It is not merely or most of all a great prophet or witness: He is the Son; and the Father has given all things to be in His hand. If He spoke the truth, they were blasphemers. 27-30); and (4) the superiority of the Savior (vss. 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! Commentary on John 3:22-36. But there is also a fearful positive contrast. Partner with StudyLight.org as God uses us to make a difference for those displaced by Russia's war on Ukraine. Indeed, it is the total eclipse, not merely of law and remedial mercies, but even of promised Messianic glory, by everlasting life and resurrection at the last day. Most music is crap. Nicodemus remonstrates but is spurned; all retire to their home Jesus, who had none, to the mount of Olives. Thus we have here the other side of the truth: not merely what God is in life and light, in grace and truth, as revealed in Christ coming down to man; but man is now judged in the very root of his nature, and proved to be entirely incapable, in his best state, of seeing or entering the kingdom of God. In John 6:1-71 our Lord sets aside Israel in another point of view. 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. Hence, to such an one, eternal life is not merely something future. Each had his own; all are harmonious, all perfect, all divine; but not all so many repetitions of the same thing. "He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. Bridgeway Bible Commentary. Verse of the Day , God, My Praise (Study In God - All I Need-19). Thus a despised Christ is not merely a crucified Son of man, and given Son of God, as in John 3:1-36, but Himself a divine giver in communion with the Father, and in the power of the Holy Ghost who is given to the believer, the source of worship, as their God and Father is its object for the worshippers in spirit and truth (though surely not to the exclusion of the Son, Hebrews 1:1-14). He that believeth not the Son.Better, he that obeyeth not the Son. Apparently these Christians haven't bothered to read what comes before and after John 3:16-18. If you've never seen it before, or if you haven't realized what the specific location of it is, this is the verse under that we talk about when we mention John 3:16. Answer (1 of 13): John's Gospel is complex. But all that is historically related of the Lord Jesus inJohn 1:1-51; John 1:1-51; John 2:1-25; John 3:1-36; John 4:1-54. was before the imprisonment of the Baptist. Granted He was the Son of man; but as such, He had all judgment given Him, and would judge. Jesus saw the man, and knowing that he was long thus, prompts the desire of healing, but brings out the despondency of unbelief. Shall not see life - Shall neither enjoy true life or happiness here nor in the world to come. (Read John 3:22-36) John was fully satisfied with the place and work assigned him; but Jesus came on a more important work. Pharisaic jealousy had wrought; and Jesus, wearied, sat thus at the fountain of Jacob's well in Sychar. They were not to wonder then at what He says and does now; for an hour was coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those that have done good to resurrection of life, and those that have done evil to resurrection of judgment. His corporeal presence was not necessary; His word was enough. John was not yet cast into prison. John 3:16 teaches us that anyone who believes in Jesus Christ, God's Son, will be saved. 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. For the astonishing thought is, not merely that Jesus receives the Holy Ghost without measure, but that God gives the Spirit also, and not by measure, through Him to others. It is not that He denies the truth of what they were thus desiring and attached to. Her testimony bore the impress of what had penetrated her soul, and would make way for all the rest in due time. Of course, not all know that this has happened for them (and all humanity) and some who know, have rejected that truth. 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! After this we have, suitably to this gospel, John's connection with the Lord Jesus. (Verses John 3:1-6), But the Lord goes farther, and bids Nicodemus not wonder at His insisting on this need. Christ here, it will be noticed, is not so much the quickening agent as Son of God (John 5:1-47), but the object of faith as Son of man first incarnate, to be eaten; then dying and giving His flesh to be eaten, and His blood to be drank. It implies, also, that it will continue to remain on him. The wrath of God abideth on him.Once only in the four Gospels does this term, so full of tremendous meaning, meet us, and that in the Gospel of fullest love, and in a context which speaks of the Fathers love to the Son, and of eternal life, which is the portion of all who believe on the Son. The words of Jesus were the words of God; he had the Spirit, not by measure, as the prophets, but in all fulness. The last two views are more common. Do they receive Him not? Thus it is a kind of transitional fact for a most important part of our gospel, though still introductory. ", John the Baptist was the earthly witness that God usedto present His dearly beloved Son to the world. The Father and the Son were at work. Though He could not, would not deny Himself (and He was the Son, and Word, and God), yet had He taken the place of a man, of a servant. This statement (verse John 1:15) is a parenthesis, though confirmatory of verse John 1:14, and connects John's testimony with this new section of Christ's manifestation in flesh; as we saw John introduced in the earlier verses, which treated abstractly of Christ's nature as the Word. (Verses John 4:31-38). Hence, after having first unmistakably laid down the necessity of the cross, He next shows the grace that was manifested in the gift of Jesus. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? A second and wholly new man appears the bread of God, not of man, but for men. As the believer hath life, so the unbeliever hath wrath abiding on him. "Come, see a man that told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?" John 3:16 gives us the glorious hope of eternal life in heaven through the love of God and death of Jesus Christ. To the Pharisees, indeed, his words as to the Lord are curt: nor does he tell them of the divine ground of His glory, as he had before and does after. It's our responsibility to live John 3:16 to those around us, to shine God's light everywhere we go. 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. He that believethhow vast the love and bright the hope of the all-including wordshath eternal life! But the wrath of God abideth on him; as the sentence of wrath, of condemnation, and death, and the curse of the law were pronounced upon him in Adam, as on all mankind, it continues, and will continue, and will never be reversed, but will be executed on him, he not being redeemed from it, as his final unbelief shows; and as he was by nature a child of wrath, as others, he remains such; and as the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men, it comes upon the children of disobedience, and remains there; it hangs over their heads, and lights upon them, and they will be filled with a dreadful sense of it to all eternity. Further, it is connected intimately with the evidence of man's ruin by sin. The anger of God for sin. The spreader's ergonomic handles mean the SaltDogg is as comfortable as it is easy to use. He has life; the man who disobeys has not, and while he disobeys shall not see life, for he cannot be a subject of a kingdom to whose laws he refuses allegiance. The brethren of the Lord Jesus, who could see the astonishing power that was in Him, but whose hearts were carnal, at once discerned that it might be an uncommon good thing for them, as well as for Him, in this world. Coming after John as to date, He is necessarily preferred before him in dignity; for He was ( ) [not come into being ( )] before Him. So, when someone testifies to . Here, in suited circumstances to render the thought and way of God unmistakable, pure and boundless grace takes its own sovereign course, suitable to the love and personal glory of Christ. Alas! It is here life begunthe 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. This is all perfectly true, of course; and we have it elsewhere. (VersesJohn 6:1-21; John 6:1-21). John 1:35-40) Our Lord acts as One fully conscious of His glory, as indeed He ever was. 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. "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them" What Does John 3:36 Mean? What more glorious proof than that the Holy Ghost is given not a certain defined power or gift, but the Holy Ghost Himself; for God gives not the Spirit by measure! It will "abide" or "dwell" there as its appropriate habitation. (John 2:1-25) The change of water into wine manifested His glory as the beginning of signs; and He gave another in this early purging of the temple of Jerusalem. The Son had not come to execute the judgments of the law they knew, nor even to promulgate a new and higher law. None the less did the result of His death proclaim His Deity. Note on John 6:56.). It is not now the revelation of God meeting man either in essential nature, or as manifested in flesh; nor is it the course of dispensational dealing presented in a parenthetic as well as mysterious form, beginning with John the Baptist's testimony, and going down to the millennium in the Son, full of grace and truth. John 7:37) It is not a question of eating the bread of God, or, when Christ died, of eating His flesh and drinking His blood. We have had his name introduced into each part of the preface of our evangelist. 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. This wrath (comp. The season finale saw two major developments on the "who are the parents of John II" mystery. (Ver. Did they charge Jesus with self-exaltation? ( ) flesh, and dwelt among us." As the new birth for the kingdom of God, so the cross is absolutely necessary for eternal life. Piety here is the same that it will be there, except that it will be expanded, matured, purified, made more glorious. Today, the phrase "born again" can have any one of a host of meanings. (John 3:36 WEB), He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. Not Jacob was there, but the Son of God in nothing but grace; and thus to the Samaritan woman, not to the teachers of Israel, are made those wonderful communications which unfold to us with incomparable depth and beauty the real source, power, and character of that worship which supersedes, not merely schismatic and rebellious Samaria, but Judaism at its best. And as he was by nature a child of wrath, Ephesians 2:3, subject and exposed to the wrath of God, so that wrath abideth on him: being justified by faith, he hath peace with God, Romans 5:1. Understand the meaning of John 3:36 using all available Bible versions and commentary. Nevertheless, Christ did come to His own things, His proper, peculiar possession; for there were special relationships. The Son gives life, as the Father does; and not merely to whom the Father will, but to whom He will. but He, who is the Word made flesh, is the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, and so competent to declare, as in fact He has. The man could not tell the Jews the name of his benefactor. , , . Nicodemus, not understanding in the least such a want for himself, expresses his wonder, and hears our Lord increasing in the strength of the requirement. He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. Jesus, therefore, answered, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. How were they not enjoyed in despised Samaria those two days with the Son of God among them! They had eyes, but they saw not; ears had they, but they heard not, nor did they understand His glory. And John told us thatwe receive this gift by grace through faith so that all who believe in Jesus would not perish but have everlasting life. But John was not merely an earthly witness pointing us to Christ. Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, but withal, as he had said, the eternal One, yet in view of His manifestation to Israel (and, therefore, John was come baptizing with water a reason here given, but not to the Pharisees in verses 25-27). How striking the omission! 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. Man was judged: another Man was there, the Lord from heaven, soon to stand in resurrection. He shall have no perception of life simply considered, much less of eternal life, the full and complex development of life. With regard to John 3:31-36, the question arises as to who was the speaker. 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. Now, it is no longer a question of nature, but of relationship; and hence it is not said simply the Word, but the Son, and the Son in the highest possible character, the only-begotten Son, distinguishing Him thus from any other who might, in a subordinate sense, be son of God "the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father." The Syriac and Arabic versions render it, "shall abide upon him"; so some copies. He acts as such. The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who rejects the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. On this basisJohn 7:1-53; John 7:1-53 proceeds. This chapter contains the most recognizable verse in the entire Bible, John 3:16. Here the unlimited scene is in view; not Israel, but the world. This we have had fully before. 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. The wrath of God: "The word does not mean a sudden gust of passion or a burst of temper. But it is important we should know how He entered the world. Hence, then, we have the Lord Jesus alluding to this fresh necessity, if man was to be blessed according to God. 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. Nothing in the slightest degree detracted from His own personal glory, and from the infinitely near relationship which He had had with the Father from all eternity. He that believeth not Or, obeyeth not - : from , negative, and , to persuade, or , to obey-the want of the obedience of faith. If she turned aside to questions of religion, with a mixture of desire to learn what had concerned and perplexed her, and of willingness to escape such a searching of her ways and heart, He did not refrain graciously to vouchsafe the revelation of God, that earthly worship was doomed, that the Father was to be worshipped, not an Unknown. This last is the figure of a truth deeper than incarnation, and clearly means communion with His death. If, on the contrary, a soul has been taught of God the glory of the person of Him who was made flesh, he receives in all simplicity, and rejoices in, the glorious truth, that He who was made flesh was not made flesh only to this end, but rather as a step toward another and deeper work the glorifying God, and becoming our food, in death. #1 "He must become greater;". I titled an earlier message from John 1:15-18, "Why You Should Believe in Jesus.". For them, Israel, or the world, all is over. John 7:6-8) They belonged to the world. Thus former things pass away; the old man is judged, dead, and clean gone. He also knew that Jesus would increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. But the wrath of God abideth on him; as the sentence of wrath, of condemnation, and death, and the curse of the law were pronounced upon him in Adam, as on all mankind, it continues, and will continue, and will never be reversed, but will be executed on him, he not being redeemed from it, as his final unbelief shows; and as he was by nature a child of wrath, as others, he remains such; and as the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men, it comes upon the children of disobedience, and remains there; it hangs over their heads, and lights upon them, and they will be filled with a dreadful sense of it to all eternity. Jesus (c. 4 BC - AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Roman born Jewish preacher and religious leader; he is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religion.Most Christians believe he is the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited Messiah (the Christ) prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleHe that believeth on the Son,. Who is a proper object of faith and trust; which, if he was not truly and properly God, he would not be: and this is to be understood not of any sort of faith, a temporary, or an historical one; but of that which is the faith of God's elect, the gift of God, and the operation of his Spirit; by which a man sees the Son, goes unto him, ventures and relies upon him, and commits himself to him, and expects life and salvation from him; and who shall not be ashamed and confounded; for such an one 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. Thus solemnly does the meek Lord Jesus unfold these two truths. The resurrection of the Lord is not more truly a demonstration of His power and glory, than the only deliverance for disciples from the thraldom of Jewish influence. If a man looks at the Lord Jesus as One who entered the world in a general way, and calls this the incarnation, he will surely stumble over the cross. 42). There was sentence of death pronounced on their system, and they felt accordingly. It is not a question of the law, but of hearing Christ's word, and believing Him who sent Christ: he that does so has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment; but is passed from death unto life. hath everlasting lifealready has it. This phrase does not mean works performed byGod; rather, the intent is "works required and approved by God" (Thayer, p. 248). He speaks the words of God Himself. The present tense. shall not see lifeThe contrast here is striking: The one has already a life that will endure for everthe other not only has it not now, but shall never have itnever see it. Anyone who doesn't obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God's angry judgment.'. Notably He is now applying it to the reconciliation of a people, who are also baptized by the Holy Ghost into one body. What Does It Really Mean That Your Body Is a Temple? This brings in the great counterpart truth, that even God present on earth and made flesh is not enough. You don't know if they know, or know and don't care, or if they are just U2 and know, don't care and deep down don't . Such is God's vindication of His outraged rights; and the judgment will be proportionate to the glory that has been set at nought. How blessed the contrast with the people's state depicted in this chapter, tossed about by every wind of doctrine, looking to "letters," rulers, and Pharisees, perplexed about the Christ, but without righteous judgment, assurance, or enjoyment! By the grace of God, John had come to know and appreciate the true identity of Jesus Christ. Nay, "the world knew him not." The person of the Son was there the object of divine and overflowing joy even then, although, of course, in the full sense of the word, the Holy Ghost might not be given to be the power of it for some time later; but still the object of worship was there revealing the Father; butJohn 7:1-53; John 7:1-53 supposes Him to be gone up to heaven, before He from heaven communicates the Holy Ghost, who should be (not here, as Israel had a rock with water to drink of in the wilderness outside themselves, nor even as a fountain springing up within the believer, but) as rivers flowing out. (Verse John 1:9) The world therefore surely ought to have known its Maker. None else could do either work: for here we see His great work on earth, and His heavenly power. The original Greek word, apeithn, means "rejecting belief," "refusing obedience," or "refusing to be convinced." This is the same idea explained in Scriptures such as John 3:18-19, Romans 1:20, and Romans 3:11. "Ye will not come to me that ye might have life." 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. It is there that we found the Lord, in the other synoptic gospels, fulfilling His ordinary ministry. The great fact of the incarnation is brought before us "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father"). John 3:1-36 follows this up. John 1:11-12; John 1:11-12) It was not a question now of Jehovah and His servants. At least, so say many Christians. "John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This is he of whom I spake: He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me." Her life is laid before her by His voice, and she confesses to Him that God Himself spoke to her in His words: "Sir [said she], I perceive that thou art a prophet." 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. Did the dead (for so men are treated, not as alive under law) did they hear the voice of the Son of God? But as many as received him, to them gave he power [rather, authority, right, or title] to become children of God." What does the 3 in 36 mean? This implies that he is now under the wrath of God, or under condemnation. 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 . It is not here spoken of as coming upon them, or as passing from them. John 3:16 Meaning. Man might pull Him down destroy Him, as far as man could, and surely to be the basis in God's hand of better blessing; but He was God, and in three days He would raise up this temple. A. John 3:16 King James Version. John practiced law for 40 years and he now monitors local politics. 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. Then (ver. Accordingly, if the law raised the question of righteousness in man, the cross of the Lord Jesus, typifying Him made sin, is the answer; and there has all been settled to the glory of God, the Lord Jesus having suffered all the inevitable consequences. John 1:29; John 1:29John 1:34; John 1:34) of John Baptist's testimony here named; the first day (ver. he might be; and this, too, as the expression of the true and full grace of God in His only-begotten Son given. John 4:1-54 presents the Lord Jesus outside Jerusalem outside the people of promise among Samaritans, with whom Jews had no intercourse. 0. what does john 3:36 mean. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. One needs no more than to read, as believers, these wonderful expressions of the Holy Ghost, where we cannot but feel that we are on ground wholly different from that of the other gospels. Nicodemus was told: "Unless a person is born from above he cannot see the kingdom of God." Unless one has a new birth, a spiritual birth, one cannot see God's kingdom. John's desire, and the reason he existed, was to see Christ exalted and glorified. for he knew He was the Christ. John 3:36. The hour was one for faith, or unbelief. This would make all manifest. (Ver. JOHN 3:16 16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (ver. (VersesJohn 5:8-12; John 5:8-12), But were the Jews mistaken after all in thinking that the seal of the first covenant was virtually broken in that deliberate word and warranty of Jesus? 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. 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. Hath everlasting life He has already the seed of this life in his soul, having been made a partaker of the grace and spirit of him in whom he has believed. He is a divine person; His manhood brought no attainder to His rights as God. It will "abide" or "dwell" there as its appropriate habitation. The first thing to look at is the verse itself. New believers also get familiar with this special truth in their relationship with God. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. John the Baptist was the earthly witness that God used to present His dearly beloved Son to the world. Many people think that believing in the Son means believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that Jesus' way is the way of everlasting life. ", 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. The divinity of the Son is in this chapter proved as clearly as in 1 John v. 7. The contrasts are as strong, at least, as the resemblance with the healing of the centurion's servant in Matthew 13:1-58 and Luke 7:1-50, which some ancients and moderns have confounded with this, as they did Mary's anointing of Jesus with the sinful woman's in Luke 7:1-50.