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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: Is God omnipotent? |
Bible Note: Greetings John! I too enjoy a good discussion! Allow me to touch upon your response and then your question. 1) It isn't really a question of whether I'm correct or not since Gal. 2:16 quite plainly says that justification is a result of faith. 2) I believe that salvation and 'perishing' are both a process to a degree. I preached once out of 1 Peter about the past, present, and future aspects of our salvation. Anyway, concerning 1 Cor. 1:18, the first thing that I notice is that there is no information at all about why people are perishing or if that status can be changed. However, Paul uses this same exact word in three other places and two of these places do address these points. First of all, 2 Thess. 2:10 says: " and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." So, why do people perish? Is it because God has chosen not to save them? According to this verse, they are perishing because they rejected the truth. Secondly, 2 Cor. 4:3 says: "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing." This would seem to support your position, except for the last few verses of chapter 3. 2 Cor. 3:14 - "But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." Faith comes to the perishing through the preaching of the Gospel (Rom. 10:17). If that person then accepts the truth, they will be saved. Well, I have to get to bed now. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |