2
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
1 john 2,2
The gospel invitation is extended to all.
IV. Sall Perish Not
IV. Sall Perish Not
Perish. That is a word to make the sinner tremble. It is a revelation of the other side of God’s character.
He is not only a God of immeasurable love, he is also a God of infinite holiness.
We find it used by the disciples in the extremity of their terror on the storm-tossed sea when they awoke the Lord crying, “Lord, save us, we perish” ().
The word is translated “destroy” in the urgent command to Joseph to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt out of harm’s way, “for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him” ().
We have all seen people destroy their bodies with drink and drugs, with promiscuous sex and its dread harvest of disease.
Sin to complete its work beyond the grave by destroying the soul. The soul does not perish like the body; the soul is immortal.
But God threatens to allow sin to complete its work beyond the grave by destroying the soul. The soul does not perish like the body; the soul is immortal.
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
V. Have Everlasting Life
V. Have Everlasting Life
But that is not what God wills for us. God would have all come to repentance. That is why the invitation of is universal, hinging on believing in him. Those who do, become heirs of “everlasting [eternal] life.” The word aionios is found seventeen times in John’s gospel, six times in his first epistle, and eight times in the synoptic gospels. We are engineered out of the stuff of eternity. Eternal life.
the invitation of is universal, hinging on believing in him.
Those who do, become heirs of “everlasting [eternal] life.” The word aionios is found seventeen times in John’s gospel, six times in his first epistle, and eight times in the synoptic gospels. We are engineered out of the stuff of eternity. Eternal life.
The life of God himself. Thus this great sentence, which summarizes the whole gospel story, begins with God and ends with everlasting life. It begins with one who had no beginning. It ends with that which has no end
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.
Where do you stand with the God that so loved the world?