Hence the Lord, while fully owning the labours of all preceding labourers, has before His eyes the whole boundless expanse of grace, the mighty harvest which His apostles were to reap in due time. John knew that Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man, who could only speak about the more plain subjects of religion. In John 6:1-71 our Lord sets aside Israel in another point of view. It is our evangelist's way of indicating His Galilean sojourn; and this miracle is the particular subject that John was led by the Holy Ghost to take up. The wrath of God - The anger of God for sin. Of course it is the revelation of Christ; but here He was simply revealing the sources of this indispensable new birth. 29) on which, as it were, Jesus speaks and acts in His grace as here shown on the earth. Both of them were in relation to man on the earth; the one while He was here, the other from above. Christ's clear command to all sinners is to believe His heavenly testimony: "For whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life, and will not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life." Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same . Title: "Born Again" - What Does This Term Actually Mean? The word, which occurs only here in the Gospels, is not the same as that at the beginning of the verse, and shows that the faith there intended is the subjection of the will . {n} He that believeth Heb 2:4; Joh 3:15,16, Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window). And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven." Resurrection will be the proof; the two-fold rising of the dead, not one, but two resurrections. The addition of "unto him" detracts, to my mind, from the exceeding preciousness of what seems to be, at least, left open. A second and wholly new man appears the bread of God, not of man, but for men. As there is an absolute necessity on God's part that man should be thus born anew, so He lets him know there is an active grace of the Spirit, as the wind blows where it will, unknown and uncontrolled by man, for every one that is born of the Spirit, who is sovereign in operation. Except one were born of water and of the Spirit, he could not enter the kingdom of God. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? For nothing can be more observable than the way in which He becomes the centre round whom those that belong to God are gathered. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. through "sin." Verse of the Day , God, My Praise (Study In God - All I Need-19). The healing of the courtier's son, sick and ready to die, is witness of what the Lord was actually doing among the despised of Israel. But if the Spirit speaks of the Son of God, the law dwindles at once into the smallest possible proportions: everything yields to the honour the Father puts oil the Son. He acts as such. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Whoever lives a life of faith in the Son will experience the fullness . Everlasting life could only be had by faith in Him, and might be thus obtained; whereas all those, who believe not in the Son of God, cannot partake of salvation, but the wrath of God for ever rests upon them.Barnes' Notes on the BibleHath everlasting life - Has or is in possession of that which is a recovery from spiritual death, and which will result in eternal life in heaven. So does his confession: Rabbi, thou art the Son of God: thou art the King of Israel. Partner with StudyLight.org as God uses us to make a difference for those displaced by Russia's war on Ukraine. John 1:17; John 1:17) The law, thus given, was in itself no giver, but an exacter; Jesus, full of grace and truth, gave, instead of requiring or receiving; and He Himself has said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. John pointed people to the Lord Jesus, for Christ Himself was sent to bear heavenly witness of the invisible God Who "loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life.". These two positions are mutually exclusive. THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL It was but preliminary, of course; still it was a deep reality, the then present grace in the person of the Son, the Saviour of the world, who filled their once dark hearts with light and joy. Of course, not all know that this has happened for them (and all humanity) and some who know, have rejected that truth. (John 3:36 ASV), He that believes on the Son has life eternal, and he that is not subject to the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him. Breaking Down the Key Parts of John 3:30. It was not so. Burge favors the third view. On this basisJohn 7:1-53; John 7:1-53 proceeds. Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children Jonah 1:4-17; 3:3-5 The Lord blesses me when I obey Him. The refusal of His precious blood will, on the contrary, make their case incomparably worse than that of the heathen who never heard the good news. First, a new nature is insisted on the Holy Ghost's quickening of each soul who is vitally related to God's kingdom; next, the Spirit of God takes an active part not as source or character only, but acting sovereignly, which opens the way not only for a Jew, but for "every one." (Verse John 7:39), Nothing can be simpler than this. (VerseJohn 4:10; John 4:10) Infinite grace! This chapter contains the most recognizable verse in the entire Bible, John 3:16. 0. what does john 3:36 mean. God does not here condescend to call it His, though, of course, it was His and holy, just, and good, both in itself and in its use, if used lawfully. Hell will "abide" on the person who does not believe in the Son. that we may give an answer to them that sent us. hath everlasting lifealready has it. Let them learn, then, that as Son of man (for which nature they despised Him, and denied His essential personal glory) He will judge; and this judgment will be no passing visitation, such as God has accomplished by angels or men in times past. John's desire, and the reason he existed, was to see Christ exalted and glorified. "But He said to them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of." Thus former things pass away; the old man is judged, dead, and clean gone. There is difference of manner for the world and His own ignorance and rejection. He is ever God; He is the Son; He quickens and raises from the dead. In the beginning of the chapter it was rather an essential indispensable action of the Holy Ghost required; here it is the privilege of the Holy Ghost given. ", To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient, Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament, International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Man, under law, proved powerless; and the greater the need, the less the ability to avail himself of such merciful intervention as God still, from time to time, kept up throughout the legal system. He shall have no perception of life simply considered, much less of eternal life, the full and complex development of life. We have had his name introduced into each part of the preface of our evangelist. But he that receiveth not the gospel published by him who is the Son of God, and doth not embrace him as his Saviour, and yield obedience to him, shall not be saved. Believing in the existence of Jesus does not result in eternal life, for the historical evidence of His existence (in both sacred and secular writings) is irrefutable. Sons they might have been in bare title; but these had the right of children. Of this we learn nothing, here. Without sign, prodigy, or miracle, in this village of Samaria Jesus was heard, known, confessed as truly the Saviour of the world ("the Christ" being absent in the best authorities, ver. Published by at February 16, 2022. (Ver. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. And they haven't even carefully read what John 3:18 itself says. A cash balance plan is an excellent choice for owners and employees when considering how to provide cost-effective retirement benefits. Our text divides into four sections: (1) Jesus baptizes, too (vss. (Verses John 6:59-71) What and if they should see Him, who came down and died in this world, ascend up where He was before? For were it not God Himself in the person of Jesus, it had been no glory to God, but a wrong and a rival. The Jews, with all their privileges, were strangers here. obedience to the faith, Romans 1:5.). They spoke of the world; the world might hear them. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours." Man is morally judged. In Him was life for this scene of death; and it is of faith that it might be by grace. He bore witness that: "The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." John was to bear witness that Jesus Christ came from heaven as the . (ver. John is clear about why he wrote his Gospel (20:31): "so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, you may have life in His name.". Such shall live. But as many as received him, to them gave he power [rather, authority, right, or title] to become children of God." There is for him a present possession, which shall also remain. Jesus explains: "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. So it must be now; for God is revealed; and the Father in grace seeks true worshippers (be they Samaritans or Jews) to worship Him. The chapter pursues this subject, showing that it is not only God who thus deals first, with the necessity of man before His own immutable nature; next, blessing according to the riches of His grace but, further, that man's state morally is detected yet more awfully in presence of such grace as well as holiness in Christ. behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. Jesus Christ really is the One who "came from above . He is a divine person; His manhood brought no attainder to His rights as God. (VersesJohn 6:1-21; John 6:1-21). (b) Midrash Ruth, fol. Then He rebukes the carnality of His brethren. "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Here again, apart from this divine insight, the change or gift of the name marks His glory. John 1:29-34) How rich it is, and how marvellously in keeping with our gospel! They knew what they worshipped, but not the Father, nor were they "true." "He that believeth on him is not judged: but he that believeth not is judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." At this time, Israel's Roman occupiers have given a small group of Sadducees and Pharisees limited powers to rule, and Nicodemus is one of the Pharisees. Not only man under law has no health, but he has no strength to avail himself of the blessing that God holds out. How, indeed, could it be stayed within narrow limits? His joy was that of a friend of the Bridegroom (to whom, not to him, the bride belonged), and now fulfilled as he heard the Bridegroom's voice. It implies, also, that it will continue to remain on him. John Gorney Love this app and will recommend it to others as well. John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. At least, so say many Christians. The one who comes from heaven is above all. Why is John 3:16 the most famous verse in the Bible? hath everlasting life; he has it in Christ his head, in whom he believes; he has a right unto it through the justifying righteousness of Christ, and a meetness for it by his grace; he has it in faith and hope; he has the beginning of it in the knowledge of Christ, and communion with him; he has some foretastes of it in his present experience; and he has the earnest and pledge of it in his heart, even the blessed Spirit, who works him up for this selfsame thing: and he that believeth not the Son; that does not believe Christ to be the Son of God, or Jesus to be the Messiah; or rejects him as the Saviour; who lives and dies in a state of impenitence and unbelief: shall not see life; eternal life; he shall not enter into it, and enjoy it; he shall die the second death. This implies that he is now under the wrath of God, or under condemnation. In short, the riches of God's grace are here according to the glory of the Son, and in the power of the Holy Ghost. What does this verse really mean? What does the 3 in 36 mean? And in this He is sovereign. John was not yet cast into prison. However, *all* are invited to reciprocate---to live into the gift God has, already, given them in Christ (see John 1:12 ). The rejection of Christ is the contempt of God Himself, in that of which He is most jealous, the honour of the Saviour, His Son. Here (John 5:1-47) the first view given of Christ is His person in contrast with the law. And as life is in the person of the Son, so God in sending Him meant not that the smallest uncertainty should exist for aught so momentous. The disciples come; the woman goes into the city, leaving her waterpot, but carrying with her the unspeakable gift of God. it was no lack of testimony; their will was for present honour, and hostile to the glory of the only God. He gave them title to take the place of children of God, even to those that believe on His name. This He does in verses 16-19. Nor was it yet complete. But there was this difference from the former occasion, that, at the marriage in Cana (John 2:1-25), the change of the water into wine was clearly millennial in its typical aspect. As this chapter sets forth the Lord Jesus with singular fulness of glory, on the side both of His Godhead and of His manhood, so it closes with the most varied and remarkable testimonies God has given to us, that there may be no excuse. John 3:16 gives us the glorious hope of eternal life in heaven through the love of God and death of Jesus Christ. It is the wider, universal glory of the Son of man (according toPsalms 8:1-9; Psalms 8:1-9); but the most striking part of it verified from that actual moment because of the glory of His person, which needed not the day of glory to command the attendance of the angels of God this mark, as Son of man. I pray that I might live for Him. Yet thousands choose to remain in this state, and to encounter alone all that is terrible in the wrath of Almighty God, rather than come to Jesus, who has borne their sins in his own body on the tree, and who is willing to bless them with the peace, and purity, and joy of immortal life. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary36. 2:25), and works belief in us (John 6:28-29), then we realize that the "whosoever" are those that God has granted the act of believing. We should also not lose sight of the fact that when Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus, the ordinance of Christian baptism was not yet in effect. Thus it is not the Spirit of God simply giving a new nature; neither is it the Holy Ghost given as the power of worship and communion with His God and Father. Art thou Elias? His opposition to sin, and its terrible effects in this world and the next. He reminds them of his previous disclaimer of any place beyond one sent before Jesus. The character is wholly different from the position and glory of Messiah in Israel, according to promise and prophecy. John 4:1-54 presents the Lord Jesus outside Jerusalem outside the people of promise among Samaritans, with whom Jews had no intercourse. John was a voice crying in the wilderness: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." Such is God's vindication of His outraged rights; and the judgment will be proportionate to the glory that has been set at nought. Further, John attests that he saw the Spirit descending like a dove, and abiding on Him the appointed token that He it is who baptizes with the Holy Ghost even the Son of God. John 3:8; John 3:8.. VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. Even now faith knows, that instead of sin being the great object before God, ever since the cross He has had before His eyes that sacrifice which put away sin. Shall neither enjoy true life or happiness here nor in the world to come. Compare Romans 1:5, the obedience of faith. It is not simply the new birth such as a saint might, and always must, have had, in order to vital relations with God at any time. Very remarkable are the following words of the Jews F2 concerning the Messiah, whom they call the latter Redeemer: Proud member John the Baptist's work complete (John 3:22-36)While Jesus and his disciples were preaching and baptizing in Judea, John the Baptist was spending the closing days of his ministry preaching and baptizing further north, in the region of the Jordan Valley (John 3:22-24).Some of John's disciples were becoming jealous of Jesus' popularity, and John had to . How could either light or love rest in a scene of sin, darkness, and misery? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. "He came unto his own [things], and his own [people] received him not. 1John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. With regard to John 3:31-36, the question arises as to who was the speaker. Spite of the most express signs, and the manifest finger of God that wrote the ten words on tables of stone, the law sinks into comparative insignificance. The first four chapters of John precede in point of time the notices of His ministry in the other gospels. The Lord meets him at once with the strongest assertion of the absolute necessity that a man should be born anew in order to see the kingdom of God. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Heavenly things are set in evident contradistinction, and link themselves immediately here, as everywhere, with the cross as their correlative. Surely He was there, a weary man outside Judaism; but God, the God of all grace, who humbled Himself to ask a drink of water of her, that He might give the richest and most enduring gift, even water which, once drank, leaves no thirst for ever and ever yea, is in him who drinks a fountain of water springing up unto everlasting life. (VersesJohn 3:20-21; John 3:20-21). Thus in one way or the other all must honour the Son. Observe: not which was, but "which is." The Lord Jesus presents Himself as putting an end to all this now for the Christian, though, of course, every word God has promised, as well as threatened, remains to be accomplished in Israel by-and-by; for Scripture cannot be broken; and what the mouth of the Lord has said awaits its fulfilment in its due sphere and season. John gives us this point of contact with them, though in an incident peculiar to himself. He that believeth not Or, obeyeth not - : from , negative, and , to persuade, or , to obey-the want of the obedience of faith. The Lord Jesus said: " He that believes on the Son has everlasting life." " [T]he water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. They had no common thoughts, feelings, or ways with the Father and the Son. And while He does not hide the privilege of the Jews, He nevertheless proclaims that "the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. "Ye will not come to me that ye might have life." "Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water." The anger of God for sin. In the five porches, then, of this pool lay a great multitude of sick, blind, lame, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. John 1:19-34; 3:22-36 In our study of the story of Melchizedek, we have deliberately skipped over the fact that some theologians believe this ancient king was the pre-incarnate Jesus. John, therefore, who had been the honoured witness before of God's call, "the voice," etc., does now by the outpouring of his heart's delight, as well as testimony, turn over, so to say, his disciples to Jesus. denotes a deeper and more permanent sentiment; a settled habit of mind; while is a more turbulent, but temporary agitation. A person does not have to do anything to become lost. Answer: John 3:16 does not say that unbelievers have the ability of their own sinful free will, to receive Christ. 81-82) indicates, there are three possibilities: (1) Jesus, (2) John the Baptist, (3) John the Evangelist. It was much, yet was it little of the glory that was His; but at least it was real; and to the one that has shall be given. Here the Lord was really owned by the multitudes as the great Prophet that should come; and this in consequence of His works, especially that one which Scripture itself had connected with the Son of David. John then declared his own waning before Christ, as we have seen, the issues of whose testimony, believed or not, are eternal; and this founded on the revelation of His glorious person as man and to man here below. This gives occasion to Jesus to teach us the lesson that conscience must be reached, and sense of sin produced, before grace is understood and brings forth fruit. This is the more striking, because, as we have seen, the world and Israel, rejecting Him, are also themselves, as such, rejected from the first. John 3:36 New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95) 36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life ; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life , but the wrath of God abides on him." Law, means, ordinances, could not meet the need no pool, nor angel nothing but the Son working in grace, the Son quickening. At once their malice drops the beneficent power of God in the case, provoked at the fancied wrong done to the seventh day. This, of course, supposes the setting aside of Jerusalem, its people and house, as they now are, and is justified by the great fact of Christ's death and resurrection, which is the key to all, though not yet intelligible even to the disciples. The wrath of God. He borewitness that:"The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. Note.How flatly does this contradict the teaching of many in our day, that there neither was, nor is, anything in God against sinners which needed to be removed by Christ, but only in men against God! Nathanael's call is just as clearly typical of Israel in the latter day. The verb means to persuade, to cause belief, to induce one to do something by persuading, and so runs into the meaning of to obey, properly as the result of persuasion. not the Jews only; for, as far as intelligence went, it was little better with the disciples till He rose from the dead. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. There is no more powerful way to deliver this message than to let John 3:16 speak for itself. 24 "Faithis a work of God in the sense it is that which God has ordered man to do"Guy N. Woods (1989), A Commentary on The Gospel of John (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company), p. 125. Verse John 3:36. Very remarkable are the following words of the Jews (b) concerning the Messiah, whom they call the latter Redeemer: "whosoever believes in him "shall" live; but he that believes not in him shall go to the nations of the world, and they shall kill him.''. Eternal lifeis onlyreceivedby faith in His cruel death and His glorious Resurrection. Commentary on John 3:22-36. A. John 3:16 King James Version. It is evident, that were He not God, it would be an interference with His glory, a place taken inconsistent with His sole authority, no less than it must be also, and for that reason, altogether ruinous to man. Two resurrections, one of life, and another of judgment, would be the manifestation of faith and unbelief, or rather, of those who believe, and of those who reject the Son. The one, like the other, contributes to this great end, whether the Son of man necessarily lifted up, or the only begotten Son of God given in His love. All is in the character of the Son of man. Gospel of John of the New Testament, Chapter 3, Verse 16 Yet thousands choose to remain in this state, and to encounter alone all that is terrible in the wrath of Almighty God, rather than come to Jesus, who has borne their sins in his own body on the tree, and who is willing to bless them with the peace, and purity, and joy of immortal life. Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. Not only is there no healing to be extracted from the law by a sinner, but the law makes more evident the disease, if it does not also aggravate the symptoms. But this is the command of God, That men should believe on his Son, 1Jo 3:23. "He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. But the Lord reproaches him, the master of Israel, with not knowing these things: that is, as a teacher, with Israel for his scholar, he ought to have known them objectively, at least, if not consciously. It is here life begun the first breathings and pantings of the soul for immortality; yet it is life, though at first feeble and faint, which is eternal in its nature, and which shall be matured in the full and perfect bliss of heaven.