Grace Evangelical Society

P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202
  • About
    • Home
    • Beliefs
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Resources
    • Grace in Focus Blog
    • Grace in Focus International Blogs
    • Grace in Focus Radio
    • Grace in Focus Magazine
    • Free eBooks
    • Journal of the GES
    • Book Reviews
    • Partners in Grace Newsletter
    • Audio Messages
    • Videos
    • Email Subscription
    • Bookstore
    • Online Tracts
  • Store
    • Main Page
    • On Sale
    • Return Policy
    • Your Cart
    • Your Account
  • Events
  • Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Free Grace Church and Bible Study Tracker
    • Free Grace Jobs
    • Ministry Links
  • Donate
    • One Time Donation
    • Monthly Donation
    • Your Account
  • Search
Home
→
Blog
→
John 3:16—A Thick Reading

John 3:16—A Thick Reading

October 23, 2019 by Shawn Lazar in Blog - John 3:16

John 3:16 is well–loved for good reason—it’s the gospel in a nutshell. If someone believes it, he has everlasting life.

Of course, you don’t have to understand and believe it all to be born again. It’s possible to believe that promise in a basic way without having a very deep understanding of what it means. But lest we take John 3:16 too lightly, it’s probably good to remember that every word in that verse is thick with meaning:

For God (that is, the one God of Israel, the Creator of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who promised to send the Messiah; indeed, the Holy Trinity)

so loved the world (indicating God’s perfectly good character of love, and demonstrating His redemptive plans for an implicitly fallen world)

that He gave (through the Incarnation of the Son of God, who came with the purpose of dying on the cross as the Lamb of God)

His only begotten Son (implying, all at once, the virgin birth, the resurrection from the dead, the Davidic kingship, and the eternal Trinitarian Sonship of Jesus Christ)

that whosoever (implying the free will of man, and the universality of both the extent of the atonement and of the offer of salvation)

believeth (understood as a single act of persuasion, and implying the ability of the unregenerate to believe)

in Him (that is, in Christ, especially His offer of salvation)

shall not perish (guaranteeing the eternal security of believers, while threatening eternal torment in the Lake of Fire for unbelievers)

but have everlasting life (implying the regeneration of the believer, his future bodily resurrection, and immortality in the Messianic Kingdom and in the age to come).

I think a child could understand the basics of John 3:16, while a theologian would be hard–pressed to plumb the depths of it. And both can believe that promise and have everlasting life.

In the past, we’ve often had to guard against those who require too much understanding to be born again. Lately, we’ve had to defend against those who prohibit too much understanding to be born again, as if believing too much truth about Jesus, or thinking you must believe too much truth about Jesus, means you are not believing in Jesus (I know, I know, that is a very complicated sentence!).

The saving power is not in the relative “thickness” or “thinness” of your understanding, but in Jesus’ faithfulness and authority to keep His promise to the one who believes in Him for eternal salvation. If you are believing in Jesus for everlasting life, you have it. Period.

Subscribe by Email

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
Shawn_L

by Shawn Lazar

Shawn Lazar (BTh, McGill; MA, VU Amsterdam) was the Editor of Grace in Focus magazine and Director of Publications for Grace Evangelical Society from May 2012 through June 2022. He and his wife Abby have three children. He has written several books including: Beyond Doubt: How to Be Sure of Your Salvation and Chosen to Serve: Why Divine Election Is to Service, Not to Eternal Life.

If you wish to ask a question about a given blog, email us your question at ges@faithalone.org.

Cart

Recently Added

January 27, 2023

Who Are the Elect in 1 Peter 1:1-2 and in Romans 8:28-30? Are We to Understand the “Elect” in 1 Peter the Same as the “Predestined” in Romans 8?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates take up a question about election and predestination. What does the Bible say...
January 27, 2023

A Novel Argument Against Inerrancy 

Kathryn Wright shared with me an interesting argument against inerrancy: I heard something today and thought it might make a good blog topic for you....
January 26, 2023

Will There Be Poor People in Heaven?

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, Ken Yates and Bob Wilkin answer an interesting question about our status in Heaven or the quality of...

Grace in Focus Radio

All Episodes

Listen to Stitcher

Listen on Spotify

Grace In Focus Magazine

Grace In Focus is sent to subscribers in the United States free of charge.

Subscribe for Free

The primary source of Grace Evangelical Society's funding is through charitable contributions. GES uses all contributions and proceeds from the sales of our resources to further the gospel of grace in the United States and abroad.

Donate

Bookstore Specials

  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Hardcover) $13.95 $5.00
  • Here Walks My Enemy: The Story of Luis (Paperback) $6.95 $3.00
  • Confident in Christ, 2nd Edition $22.00 $5.00
  • The Journey of Faith $15.00 $9.00
  • Inerrancy for Dummies $7.95 $5.00
Grace Evangelical Society

(940) 270-8827 / ges@faithalone.org

4851 S I-35E Suite 203, Corinth, TX 76210
P.O. Box 1308, Denton, TX 76202

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube