For God so loved the world

 

 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe in condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

- John 3:16-21 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from  God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?   No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

 

 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  My study Bible comments that to show the reason the Son must be crucified ("lifted up" as in verse 14, in yesterday's reading above), Jesus here declares God's great love -- which is not only for Israel, but for the world.  This single verse is an expression of the whole of the message of the Gospel of St. John -- and of all of salvation history.

 

 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe in condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  My study Bible says that while Christ came to save and not to condemn, human beings have free will.  So, therefore, people can reject this gift, and become condemned by one's own rejection, left out of God's plan of salvation.  Here the Gospel returns to the themes of light and darkness found in its beginning verses (John 1:4-5).  

 

If we turn again to the beginning of this Gospel, we find additional illumination regarding notions of salvation and condemnation.  St. John writes of Christ the Lord:  "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:10-13).  Here we have an understanding of what salvation is and means, and what it means to participate in this life-giving light brought into the world:  to become a child of God; to be born as such "not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God."  That is, through the grace of God received through the Spirit and faith.  To quote a Church Father (this quotation found to the left of the page on my blog):  "The light of God is the grace that passes into creation through the Spirit, by which we are refashioned to God through faith" (St. Cyril of Alexandria, commentary on the Gospel of John 3:5).  His memory, together with St. Athanasius, was celebrated on January 18.  As noted in yesterday's reading and commentary, Holy Baptism is the beginning of this journey, and throughout the Bible, and in the life of the Church (especially through its saints) we understand the working of grace and its gifts to us as we participate in the life of Christ, especially the Eucharist and other sacraments.  All of our faith life, including reading Scripture, our prayers both personal and in worship services, and the whole history of the Church, teaches us about salvation and the ongoing work of the Spirit.  St. Paul describes the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23:  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."  This transformation we might observe in ourselves and others is called "theosis" in the Orthodox tradition.  St. Athanasius of Alexandria, whose feast day occurs together with St. Cyril, is frequently noted as saying, "God became man so that man could become [a] god," and this transformation in the grace of the Spirit through faith is what this means, that we human beings may take on qualities we associate with the holy, with God, which are divine (see St. Paul's fruit of the Spirit).  But St. John's Gospel also reminds us that we are not compelled -- forced -- by Christ to accept this salvation, and to participate in the life He offers to us.  As human beings, we are free to reject grace, and thereby to reject the life of salvation He offers.  This is what is described as "condemnation," being left to a different reality, outside of God's saving life for us.  We are always faced with this choice, at every moment of our lives.  To practice repentance, therefore, becomes an ongoing offer:  we may turn to Christ at any given moment, and continue on that path, or turn the opposite way and reject Him and the light He offers us.  What will it be?  Jesus says that everything in salvation, "all the law and the prophets," hang on two commands found in the Old Testament Scriptures:  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5); and "you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). Let us note that these commands are positive, and they are all about love.  St. John the Evangelist writes in his first Epistle, "We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).  This remains true for us as it was for the disciple.  Everything begins with returning the love God has for us, and turning to God to seek the way God desires for us, so that we may learn and grow.  Where is your heart at this time?  What do you love? Whom do you love?

 

 

 

 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life

 

 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

- John 3:16–21 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."

 

  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  My study Bible comments that in order to show the reason the Son must be crucified ("lifted up" -- see yesterday's reading, above), Jesus here declares the great love of God not only for Israel, but for the world.  This single verse, it says, expresses the whole of the message of John's Gospel, and even of salvation history.  

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  While Christ came to save and not to condemn, my study Bible says, human beings have free will.  So, therefore, we can reject this gift, and become condemned by our own rejection. 

 

 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  There is a reason why this verse (John 3:16) is perhaps the most frequently encountered verse quoted around us.  But the reason may be much bigger and broader than one thinks.  This is because, quite simply, this verse not only sums up the Gospels, or John's Gospel, or even the story of salvation.  That is because when we think of the word "salvation" that also needs to be broader than what we usually think of when we encounter the word in our religious context.  Mostly we tend, for various reasons, to focus on sin as the reason for the necessity of Christ's Incarnation, so that we are saved through Him from our "fallen" or sinful state.  But the truth about Christ's Incarnation, as early Church Fathers testify, is really much, much bigger than that.  For Christ as the Lord populates the whole of the Bible, Old and New Testaments, in the many encounters with the Lord we can read about -- from the Lord walking in the Garden (where Adam and Eve heard the sound of God walking - Genesis 3:8), to Abraham being visited by the Lord (Genesis 18), to Moses encountering the Lord in the Burning Bush (Exodus 3), or on Mount Sinai in Exodus 33 or 36, and the various other encounters with the Lord documented in both Old and New Testaments.  This is partly because, while we are used to thinking of time in terms of the linear way in which you and I experience it, God is not bound by time, and as Christ is the only begotten, He is also God.  Thus these encounters with the Lord are encounters with the Son, the Logos, who not only brought the world into existence as the Word together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, but becomes incarnate Himself as Jesus Christ, and also makes these other appearances among God's creation.  Our salvation is so much more than salvation from sin, because God the Son has come among us in the person of Jesus, but also in other encounters we read about in Scripture.  Why?  Each encounter, including the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, is for this purpose:  so that we know that God so loved the world (the κοσμος/cosmos) that He sent His only begotten so so that we creatures should not perish but have eternal life.  This is the reality of the Incarnation; it is an expression of God's love seeking ultimate union with us, with the creation that God loves.  It cannot be minimized to a kind of chance happenstance because human beings have sinned, or even a kind of benign projection because God knew that "would" happen.  Why?  Because Scripture also tells us that Jesus Christ the Lord is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).  His sacrifice of the greatest love (John 15:13) is one already made ("slain" in the Greek describes a state that already exists) from the very creation of the world.  Whatever we are, from the greatest saint to the greatest sinner, and even for the whole of creation, the cosmos, Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of creation.  The Son's sacrifice speaks to us of pure love, and this is indeed the message of the Gospel, the message of the Christ, the one thing necessary we must always know and carry with us -- that He is the Lord who died for us.  Keep this sense with you at all times, and be grateful for it, because this is ultimately the message that saves, in all circumstances.  While Christ indeed calls us to repentance, He does so first and before all else out of love as the foundation for everything else.  He calls us to the light and away from the darkness for this reason.  He gives us His truth and asks us to walk in that truth.  He calls us forward to be with Him for an eternity, He asks us to accept His gift, He defeated death out of love for us, He died for you and for me and for the whole world.  Let us always keep this understanding with us.