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NASB | John 12:32 "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 12:32 "And I, if and when I am lifted up from the earth [on the cross], will draw all people to Myself [Gentiles, as well as Jews]." |
Subject: THE MOST POWERFUL VERSE IN EVANGELISM |
Bible Note: Tim H. -- In John 12:32 Jesus said, "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." In verse 33 John interprets verse 32: "But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die." That kind of death was, of course, His being lifted up from the earth to the cross on which He suffered, shed His blood and gave His life. It can hardly be said that those who lifted Him up to be crucified then were His followers or that those who rejoice in crucifying Christ spiritually are His followers now. We most emphatically do not need to spend more time lifting up Jesus in the sense of John 12:32! This is a textbook example of how precarious it is to lift a passage of Scripture out of its natural context and draw conclusions from a text so extracted. Another example is your eisegesis of Acts 19:2 which you continue to argue contrary to the exegesis which I suggested to you yesterday. Tim, it is both dangerous and irresponsible for any of us to base doctrine on any isolated verse of Scripture. This practice can lead to all sorts of strange beliefs and practices. If you pull Genesis 6:14 out of context, you will find yourself going to the lumber yard in search of some gopher wood with which to build yourself an ark! Perhaps you should avail yourself of a reliable study Bible. Ask your pastor to recommend one. I'd be happy to recommend two or three to you if you wish. Friend, it is by no means my intent to discourage you in any way in your walk with the Lord, but I'm merely putting forth a suggestion to you to be careful about taking verses out of context and, even worse, posting your ill-informed conclusions on the forum where you may unwittingly mislead others. If you don't know the scriptural answer to a question, don't answer it. If you don't understand a precept or a passage, ask about it! Blessings to you. --Hank |