Rye
Active Member
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.
Most Christians today, because of their western way of thinking, read John 3:16 through a lens. Most understand this passage in such a way that implies that God loves the world so much that every individual person is invited to believe in Christ and have everlasting life. But is that really what the text is saying?
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son
In what way does God love the world? In such a way that He gave His only begotten Son. What is the purpose of giving His Son? So that God can demonstrate His love to everyone in the world, to the elect and non-elect alike. The purpose of demonstrating His love, though some may or may not receive mercy, is for His eternal glory. It can't be proven from the text that He loves the world in such a way that He is extends some kind of invitation to all of mankind in hopes that as many people as possible will freely accept the invitation. This is made clear from other passages in John that God does not love every individual person in the world equally.
John 17:9 - I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Whosoever believeth in Him but have everlasting life
This does not imply an invitation to every individual person, but rather is a description of what a person is doing which is believing in Him. The result of this act of belief is everlasting life. It would be like saying, "whosoever is 7 feet tall will play on the basketball team". Not everyone is 7 feet tall, therefore not everyone will play on the basketball team. Likewise, not everyone believes, therefore not everyone will have everlasting life.
In conclusion, we need to understand that John chapter 3 is not addressing the issue of who has the ability to believe in the first place. Fortunately, John chapter 6 does address that particular subject.
John 6:66 - And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Proper exegesis is how theologians have been able to avoid inserting a presupposition or a tradition into scripture. We must allow the text to speak for itself in the right context.
Most Christians today, because of their western way of thinking, read John 3:16 through a lens. Most understand this passage in such a way that implies that God loves the world so much that every individual person is invited to believe in Christ and have everlasting life. But is that really what the text is saying?
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son
In what way does God love the world? In such a way that He gave His only begotten Son. What is the purpose of giving His Son? So that God can demonstrate His love to everyone in the world, to the elect and non-elect alike. The purpose of demonstrating His love, though some may or may not receive mercy, is for His eternal glory. It can't be proven from the text that He loves the world in such a way that He is extends some kind of invitation to all of mankind in hopes that as many people as possible will freely accept the invitation. This is made clear from other passages in John that God does not love every individual person in the world equally.
John 17:9 - I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Whosoever believeth in Him but have everlasting life
This does not imply an invitation to every individual person, but rather is a description of what a person is doing which is believing in Him. The result of this act of belief is everlasting life. It would be like saying, "whosoever is 7 feet tall will play on the basketball team". Not everyone is 7 feet tall, therefore not everyone will play on the basketball team. Likewise, not everyone believes, therefore not everyone will have everlasting life.
In conclusion, we need to understand that John chapter 3 is not addressing the issue of who has the ability to believe in the first place. Fortunately, John chapter 6 does address that particular subject.
John 6:66 - And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
Proper exegesis is how theologians have been able to avoid inserting a presupposition or a tradition into scripture. We must allow the text to speak for itself in the right context.
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