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NASB | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
Subject: THE CROSS |
Bible Note: Greetings JibbyJee! I'm moving from Evansville, IN to Evansville, IN! :-) I'm not moving far, just to a cheaper place. God has really been opening doors. I have been in the process of transfering my ordination from the United Brethren in Christ to the Church of the Nazarene. As a result, our local congregation has offered us an associcate pastor position. It is mostly a volunteer position right now, but my wife and I are conviced that this is where God wants us. I tried to respond to most of Joseph3's points, but I am in a bit of a rush. Allow me to make one quick point concerning John 6:44. Here is the text: "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." The subject is 'no one'. The main clause is 'No one can come to me'. The next clause explains how anyone can come, only if God draws. The last clause says, 'and I will raise him up at the last day.' Who is the 'he'? The one who comes. So, I don't believe that this verse says that all who are drawn will come. It says that all who come must be drawn first, then those who come will be raised. In fact, the verbal 'he who comes' is used four times in this passage. 'He who is drawn' is never the subject of a single verse, and the verb only occurs in 6:44. Again, my problem with this approach is that it makes every word mean something different in every passage, simply because of a theological perspective. It's too complex! ;-) Sometimes 'all' means 'all', sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes 'drag' means to draw irresistably, but sometimes it doesn't. To me, the simplest way is that 12:32 teachs exactly what it says - that all men are drawn by Christ. Then, 6:44 tells us that no one can come to Christ unless they are drawn. But, none of these verses say that everyone who is drawn will come. I have to run! I appreciate you dialogue my friend and I hope to get to know you better in the future. When I have time! ;-) Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |