One of the most famous Scriptures in the Bible is John 3:16, ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. This is the reason, why God sent His Son to the world. But there is written more, which is often not talked about and many Christians are not so familiar with as verse 16, but does explain why God gave His only begotten Son and what it means to believe in Jesus Christ, so that you shall not perish but shall have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16)
Because God so loved the world, God sent His only begotten Son to the earth to save mankind. Jesus came in the likeness of man and consisted of flesh and blood. Jesus was born of the Seed of God, instead of the seed of man. Therefore the sinful nature (evil), was not present in the flesh.
However, Jesus was able to become disobedient to the words and the will of God and sin, just like Adam, who was created perfectly in the image of God, but had the ability to sin. Because why else did the devil tempt Jesus if Jesus couldn’t sin? (a.o. Hebrew 2:14; 4:15 (Read also: ‘I will give you the riches of the world’)
Jesus had to come in the likeness of man and become a Partaker of flesh and blood, because otherwise Jesus couldn’t become a Substitute for fallen man and take the sin of the world upon Him and legally enter Hades to destroy the devil and deliver the prisoners of war and take them with Him.
And so Jesus came in the likeness of man and was in all points tempted, just like we are, but Jesus didn’t sin (Hebrew 2:14-15; 4:15 (Read also: ‘Was Jesus fully Human?‘ And ‘What is the difference between the sacrifices of Jesus Christ and the sacrifices of animals?’)
Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness and whosoever believed and obeyed the words of God and looked at the serpent, wouldn’t die but live, Jesus Christ also had to be lifted up, that whosoever believed in Jesus Christ would not perish but have eternal life (a.o. Numbers 21:6-9, John 3:14-15).
God has not sent His Son into the world to condemn the world
For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:17-18)
This was the purpose of the coming of Jesus to the earth, to call, first of all, God’s people, the house of Israel, to repentance and to believe in Him, the Messiah, so that they would not perish and go away into everlasting punishment but would receive eternal life. And after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the same salvation came to the Gentiles.
Jesus came to the earth to save mankind and not to judge mankind, since it was not His time to judge the world. However, the time of His judgment will come on the Day of Judgment (a.o. Matthew 16:27; 25:31-46, John 12:47-48, 2 Peter 2:9; 3:7, Revelation 20:11-15 (Read also: For which judgment did Jesus come into this world?)
As long as Jesus has not returned and the Day of Judgment has not come, the people on earth still have the ability to be saved by faith in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life, because Jesus still saves and still gives eternal life to those, who believe in Him. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have done. Jesus gives everyone the ability to be saved and to receive eternal life.
God has sent His Son into the world, that the world through Him might be saved
Those, who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and believe in Him as Savior and put their trust in Him, shall listen to Jesus and obey His words and do His words in their lives.
By faith and regeneration in Christ, they have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness, where the devil is the ruler and reigns, into the Kingdom of Light, where Jesus Christ is King and reigns. They shall no longer live in fear and condemnation, but because of the acquittal and redemption in Christ, they shall live in freedom. Free from sin and the bondage of the devil and death (Romans 6:16-22, Colossians 1:13-14, Hebrew 2:14-15).
They know, that by faith in Christ, which means that they put their trust in Christ, they shall not be judged but shall receive eternal life. Because they believe in the Word and the Word says, that whosoever believes in Jesus Christ shall not perish but receive eternal life (a.o. John 3:16-21; 5:24, Romans 8:1).
You don’t just believe with words, but the works you do testify in your life if you really believe in Jesus Christ and put your trust in Him and if you belong to Jesus or not (a.o. James 1:22-27; 2:14-26, Matthew 5:16; 7:15-20)
People can say they believe in Jesus, while they don’t put their trust in Him and are not saved.
You believe, by believing and obeying the words of God and the words of Jesus, which derive from God, and doing the words of God in your life and standing on the Word (Read also: ‘The hearers vs the doers’).
“Why do you call Me Lord, Lord, but do not what I say?”
If you believe in Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and you love Jesus, then you will submit to Him and you will do what He says.
There are many Christians, who call Jesus their Lord, but they don’t do what He says. They walk in pride and rebellion in the vanity of their mind and rely on their own knowledge, wisdom, abilities, and insights, and decide for themselves what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong, and what you can do and what you can’t do. They do what they want and give their own interpretation of the Scriptures, so that they can persevere in sin, and don’t care about the will of God. But it doesn’t work that way in the Kingdom of God (Read also: ‘Faith without content’ and ‘Shall I find faith on the earth?’).
He that believes not in Jesus Christ is condemned already
He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the Name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil (John 3:18-19)
Those, who don’t believe in Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the only begotten Son of God, and don’t put their trust in Jesus, are already condemned and live in condemnation. And the condemnation is that the Light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. And so their evil deeds testified that they loved darkness rather than light.
The words of people don’t testify if they believe the Light and walk in the light, but their works do testify whether they believe in the Light and have been transferred from the darkness into the light and walk in the light or not.
If people say that they believe in Jesus, but walk in darkness, because of the evil works they do, then their wicked works (sin) testify that they love darkness rather than light.
They shall not go to the Light and shall not abide in the presence of those, who belong to the Light and walk in the light, since they don’t want their evil works to be exposed, because they love their evil works and don’t want to repent.
Every one that does evil hates the Light, but he that does truth comes to the Light
For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God (John 3:20-21)
And so those, who do evil, and don’t live according to the will of God in obedience to the Word but live in unbelief and sin, hate the Light and don’t go to the Light, because they don’t want their evil works to be exposed and rebuked.
But those, who believe in Jesus Christ the Way, the Truth, the Light, and the Life, and put their trust in Him and repent and through regeneration belong to Him, shall submit to Jesus and obey His words. Because they obey His words and do the truth, they go to the Light, so that their works may be made manifest that they are wrought in God and they belong to God.
They don’t live in unbelief and condemnation, but they live according to the Word and the Spirit in freedom in obedience to God and walk in the light, in the truth of God and shall come boldly to the throne of grace and live in communion with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
