For God so Loved the World...
This is very popular in the Bible, so it would be ideal to break it down and dig deep into the meaninig of it.
In Context
In the passages before this, Jesus is talking to Nicodemus about being born again. He says that unless one is born again and of water and Spirit they cannot see the kingdom of God. He mentions that one born of the flesh is flesh and that one born of the Spirit is spirit. This is a contrast of the physical body and its functions concerning sin and of the earth versus one being influenced by God. All those who belong to God possess the divine power of God within them and have a share in God's life. Nicodemus doesn't understand this and Jesus calls him out on it since he is a well-known religious teacher and explains that He must be lifted up similar to Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness. He goes on to say the famous passage:
Clarified Words
loved (ἀγαπάω) - have high esteem for or satisfaction for something, take pleasure in
believe (πιστεύω) - to entrust oneself to an entity in complete confidence
perish (ἀπόλλυμι) - eternal death, ruin
judgment (κρίσις) - legal process, separation and division here and now those who accept Christ vs. those who reject Him
darkness (σκότος) - state of unbelievers and of the godless, state of spiritual darkness and darkening by sin
exposed (ἐλέγχω) - scrutinize, examine carefully, bring to light
carried out/manifested (φανερόω) - become public knowledge
Meaning of Passage
Jesus states that God takes pleasure so much in the world that He sent His Son into it. Jesus says that whoever entrusts oneself to Himself in complete confidence would not be ruined or go into eternal death. Jesus states that instead those who entrust in Him would have eternal life.
Christ goes on to mention that God did not send Him to punish the world but for people to attain salvation and be saved from eternal death through Him.
He then goes on to describe the legal process of judgment where in the here and now there is a separation between those who accept Christ and those who reject Him. He explains that the world without Him consists of spiritual darkness and sin and that the state of the ungodly and unbelievers is separation from God where they take pleasure in worldly desires instead of Him.
Jesus states that anyone who does evil things hates the light and does not come to it. The deeds that people do that are not in line with God are brought to light. They can be examined carefully and scrutinized and this may or may not result in being recognized as wrongdoing. However, if the deeds that people do are in line with God and in content of what is true then these deeds would become public knowledge in God.
Application
Therefore, in order to experience the love of Christ and possess the power of God within them where they share in God's life, they have to put their confidence and trust in the Lord. They would also have to acknowledge that He is Lord of their life, turn away from their sin recognizing what they have done wrong and turn to Christ being converted by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Once one does this, The Holy Spirit would give them a new heart and new spirit within them. They will not live in spiritual darkness and sin and instead live for God. They will take pleasure in the truth of God, be separated from the ungodly and attain eternal life. This will result in deeds that would please God and a hatred of the flesh and sin. They will want to love and serve God and others along with wanting to tell them about Christ and His work. These deeds will be made known in God and people will see the difference in their life because of Christ.
Questions to Ask Yourself
- Have you trusted Christ and experienced His love?
- Do you want to serve God and others instead of having worldly desires?
- Do you want to be with Christ, possessing Him and sharing in His life or would you rather be separated from God that results in eternal death?
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