John 3.16 the heart of the Gospel

[Thursday]

Hi guys; what you are generally discussing is valid; and its always good to get back to what the Bible says rather than be sidetracked by other things.

But anyway let's try to keep this discussion on and around John 3.16 in this thread, maybe...

OK.

Sorry for getting carried away.

 

[Sola1517]

The Catholic Church:

Invented hospitals
Invented universities
Spread the gospel throughout the world
Is the largest charity in the world
Invented the scientific method
Protected the writings of antiquity
etc.

The works of the Church are very admirable and evidence of the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 7:21-23 <-- How about that?

 

[Thursday]

Matthew 7:21-23 <-- How about that?

What about it?

 

[Sola1517]

What about it?

Isn't it interesting that Jesus says that people would come to him on judgement day listing their works as a criteria for getting into heaven and then Jesus would tell them to depart from him and call them workers of lawlessness?

 

[Thursday]

Isn't it interesting that Jesus says that people would come to him on judgement day listing their works as a criteria for getting into heaven and then Jesus would tell them to depart from him and call them workers of lawlessness?

Because they didn't obey his teachings? Yes, that is what I have been trying to say.


Matt 25
34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

 

[faroukfarouk]

Isn't it interesting that Jesus says that people would come to him on judgement day listing their works as a criteria for getting into heaven and then Jesus would tell them to depart from him and call them workers of lawlessness?

'...Whosoever believeth in Him...' is the key, not works.

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Romans 4.5

 

[Sola1517]

Because they didn't obey his teachings? Yes, that is what I have been trying to say.

No, because they didn't have the faith to obey his teachings! Read the whole passage!

 

[toLiJC]

For me, John 3.16 contains the heart of the Gospel. So many essential elements are there, and it affirms the great love of the Savior and the living hope of those who trust in Him!

yes, it is most essential, everyone who practices faith in another god/lord(christ) dooms themselves to become last

1 John 5:21 "Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen."

Blessings

 

[Farine]

The saying goes "The proof of the pudding is in the eating.." For John 3:16 talking about God loving the world ... to Revelation 7:9-10
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

There will be many, many people in Heaven from all over the world and throughout history as a result of Jesus' finished works.

 

[faroukfarouk]

The saying goes "The proof of the pudding is in the eating.." For John 3:16 talking about God loving the world ... to Revelation 7:9-10
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

There will be many, many people in Heaven from all over the world and throughout history as a result of Jesus' finished works.

Thanks for your comment.

What strikes me is the similarity of language between John's Gospel, his Epistles and Revelation.

 

[Farine]

Farouk, when you say language.. are you meaning in the original Greek?

 

[faroukfarouk]

Farouk, when you say language.. are you meaning in the original Greek?

Yes, but I was thinking of the style also; clear and simple concepts; similar themes often. John is very special.

 

[nick notes]

For me, John 3.16 contains the heart of the Gospel. So many essential elements are there, and it affirms the great love of the Savior and the living hope of those who trust in Him!

That is a very inspirational verse. When one of my sons was young and totally into sports he used to say he wanted the job of sitting at ball games holding up John 3:16 signs when the camera was pointing his way.

 

[Geralt]

True, but that is NOT to ignore the condition of course: '..whosoever believes in Him should not perish..".

the "world" must be critically defined to avoid confusion. for if "God so loved the world.." yet in another letter John writes:

1Jn 2:15 Do not love the world or the things in the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ​

there might be confusion. you could say in the context of John it does NOT mean "everyone" who ever lived, but simply gives the scope or (all) categories of men who are the object God's love ("world" means to include not just Jews, but also Gentiles-> which means everyone else not a Jew).

and you could say that 'world' in the context of 1John is the world 'in darkness' (which is a theme in that epistle) in contrast with those in the 'light', or people who's object is not 'eternal life', but simply to live in this temporal world ignoring the love of the Father who dwells beyond this world.

The saying goes "The proof of the pudding is in the eating.." For John 3:16 talking about God loving the world ... to Revelation 7:9-10
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

There will be many, many people in Heaven from all over the world and throughout history as a result of Jesus' finished works.

 

[Farine]

..and you could say that 'world' in the context of 1 John is the world 'in darkness' (which is a theme in that epistle) in contrast with those in the 'light', or people who's object is not 'eternal life', but simply to live in this temporal world ignoring the love of the Father who dwells beyond this world.

I really liked your whole response, Geralt. I wanted to highlight this one part. There's an interesting function in the Kingdom called being an Intercessor. This relates to someone who is well regarded by God who 'stands in the gap' for others. One of my favorite examples of this is 1 Samuel 7:1-13. The people of Israel had only days or weeks before repented from national forsaking of the Lord and faced a national crisis. Samuel was well regarded by God. God informs the Prophet Jeremiah (15:1) that Samuel was one of two people He put in a special category for pleading for others.

Why mention this? You eloquently describe the condition of spiritually unaware, deceived and deceiving people. There is a place in Kingdom Work for Believers to plead with God FOR those who do not believe. The way I understand this is that an Intercessor pleads with God to open a 'door'. In Acts 14:27 It says this..

On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

Your ."whosoever believes in Him should not perish.." still applies in that the opportunity must be used. The door must be walked through. However, hindrances and other deceptions have been broken making this opportunity much easier to accept. I believe that it's important to plead with God for open doors for those who prefer to "live in this temporal world ignoring the love of the Father".

Fantastic post.. Really enjoyed it!

 

[faroukfarouk]

I really liked your whole response, Geralt. I wanted to highlight this one part. There's an interesting function in the Kingdom called being an Intercessor. This relates to someone who is well regarded by God who 'stands in the gap' for others. One of my favorite examples of this is 1 Samuel 7:1-13. The people of Israel had only days or weeks before repented from national forsaking of the Lord and faced a national crisis. Samuel was well regarded by God. God informs the Prophet Jeremiah (15:1) that Samuel was one of two people He put in a special category for pleading for others.

Why mention this? You eloquently describe the condition of spiritually unaware, deceived and deceiving people. There is a place in Kingdom Work for Believers to plead with God FOR those who do not believe. The way I understand this is that an Intercessor pleads with God to open a 'door'. In Acts 14:27 It says this..

On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

Your ."whosoever believes in Him should not perish.." still applies in that the opportunity must be used. The door must be walked through. However, hindrances and other deceptions have been broken making this opportunity much easier to accept. I believe that it's important to plead with God for open doors for those who prefer to "live in this temporal world ignoring the love of the Father".

Fantastic post.. Really enjoyed it!

It's wonderful to think that it's on the basis of what the Lord Jesus did at the Cross for sinners that His intercession and pleading for His people before the Father (Hebrews 7.25) is done.

 

[HeavenMindset]

For me, John 3.16 contains the heart of the Gospel. So many essential elements are there, and it affirms the great love of the Savior and the living hope of those who trust in Him!

Even though John 3:16 seems to be everywhere in Christian circles, it is still as powerful as the firs time I read it! Every word can be opened up to incredible revelations from God. This passage always reminds me that God loves all people and not just Christians. His gospel is for the whole world! His heart is so incredible that He still wants those who curse Him. This passage gives me a small glimpse of His love for me! I accept Him with the fullness of my heart! If He loves those who curse Him, how much love does He have for me!? He loves me with all of His heart and I don't believe that love will ever be understood!

 

[faroukfarouk]

Even though John 3:16 seems to be everywhere in Christian circles, it is still as powerful as the firs time I read it! Every word can be opened up to incredible revelations from God. This passage always reminds me that God loves all people and not just Christians. His gospel is for the whole world! His heart is so incredible that He still wants those who curse Him. This passage gives me a small glimpse of His love for me! I accept Him with the fullness of my heart! If He loves those who curse Him, how much love does He have for me!? He loves me with all of His heart and I don't believe that love will ever be understood!

God took the initiative, right?

 

[Caval]

Ive had John 3:16-17 as my siggy on another board. Its a keeper. =)

Ive heard of Youngs translation but don't know what it is.

 

[faroukfarouk]

Ive had John 3:16-17 as my siggy on another board. Its a keeper. =)

Ive heard of Youngs translation but don't know what it is.

Young's is a fairly literal translation of the Bible, similar to the King James.

Yes, John 3.16 is widely quoted and displayed!