Sunday, December 24, 2017

Downstairs

The Man upstairs came downstairs so we would not have to live in the basement.” (Anonymous)

“God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him won’t perish but will have eternal life.” (John 3:16, CEB)

John 3:16 seems so simple, yet profound in that everyone who believes in Him won’t perish but will have eternal life.”  To many it means that God did His part by offering the gift of salvation through His Son, and we do our part by accepting Him as our Savior.

The word in John 3:16 that seems to get the most attention is everyone. How can we better understand what this word means? The original language of the book of John is Koine Greek. The phrase is "pas ho pisteuwn," translated in English means "in order that all believing in Him will not to die, but have eternal life."  God’s gift of salvation…

1.   Is available to everyone

And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21, CEB)

“Christ is a substitute for everything, but nothing is a substitute for Christ.” (Harry Ironside)

 
2.   Is provided by believing in Jesus

“I tell you for certain that everyone who has faith in me has eternal life.” (John 6:47, CEV)

Believing the right things about Jesus isn't enough. You're not adopted as God's child until you confess and turn away from your wrongdoing and receive the freely offered gift of forgiveness and eternal life that Jesus purchased with His death on the cross. Until you do that, you'll always be on the outside looking in.” (Lee Strobel)  

 “God's love in John 3:16 is not amazing because the world is so big, but because the world is so bad.” (D. A. Carson)[i]




[i] Inspired by the sermon “Christmas in a Nutshell: We Believe” (installment three) Sunday, December 17, 2017 Pastor Dave Jansen CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.
Additional source: A New Creation” (http://don-dew.blogspot.com/2012/07/john-316-and-word-whosoever.html)
 

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