3:16

[tttodd]

Isn't it a wonderful blessing that we have the priviledge to be able to read God's Word every day? The early church didn't have Bibles. In fact, only the Jewish priests of that time had copies of the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. And not just anyone could read them. One had to be considered a righteous man and in good standing with the church. Today, anyone can go into any Christian bookstore and choose from several great versions of the Holy Bible and read them at their leisure.

I never cease to be amazed by the richness of God's Word, the Holy Bible. The other day during my daily Bible reading time, I began to meditate on this fact. John 3:16, arguably the most popular verse of the New Testament, kept popping into my mind. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." While thinking about this verse and praising God for His great love for us, I asked myself, "I wonder what I would find if I were to go through the New Testament and look up the 16th verse of the 3rd chapter in each book?" Keep in mind that when the Holy Bible was first put together, it wasn't broken up into chapters and verses. That was done much later. What I found was a new revelation of the beauty, the love, and the priceless richness of God's Word. The following are some of my findings (taken from the New International Version):


"As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him." - Matthew 3:16

"John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But One more powerful than I will come, the thongs of Whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." - Luke 3:16


"By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' Name and the faith that comes through Him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see." - Acts 3:16


"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" - 1 Corinthians 3:16

"But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." - 2 Corinthians 3:16


"The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ." - Galatians 3:16


"I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,..." - Ephesians 3:16


"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." - Colossians 3:16


"Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you." - 2 Thessalonians 3:16


"Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory." - 1 Timothy 3:16


"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,..." - 2 Timothy 3:16


"For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." - James 3:16


"...keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." - 1 Peter 3:16


"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." - 1 John 3:16


Pretty cool, huh? What I feel is even more amazing looking back at this treasure of Our Lord's Word is that 1 John 3:16 seems to close the circle from where I began with this Bible study at John 3:16. In no way am I suggesting that this is part of some "Bible code." Not in the slightest. I am merely trying to point out how beautiful and rich the Holy Bible is as a complete work. Just like Jesus Christ Himself.

May God bless you each day as you read from His Word. I pray that He will reveal more of Himself to you and bring you closer to Him.

"Jesus answered, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " - Matthew 4:4 (Deuteronomy 8:3)



Love in Christ,


Todd

 

[billwald]

. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."


"Whoever" are the elect. <G> The Holy Spirit goes here and there, doing what he will.

 

[Spear Man]

John 3:16 is a concise yet beautiful statement of the Gospel message. Our salvation is a free gift from God purchased by Christ. We cannot earn heaven least we should boast (Ephesians 2:8). We are saved through Christ by believing in Christ. But what is "believing" in the context of John 3:16?

Now John 3:16 is not a complete expression of the doctrine of salvation. Only twenty verses later, it is also written: "He who believes (pisteuon) in the son has eternal life;he who does not obey (apeitheo) the son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him. (John 3:36)
The biblical term "believe" cannot be reduced to just a mental acceptance. The word "believe" in biblical times carried with it the concept of obedience and reliance. This verse connects "belief in Christ" with "obedience to Christ.""

Peace...

 

[ZeroTX]

. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."


"Whoever" are the elect. <G> The Holy Spirit goes here and there, doing what he will.

Seems to me that "Whoever" is "Whoever"... It's the entire point of this verse. If it meant "the elect" it would have said that.

What kind of Christian are you?

-Michael

 

[eutychus]

. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."


"Whoever" are the elect. <G> The Holy Spirit goes here and there, doing what he will.

Absolutely thrilling!

OP: Thanks for sharing! Awesome how gifted we are to have such a powerful authority in our lives!

 

[LightHearted]

Isn't it a wonderful blessing that we have the priviledge to be able to read God's Word every day? The early church didn't have Bibles. In fact, only the Jewish priests of that time had copies of the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. And not just anyone could read them. One had to be considered a righteous man and in good standing with the church. Today, anyone can go into any Christian bookstore and choose from several great versions of the Holy Bible and read them at their leisure.

I never cease to be amazed by the richness of God's Word, the Holy Bible. The other day during my daily Bible reading time, I began to meditate on this fact. John 3:16, arguably the most popular verse of the New Testament, kept popping into my mind. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." While thinking about this verse and praising God for His great love for us, I asked myself, "I wonder what I would find if I were to go through the New Testament and look up the 16th verse of the 3rd chapter in each book?" Keep in mind that when the Holy Bible was first put together, it wasn't broken up into chapters and verses. That was done much later. What I found was a new revelation of the beauty, the love, and the priceless richness of God's Word. The following are some of my findings (taken from the New International Version):


"As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him." - Matthew 3:16

"John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But One more powerful than I will come, the thongs of Whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." - Luke 3:16


"By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' Name and the faith that comes through Him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see." - Acts 3:16


"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" - 1 Corinthians 3:16

"But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." - 2 Corinthians 3:16


"The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ." - Galatians 3:16


"I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,..." - Ephesians 3:16


"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." - Colossians 3:16


"Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you." - 2 Thessalonians 3:16


"Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory." - 1 Timothy 3:16


"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,..." - 2 Timothy 3:16


"For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice." - James 3:16


"...keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander." - 1 Peter 3:16


"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." - 1 John 3:16


Pretty cool, huh? What I feel is even more amazing looking back at this treasure of Our Lord's Word is that 1 John 3:16 seems to close the circle from where I began with this Bible study at John 3:16. In no way am I suggesting that this is part of some "Bible code." Not in the slightest. I am merely trying to point out how beautiful and rich the Holy Bible is as a complete work. Just like Jesus Christ Himself.

May God bless you each day as you read from His Word. I pray that He will reveal more of Himself to you and bring you closer to Him.

"Jesus answered, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' " - Matthew 4:4 (Deuteronomy 8:3)



Love in Christ,


Todd

This is so amazing, and such a great example of Christ's love for us.

Thank you for sharing this with us.

 

[clinzey]

And let's not forget the other 3:16 greats:

Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

Jeremiah 3:16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the LORD , "men will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD .' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made.

Isaiah 3:16 The LORD says, "The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, tripping along with mincing steps, with ornaments jingling on their ankles.

Romans 3:16 ruin and misery mark their ways

Revelation 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

And many, many more...!

Job 3:16 Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child,
like an infant who never saw the light of day?

Ecclesiastes 3:16 And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment-wickedness was there, in the place of justice-wickedness was there.


Don't they just lift your spirits?

 

[billwald]

"In fact, only the Jewish priests of that time had copies of the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. And not just anyone could read them"

ASSUUMES facts not in evidence. Every synagogue had a copy. The purpose of the synagogue was to teach Torah. Juses went into the synagogue and was handed a scroll, right?

 

[billwald]

"In fact, only the Jewish priests of that time had copies of the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. And not just anyone could read them"

ASSUUMES facts not in evidence. Every synagogue had a copy. The purpose of the synagogue was to teach Torah. Jesus went into the synagogue and was handed a scroll, right?

 

[Bulldog]

And let's not forget the other 3:16 greats:

Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

Jeremiah 3:16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the LORD , "men will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD .' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made.

Isaiah 3:16 The LORD says, "The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, tripping along with mincing steps, with ornaments jingling on their ankles.

Romans 3:16 ruin and misery mark their ways

Revelation 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

And many, many more...!

Job 3:16 Or why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child,
like an infant who never saw the light of day?

Ecclesiastes 3:16 And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment-wickedness was there, in the place of justice-wickedness was there.


Don't they just lift your spirits?

 

[Trench777]

Don't they just lift your spirits?

Yes, as a matter of fact, they do. Because surrounding them on all sides (and they themselves) is The Word which lights my path and is a lamp to my feet.


You can look at a glass half empty or a glass half full.

A glass half empty means "You've got a half a glass to drink! Praise God!"
A glass half full means: "You've got a half a glass to drink! Praise God!"

I thank G-d daily for His Word. 3:16's & all the ones before it & after it, ad infinitum. World without end, amen.

His humble servant,
T777

 

[clinzey]

Yes, as a matter of fact, they do. Because surrounding them on all sides (and they themselves) is The Word which lights my path and is a lamp to my feet.

You know, there are parts of the Bible that are not meant to lift one's spirit and make you feel good.

Why do you feel free to write "God" here

A glass half empty means "You've got a half a glass to drink! Praise God!"
A glass half full means: "You've got a half a glass to drink! Praise God!"

But not here

I thank G-d daily for His Word. 3:16's & all the ones before it & after it, ad infinitum.

 

[Trench777]

I don't think ANY thing in the Word is "made to make me feel good". I don't look for "warm fuzzies" in The Word. I feel good knowing that G-d has honored me, you & all of us by sharing His Truth with us in a manner that we can access. That "lifts my spirits", regardless of whether its learning about how He saves, or how His wrath falls, or how man's own stupidity causes him to fall or ANYTHING else G-d chooses to share with me.

Sorry if my joy of The word bothers you. Er...no I'm not.

As for the missed dashes, I'm still a rookie learning to train my fingers to slow down & put in a dash instead of a letter. It's a hard habit to build, but I'm working on it.

His humble servant,

T777

 

[clinzey]

Sorry if my joy of The word bothers you. Er...no I'm not.

Your joy doesn't bother me, but I believe that there are parts of the text that are supposed to make us feel low, chastised, etc.

As for the missed dashes, I'm still a rookie learning to train my fingers to slow down & put in a dash instead of a letter. It's a hard habit to build, but I'm working on it.

I don't understand the need to use a dash.

 

[tttodd]

I, for one, do not feel that the Word of God is ever meant to make us feel low, chasited, etc. In some instances, yes, it is meant to humble us. But even then, does He not lift us up? Just as Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 3:16, ""All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,...".

And if I may interject on behalf of Trench777, the use of the hyphen when writing 'God' is a Jewish custom. Those in the Jewish faith feel it is a sign of disrespect to write out His name in any form (i.e. YWHW instead of Yahweh). Trench777 is merely following the guidlines and principles of our Christian faith's roots, which is Judiasm.

When I posted this thread about the richness of God's Word, I never imagined people critizing one another for how they interpreted one word versus another or how one person writes versus another. I suppose I was hoping that we would all discover - maybe some of us again, others maybe for the first time - how beautiful, how powerful, and yes, how rich, His Word is.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34, 35 (NIV)

 

[clinzey]

I, for one, do not feel that the Word of God is ever meant to make us feel low, chasited, etc.

This is the purpose of Godly rebuke - to make us low and chastised.

And if I may interject on behalf of Trench777, the use of the hyphen when writing 'God' is a Jewish custom. Those in the Jewish faith feel it is a sign of disrespect to write out His name in any form (i.e. YWHW instead of Yahweh). Trench777 is merely following the guidlines and principles of our Christian faith's roots, which is Judiasm.

I understand the Jewish custom, but Trench777 is Christian - Christians have never had issue writing God. Paul did it, the Gospels do it, it's not necessary.

 

[Trench777]

I understand the Jewish custom, but Trench777 is Christian - Christians have never had issue writing God. Paul did it, the Gospels do it, it's not necessary.

I have lots of customs that aren't "necessary". I have no idea why anyone would have a problem with me revering my Lord to the utmost degree I possibly can. It's also not "necessary" for me to get on my knees to pray, but I do that too. I do it for ME, because it puts me in a physically submissive and humble position and helps my mind be on G-d.

I reckon if I somehow manage honor, respect and revere G-d TOO much, He'll let me know.

By the way...did I tell YOU not to put vowels in G-d? Did I tell you that you were not honoring G-d like you should for anything you do or don't do? No?

T777

 

[theseed]

This verse connects "belief in Christ" with "obedience to Christ.""

Yes, belief is tied into obediance, true faith is of the heart, and expresses itself in words and actions. And in John 3.21 we read that those who come into their good deeds are done in God.

Often we see from the NT, that the fundmental confession of the early church was "Jesus is Lord (Romans 10, Phil. 2). And if we believer this, then we will subject ourselves to Him.

 

[Trench777]

I have lots of customs that aren't "necessary".
T777

Oh, yeah...figure I better clarify a bit.

I do all kinds of crazy, "unnecessary things, over the course of a day:

I open the door for my wife, even thought she doesn't ask me to.

I say "please" and "thank you", even though I don't need to.

I eat with my mouth closed, even though the people I eat with don't ask me to.

I've even gotten so crazy & out of hand, I let people into line in front of me at the market, sometimes. Even though...they don't ask.

Funny thing is, I don't need to be asked to be respectful to the people around me. I'm willing to bet you don't either. I'm willing to bet you probably say "excuse me" and "thank you" and "please" and other polite things...not because you are ASKED, or because they are necessary, but purely out of respect for the people around you.

My Lord deserves THAT and SO much more. In fact, I can't fathom how I could possibly honor Him to the degree He deserves, nevertheless honor him TOO much.

T777

 

[clinzey]

I reckon if I somehow manage honor, respect and revere G-d TOO much, He'll let me know.

By the way...did I tell YOU not to put vowels in G-d? Did I tell you that you were not honoring G-d like you should for anything you do or don't do? No?

A couple of things - I never said that you could honor God too much, and I never said that you shouldn't do what you do. I was simply asking why you, as a Christian, feel the need to omit a vowel. How does vowel omission make the word any better?