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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. |
Bible Question:
Hello! I'm confused! In John 3:16 we are told: 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. So God(The FATHER as He gave His SON) LOVED the world, but we are NOT to love the world or the love of the FATHER is not in us! If we love the world that HE loved, that doesn't make sense to me?? I mean if we are to model our lives after God, especially Christ, who gave his very life in such a sacrificial way for those of the world... (and there was obviously plenty of evil in His day as well), then this confuses me. 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Any help would be appreciated. Also, I was a bit frightened by something I heard the other day from a telecast minister. He said that IF we cannot understand the bible, that the Holy Spirit is not within us because those whom the Holy Spirit indwells, He teaches and suddenly the bible will have meaning, that the bible itself becomes it's own best commentary. I know the Holy Spirit is within me, but am I somehow doing something wrong that I'm not able to understand many passages? (If the Holy Spirit should be enlightening me, perhaps somehow I am not being responsive??) If this is so, and you have any similar experience, I'd love some guidance. Thank you |
Bible Answer: Hi! I think that part of the problem you are having is experienced by most Christians (and the world) as they begin their trek with Jesus... There are many seemingly contradictory statements in Scripture... one in particular is when Jesus talks about the end of times and He tells His disciples that not even the Son (of man) knows the exact moment, that that hour and day are exclusively known only to the Father... Here's the catch... Jesus never stopped being God; since God is Omniscient, Jesus must know all (all things were created by Him and for Him); the disciples become aware of Jesus' Omniscience: Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God." (John 16:30) Then, why would Jesus lie?... He didn't! As the Lamb of God (John 1:29) the Word Incarnate did not come to teach and reveal all the mysteries of God; He came to Save the world (John 3:140-17)... and Jesus Himself tells us that there are things that He did not reveal because the disciples were not yet ready to understand (John 16:7-15)... God can love the world (all of humanity without exception) while still rejecting the world (all of humanity who choose to trangress His Authority and rebel against His Will), for it is not God who differentiates between one man and another; it is man who humbly subjects himself to God's Will and obeys Him or proudly rejects God's Authority and disobeys Him and revels in his own will (John 3:17-21; 5:24-40; John 1:1-5, 9-14)... God loves the world so much so that the Word becomes as one of us in order to rescue us from the wages of sin (death); but God loathes iniquity... thusly He rejects the world which waddles and revels in iniquity! And because there is an evident distinction between God and man, He is able to love all the world without succumbing to its snares and enticements (Matthew 4:1-1-11), while, simulatenousely, warning us not to get caught up in the entanglemens of the world's lures... Did God forbid us to love the world as He does?... a resounding, NO! We are commanded to pray for the world , to love, in Christ, the world, to bring peace, Christ's peace, to the world, to offer the world the Light of God. (Matthew 5:43-48; 5:14-16; John 14:27; 2 Corinthians 5:20 thru 6:10; Romans 10:14-15; Matthew 28:18-20) So we are to love the world, in Christ Jesus, while not becoming lovers of the world and all of its revelries and orgies (sex, money, power, hate, anger, gluttony ...) which lead us away from God and places us in enmity against God's Might, Judgment and Wrath! (Revelation 6:15-17) God Bless! Angel |