Featured John 3:16, The Meaning of "kosmos"

You would be giving him information he already has. He has said that over and over to everyone on earth in his testimony to man. Other people to whom he said that did not make it. He might want to know what makes you different from them. I would like to know that.

 

Sai, thank you for the conversation. It is enlightening. I have read the theology of the Reformed for many years and I find that they always forget what they teach about salvation and the Christian faith. I would like to substitute myself for this post and give the answer to the question as an honest Calvinist should answer why God should allow him into heaven. You will have to admit I am right about it.

Why should I allow you into heaven?

Because you chose me before the foundation of the earth. You had no choice but to save me. Jesus Christ is an incidental part of my salvation but he is not the foundation of it. No amount of his dying or no matter how many times he did it would secure any hope for me if you had not chosen me before the foundation of the world. Proof of that is for you to just look at all the sinners who you did not choose. Not a single one of them has appeared here. The preaching of the cross did not do them any good. You regenerated me before I even heard the preacher so my salvation is not based on my believing anything. It is based on your choice of me aside from anything that has happened or will happen on the earth. You infused belief into me because of your choice of me. I am not going to tell you I trusted in Jesus Christ alone as my reason for being here, because I didn't; you did.

From what I have learned, Sai, this is accurate.

 

My personal research concluded κοσμος without exception as used in the New Testament can be always understood to refer to mankind.
And κοσμος is used in the New Tesrament 152 times.

 

World = mankind would be a tough sell in these passages:

[14] I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. [15] I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. [16] They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. [17] Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:14–17 ESV)​

My count is 185 uses in the NT. But, perhaps, maybe your count doesn't count multiple uses in the same verse.

The Archangel

 

Then, you have much to learn as this paragraph is full of inaccuracies.

The Archangel

 

Yes I see it but it is not heresy because they do believe the gospel they just emphasize faith being the gift and not salvation being the gift.


Joy unspeakable full of glory

 

Wrong.

 

Not even a small piece?


Joy unspeakable full of glory

 

Yeah, I counted verses.

I loosely substitued mankind for world, the lost human race.

[14] I have given them your word, and mankind has hated them because they are not of the mankind, just as I am not of the mankind. [15] I do not ask that you take them out of mankind, but that you keep them from the evil one. [16] They are not of the mankind, just as I am not of the mankind. [17] Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. (John 17:14–17 ESV)

 

The issue here is that if Jesus says, "I am not of mankind" He is not able to save according to Paul's theology. The Adam-Christ dichotomy would fail here because Jesus would not be human. Accordingly, you'd have to repeat several of the heresies of the early church, namely docetism. What is more, the disciples would be described in some way different than the rest of humanity, and that would be problematic as well.

So, there are some cases it can work; but certainly not all.

The Archangel

 

If you would "love not the world", and worldly-minded people in their flesh, you might be able to be for real about the Teaching, here, which is common throughout history, literature, and The Bible, in John 3:16, "the world of the Gentiles and not just The Jews".

 

I think you are being intellectually dishonest here.
I had explicitly qualified my argument.

 

Given that scripture identifies THE gift of God over and over as salvation from sin, eternal life, the Spirit of God, his righteousness, all synonyms, and never one time says that faith is the gift of God, I conclude that the teachers of that doctrine, that faith is the gift of God, are not innocent but are perverters of the gospel, especially after they have been corrected. No one has the right to teach as scriptural truth something that is not in the scriptures. I call doctrines like these "prop" doctrines. They are inventions that are needful to prop up other inventions.
I want to be kind though, while I tell the truth. I can make a scriptural argument proving what I say. This debate is serious enough for me to take a chance on being disliked if I can convince someone of the truth. It takes plain speaking.

 

No, I'm not. You're trying to fit an oval peg into a round hole. "Mankind" will not work for "all" the appearances of κόσμος, which was your original statement. While it may work for some, it will not work for all. When dealing with doctrines like the divinity of Christ, "loosely" simply doesn't cut it.

The simple fact about κόσμος is that it can mean various things.

The Archangel

 

I think you are irrational. The statement had to do with His humanity and Him not part of sinful humanity. Which I qualified regarding Him not being of lost "mankind." κοσμος referring to mankind, the lost human race. You made the assertion He could not be human not being part of that "mankind."

 

Why aren’t you answering with a simple answer? “God saved me by shedding the blood of Messiah for me as my substitute.” What is this nonsense about “because I’m born again”? The closest you came was barely glorifying the reason we can be saved, the gospel. That’s not good JD, need you to update that narrative for our Lord!


Joy unspeakable full of glory

 

Not being irrational. Kosmos means more than humanity. It’s pretty cut and dry from a lexical standpoint.

The Archangel


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Give a case example in the New Testament where in no way can be understood to be mankind. Is that so hard? I know there has to be at least one.

 

I have already done so you just didn’t like it.

The Archangel


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk