John 3
To start, let's get a quick overview of this chapter. In the previous chapter, 2 major events occurred. Jesus began his ministry by changing the water to wine at the wedding in Cana (sidenote here for the skeptical sort: this was NOT Jesus' own wedding because John 2:2 tells us that Jesus was invited to the wedding! kind of strange to invite yourself to your own wedding). Then we have the first Passover in John, where Jesus cleansed the temple of the money-changers, and also prophesied his own resurrection. We also see that "many" people believed in Jesus during this time.
This brings us to John chapter 3. The scene has Nicodemus approaching Jesus at nighttime, no doubt partially in fear of the other Pharisees seeing him with Jesus. Nick tells Jesus that he thinks Jesus has "come from God". Jesus tells him that he (and everyone) must be "born again". Nick doesn't understand and questions Jesus on that. Jesus then proceeds to give a lengthy explanation in vs. 5-21 of what is involved in being born again. The rest of chapter 3 (vs. 23-36) gives us John the Baptizer's last recorded testimony about Jesus during John's ministry. It is considered a transition from John's ministry to Jesus' ministry.
I want to focus here on Jesus' monologue in vs. 5-21, then look a little at vs. 23-36. What do we learn about saving faith in vs. 5-21? I see in these verses at least 3 of the requirements I listed in my introductory post: 1) acknowledgement of sin; 2) belief in Jesus' death on the cross; and 3) belief that Jesus is God.
John 3:16 is a popular verse in our culture, probably the most well-known verse of all time. But let's look at the near context of the words in John 3:16. In verses 14-15, Jesus says, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life." Jesus is referencing an OT story found in Numbers 21:1-9. The Israelites had begun to complain against God and Moses, so God sent "fiery serpents" which bit the people and many of them died. Verse 7 says, "So the people came to Moses and said, 'We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us.' " So Moses went to the Lord, and in verse 8 God told Moses what to do: "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." Moses obeyed, and from then on, anyone who was bit could simply look at the serpent, and his life was spared.
Numbers 21:7 is especially significant. The people clearly acknowledged their sin before the Lord, THEN God made a way for them to just look on the serpent and live. So when Jesus compares his death on the cross to the serpent in the wilderness with Moses, Nicodemus (and the original readers) would immediately have thought of the entire story. The story itself speaks of sin and judgment, as well as God delivering the people. It is almost a "mini" gospel story: it involves recognition of sin, reliance on God for deliverance, God providing the deliverance, and a response required on the part of the individual in order to receive God's deliverance.
Also, Jesus compares himself to the serpent which was "lifted up". I'm not sure if the "standard" from the Numbers story was definitely a cross, but it seems to be some kind of pole lifted up off the ground. This would most certainly bring forth the picture of crucifixion to the original readers. Jesus paints a word picture of himself "lifted up" off the earth (on something, most likely a cross in that culture) due to the sin of the people, and the sinful people avoiding death and being given life by "looking" to him ("believing" in him).
Then in the very next verse (16), it says that God "gave" His Son so that people could avoid death and be given life. The context of Jesus referencing the Numbers story of the serpent on a pole gives import to this meaning of "gave". Verse 16 says that God "gave" His Son in order that people could live eternally. What else could this be referring to except Jesus' substitutionary atonement? For as wonderful as the incarnation is, it alone does not have the ability to grant anyone eternal life. If Jesus had merely come to earth and lived a perfect life, it wouldn't have changed a thing spiritually for any of us. There is no other sense of God's "giving" of His Son that provides eternal life for sinful people who deserve death. John 3:16 is telling us that God "gave" His Son as a sacrifice for our sins when he died on the cross.
Let us now look at John 3:16 in its entirety (everyone together now): "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." Now remember, these words are in the context of the story from Numbers, which rings of sin, judgment, and deliverance. Jesus says that whoever believes in Him "shall not perish". In the Numbers story, why were the people perishing? Because of the bites of the serpents, which were sent as a result of their sin. So they perished as a result of their sin. But when they looked upon the serpent, the results of their sin (death) were erased, and they were given life instead.
The analogy Jesus is drawing here is manifestly evident. The people in Numbers acknowledged their sin, then believed in God's provision for deliverance from the resulting judgment of their sin. But of course we know that those people were only given "temporary" life, whereas belief in Jesus results in eternal life. So we can see from the full context of John 3:16 that "belief in Jesus" contemplates an acknowledgement of personal sin and the need for God to provide a way of deliverance from the results of our sin, as well as the realization that God has provided a way of deliverance, that is, Jesus' death on the cross.
But let's back up in verse 16 for a minute. Who is it that God "gave", the one in whom we are to "believe"? It is God's "only begotten Son". In fact, John 3:16 doesn't even mention the name "Jesus". It simply tells us that we are to believe in God's "only begotten Son", or another way to say it, the "Son of God". Clearly this is saying that we are to believe in Jesus as God, or we could say, part of the required content of saving faith ("belief") is the fact that Jesus is God ("Son of God"). How could someone believe "in" the Son of God if that person did not believe that anyone actually is the "Son of God"? If someone believes in a Jesus whom they deny is the Son of God, then obviously they are not believing in the "Son of God".
Now, I know some will claim that the term "Son of God" or "only begotten Son" does not actually refer to deity. I will address and refute that claim later in my outline (see my introductory article for the outline). But let's assume that claim is correct. Let's assume that "only begotten Son" (aka "Son of God") in John 3:16 is NOT a title for deity. What does this title mean then? What would this verse be saying if "only begotten Son" does not mean deity? A mere human? An angel? Some other being? Such an interpretation would have the lost believe in someone who is not God to give them eternal life! John 3:16 requires people to believe in God's "only begotten Son" in order to avoid perishing (the result of their sin) and to receive eternal life. If this term does not refer to deity, then John 3:16 requires everyone to believe in someone less than God (a mere human even! ) to give them eternal life! This is antithetical even to their own message, and is both impossible and unbiblical. But in actuality, this term does in fact refer to deity, as I will show later on in the series.
The rest of John 3 gives us more cause for including belief in Jesus' eternal deity in the required content of saving faith. John 3:18 says, "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Again, no mention of believing in "Jesus", yet clearly the lost are required to believe in the "Son of God" (referring to deity).
To start, let's get a quick overview of this chapter. In the previous chapter, 2 major events occurred. Jesus began his ministry by changing the water to wine at the wedding in Cana (sidenote here for the skeptical sort: this was NOT Jesus' own wedding because John 2:2 tells us that Jesus was invited to the wedding! kind of strange to invite yourself to your own wedding). Then we have the first Passover in John, where Jesus cleansed the temple of the money-changers, and also prophesied his own resurrection. We also see that "many" people believed in Jesus during this time.
This brings us to John chapter 3. The scene has Nicodemus approaching Jesus at nighttime, no doubt partially in fear of the other Pharisees seeing him with Jesus. Nick tells Jesus that he thinks Jesus has "come from God". Jesus tells him that he (and everyone) must be "born again". Nick doesn't understand and questions Jesus on that. Jesus then proceeds to give a lengthy explanation in vs. 5-21 of what is involved in being born again. The rest of chapter 3 (vs. 23-36) gives us John the Baptizer's last recorded testimony about Jesus during John's ministry. It is considered a transition from John's ministry to Jesus' ministry.
I want to focus here on Jesus' monologue in vs. 5-21, then look a little at vs. 23-36. What do we learn about saving faith in vs. 5-21? I see in these verses at least 3 of the requirements I listed in my introductory post: 1) acknowledgement of sin; 2) belief in Jesus' death on the cross; and 3) belief that Jesus is God.
John 3:16 is a popular verse in our culture, probably the most well-known verse of all time. But let's look at the near context of the words in John 3:16. In verses 14-15, Jesus says, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life." Jesus is referencing an OT story found in Numbers 21:1-9. The Israelites had begun to complain against God and Moses, so God sent "fiery serpents" which bit the people and many of them died. Verse 7 says, "So the people came to Moses and said, 'We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us.' " So Moses went to the Lord, and in verse 8 God told Moses what to do: "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." Moses obeyed, and from then on, anyone who was bit could simply look at the serpent, and his life was spared.
Numbers 21:7 is especially significant. The people clearly acknowledged their sin before the Lord, THEN God made a way for them to just look on the serpent and live. So when Jesus compares his death on the cross to the serpent in the wilderness with Moses, Nicodemus (and the original readers) would immediately have thought of the entire story. The story itself speaks of sin and judgment, as well as God delivering the people. It is almost a "mini" gospel story: it involves recognition of sin, reliance on God for deliverance, God providing the deliverance, and a response required on the part of the individual in order to receive God's deliverance.
Also, Jesus compares himself to the serpent which was "lifted up". I'm not sure if the "standard" from the Numbers story was definitely a cross, but it seems to be some kind of pole lifted up off the ground. This would most certainly bring forth the picture of crucifixion to the original readers. Jesus paints a word picture of himself "lifted up" off the earth (on something, most likely a cross in that culture) due to the sin of the people, and the sinful people avoiding death and being given life by "looking" to him ("believing" in him).
Then in the very next verse (16), it says that God "gave" His Son so that people could avoid death and be given life. The context of Jesus referencing the Numbers story of the serpent on a pole gives import to this meaning of "gave". Verse 16 says that God "gave" His Son in order that people could live eternally. What else could this be referring to except Jesus' substitutionary atonement? For as wonderful as the incarnation is, it alone does not have the ability to grant anyone eternal life. If Jesus had merely come to earth and lived a perfect life, it wouldn't have changed a thing spiritually for any of us. There is no other sense of God's "giving" of His Son that provides eternal life for sinful people who deserve death. John 3:16 is telling us that God "gave" His Son as a sacrifice for our sins when he died on the cross.
Let us now look at John 3:16 in its entirety (everyone together now): "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." Now remember, these words are in the context of the story from Numbers, which rings of sin, judgment, and deliverance. Jesus says that whoever believes in Him "shall not perish". In the Numbers story, why were the people perishing? Because of the bites of the serpents, which were sent as a result of their sin. So they perished as a result of their sin. But when they looked upon the serpent, the results of their sin (death) were erased, and they were given life instead.
The analogy Jesus is drawing here is manifestly evident. The people in Numbers acknowledged their sin, then believed in God's provision for deliverance from the resulting judgment of their sin. But of course we know that those people were only given "temporary" life, whereas belief in Jesus results in eternal life. So we can see from the full context of John 3:16 that "belief in Jesus" contemplates an acknowledgement of personal sin and the need for God to provide a way of deliverance from the results of our sin, as well as the realization that God has provided a way of deliverance, that is, Jesus' death on the cross.
But let's back up in verse 16 for a minute. Who is it that God "gave", the one in whom we are to "believe"? It is God's "only begotten Son". In fact, John 3:16 doesn't even mention the name "Jesus". It simply tells us that we are to believe in God's "only begotten Son", or another way to say it, the "Son of God". Clearly this is saying that we are to believe in Jesus as God, or we could say, part of the required content of saving faith ("belief") is the fact that Jesus is God ("Son of God"). How could someone believe "in" the Son of God if that person did not believe that anyone actually is the "Son of God"? If someone believes in a Jesus whom they deny is the Son of God, then obviously they are not believing in the "Son of God".
Now, I know some will claim that the term "Son of God" or "only begotten Son" does not actually refer to deity. I will address and refute that claim later in my outline (see my introductory article for the outline). But let's assume that claim is correct. Let's assume that "only begotten Son" (aka "Son of God") in John 3:16 is NOT a title for deity. What does this title mean then? What would this verse be saying if "only begotten Son" does not mean deity? A mere human? An angel? Some other being? Such an interpretation would have the lost believe in someone who is not God to give them eternal life! John 3:16 requires people to believe in God's "only begotten Son" in order to avoid perishing (the result of their sin) and to receive eternal life. If this term does not refer to deity, then John 3:16 requires everyone to believe in someone less than God (a mere human even! ) to give them eternal life! This is antithetical even to their own message, and is both impossible and unbiblical. But in actuality, this term does in fact refer to deity, as I will show later on in the series.
The rest of John 3 gives us more cause for including belief in Jesus' eternal deity in the required content of saving faith. John 3:18 says, "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Again, no mention of believing in "Jesus", yet clearly the lost are required to believe in the "Son of God" (referring to deity).
In vs. 27-36, John the Baptizer speaks to his disciples regarding more people beginning to follow Jesus than John. John refers to Jesus' deity in several ways ("the Christ", Jesus "comes from heaven", Jesus is "the Son" and God has "given all things into his hand"). Finally, in v. 38, John declares, "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." Once again, we have no mention of the name Jesus in a salvific text. What we do see is a requirement to believe in "the Son [of God]". If someone does not believe Jesus is the "Son of God", then even if they claim to believe in Jesus, as far as they are concerned they are not believing in the Son of God.
In summary, John 3 shows us at least 3 items in the required content of saving faith: acknowledgement of personal sin, belief in Jesus' death on the cross to pay for our sin, and belief that Jesus is God. The sin aspect is evident from Jesus' reference in vs. 14-15 to the story in Numbers. Belief in Jesus' substitutionary atonement on the cross is also evident from the story in Numbers, as well as the statement in v. 16 that God "gave" His Son for the purpose of making provision for people to avoid death and receive life. And we see that belief in the eternal deity of Jesus is required by noting the requirement to believe in the "Son of God" in vs. 16, 18, and 36.
I will discuss Romans 3 in the next article. Please feel free to interact with any of my points in this article at any time.
In summary, John 3 shows us at least 3 items in the required content of saving faith: acknowledgement of personal sin, belief in Jesus' death on the cross to pay for our sin, and belief that Jesus is God. The sin aspect is evident from Jesus' reference in vs. 14-15 to the story in Numbers. Belief in Jesus' substitutionary atonement on the cross is also evident from the story in Numbers, as well as the statement in v. 16 that God "gave" His Son for the purpose of making provision for people to avoid death and receive life. And we see that belief in the eternal deity of Jesus is required by noting the requirement to believe in the "Son of God" in vs. 16, 18, and 36.
I will discuss Romans 3 in the next article. Please feel free to interact with any of my points in this article at any time.