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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: "IF we cannot understand the bible, that the Holy Spirit is not within us " Hi! Jesus never taught that! Not a single Apostle/disciple ever taught that! Our spiritual growth does not depend on our personal abilities... it is God, the Holy Spirit, who chooses to give to some one Gift or another (1 Corinthians 12:4-11). Kwoing God is not a choice that we make; God reveals Himself to us according to His Will (John 6:44); hence, knowing God is never contingent upon any human power or understanding... we have an excellent example of this in John 15:27 thru 16:15: 27And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. ...4I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you. 5"Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' 6Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. 7But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. 12"I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you. In the above passage, Jesus speaks of things to come... He credits the Apostles with the witnessing they will do since they were with Him from the beginning; while at the same time He explains to them that His absence is to their benefit... the disciples, with the exception of Judas, were eager to know Jesus, to know God's mysteries... they wanted to get closer to God by being part of Jesus' intimate companions--did they understand everything? No! Was it required of them? Emphatically, NO! Not only did the disciples not understand everything, but Jesus tells them flat out that there are things that they could not comprehend even if He were to reveal them to them... He sends the Holy Spirit, the other Paraclete, who will come to reveal the fullness of truth! The Holy Spirit is in the world... we are at the last days when His Spirit is given to the world, and it is He, the Holy Spirit, that teaches and leads all to Christ... it is He, who reveals the mind of God (1 Corinthians 2:6-16)... and those who have the Holy Spirit do not demonstrate this by their abilities (human/superhuman) of speaking strange languages, walking on hot coals, playing with serpents or taming tigers, and lions, and bears! Here's the quintessential prof that you are in Christ and that the Holy Spirit dwells in you: Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3) 20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son. 23No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is what he promised us—even eternal life. (1 John 2:20-25) ...more proof that it is not what we know but who we know?... read Acts 8:14-17; 10:34-48 On the above passages, some were received into the Body of Christ through preaching and baptism (knowledge and awareness) while others through direct interaction of the Holy Spirit; these new Believers were not rejected because they did not know enough or because they did not offer some physical demonstration of the Holy Spirit working in them! God's Holy Spirit cannot be contained or restrained; He determines who receives what, when, and in what measure. So, be at peace! God will reveal to you everything that He wants you to know at His appointed time... we are commanded to seek God; not to worry about who gets to "home plate" first or how often! Anyone who attempts to teach you differently than Jesus, he/she is wrong! (Matthew 20:1-16) God Bless! Angel |