Burning Bush Blogs
Equipping Men with Biblical Knowledge and Leadership Skills
Category: Personal Study
Thread: New to the Bible – God’s Plan of Salvation
Post Topic: Meaning of John 3:16
Post in Thread: #4
Previous: Conquering Death
Scripture: John 3:16-18
Key Verses:
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Note on this series of posts
This post fits within a continuing series meant for readers who are less familiar with Scripture; specifically those searching to understand how to be saved by faith in Jesus Christ. All of the posts in this thread are necessary to understand the steps in God’s plan.
This page discusses the iconic Bible verse John 3:16. Here, we arrive at how to receive eternal life.
Observations
Context
- Jesus is talking to a Pharisee named Nicodemus at night.
- The Pharisees were the religious experts of their time. Some, like Nicodemus, honestly wanted to lead their people to a closer relationship with God.
- But many Pharisees, priests, and other leaders were threatened by Jesus and his message. They were looking for ways to quash Jesus.
- This probably explains why Nicodemus came to Jesus under the cover of darkness.
- Prior to verse 16, Jesus had discussed the concept of being born again with Nicodemus.
- Nicodemus had trouble understanding the concept.
- Jesus explained that he was not talking about a second birth, but a rebirth of the spirit.
Notes
- God sent his son to take on human form because of how much he loves us.
- Whoever believes on the Son shall not perish. God will give us eternal life.
- Jesus’ purpose in coming was not to condemn, but to save.
Interpretation
That’s all it takes?
- Yes. God loves us, and wants a relationship with him to be attainable. For God so loved the world…
- “Belief” doesn’t just mean a knowledge that Jesus existed – in means that we believe and accept that he died and rose again to pay the penalty for our sins.
- Unlike other religions, there is nothing that we can do to attain salvation. It is about what Jesus did for us.
- Why does verse 17 say that Jesus came not into the world to condemn it?
- His life was perfect. It is a standard that none of us can come close to.
- If all there was was his perfect life, it would be condemning, because we’d fall short.
- This verse states that his purpose was in fact the opposite – to give us hope.
Imagine…
Nicodemus has spent his entire life teaching the people how to follow the Law of Moses. Do this, don’t do that. No, do it in this manner. Say this prayer at this time; observe this tradition at that time.
But now, here’s Jesus, turning everything upside-down. He’s clearly sent from God – just look at all the signs and wonders he’s performing! But he doesn’t always follow the laws exactly the way we’ve always been taught. He makes it sound so simple, but… almost too simple.
How can these things be?
Correlation
Our correlations feature 2 more famous passages. Christian children are often taught to memorize these verses.
- I John 1:9
- If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
- All it takes is confession of our sins, and we will be made pure.
- Ephesians 2:8-9
- For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
- Salvation is a gift from God. We cannot do anything to deserve it. We just have to believe and accept the gift.
Application
Generic Applications
Christianity is unique among world religions in its salvation message. Rather than mankind reaching up to God, God reached down to us. Rather than us having to earn salvation, we just have to accept God’s gift.
Personalize it
Have you ever taken the step to accept Christ as your savior? If you died suddenly, would God accept you into his kingdom? If you’re not sure, you can simply pray to God in heaven, in your own words, the following:
- I admit that I am a sinner, falling short of God’s perfect standard.
- I believe that Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross to take the penalty for my sins, and rose again on the third day, achieving victory over death.
- I accept the gift of eternal life in heaven and want to make Jesus the Lord of my life.
If you’ve done that for the first time today, welcome to the family of God! You can be assured of eternal salvation. Nobody and no thing can ever wrestle that away from you. Please add a comment or send me an email to let me know about your decision. I’d love to hear from you.
Still not sure?
You’re not alone. But this is the most important decision you could make, so don’t stop searching for answers. Here’s another resource that might help: Plan of Salvation. Their site answers many of the difficult questions that are asked of Christians.
Bible study methodology adapted from Searching the Scriptures with permission from Tyndale House:
Swindoll, Charles, Searching the Scriptures. Tyndale House Publishers, 2016.