But Have Eternal Life

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIrV)

We come to the final phrase in John 3:16 - but have eternal life. Before we expound on that, let's review what we've covered so far:

• God loving, longing for, and wanting to be with, those that He had created and was taking care of, is the reason for...
• God freely gave his only heir, the one who would inherit all He had...
• all who put their trust in Christ...
• Will not be subject to the ultimate penalty of sin - death

And now on with the final phrase

• but is the Greek word ἀλλά (alla) which means "but" indicating an exception to the rule.
  • When thinking of exceptions, how would you feel if everyone got a cookie but you?
  • How would you feel if you did something wrong and everyone got punished but you?
• have is the Greek word ἔχω (echō) which means to have in hand, to hold, to wear (as in clothing), to possess
  • To think about having someting, suppose you're at Toys R Us and you find a toy you like
  • ... and you have the money to pay for it but it's at home
  • ... and you have the money to pay for it with you?
  • Which one of these haves do you think is like "have" in John 3:16?
• eternal is the Greek word αἰώνιος (aiōnios) which means without end, never to cease, everlasting
• life is the Greek word ζωή (zōē) which means "life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever"
• Putting this all together, we come up with:
  as an exeption (to death - the penalty of sin) will put on and possess without end real and genuine life devoted to God.

Should Not Perish

"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIrV)

Today we come to the fourth phrase in John 3:16 - should not perish. Let's dig in:

• should not comes from the Greek word μή. This is "A primary particle of qualified negation." In other words, only if all of the other conditions are met, will the following thing not happen.
• perish is from the Greek word ἀπόλλυμι which comes from a root word meaning destroy.
• So, if the preceding conditions of putting your trust in Christ (fully relinquishing your trust in yourself), then you will not be destroyed. Since we know that "the wages of sin is death" we realize that trusting in Jesus removes from us the penalty of sin.
• We must remember everything that we've studied thus far this week. God loved us. He freely gave His Son. All who trust in Him. Will not be subject to the ultimate penalty of sin.

Not having to experience the penalty of sin is only one thing we get out of this deal. What's the other. We'll study that tomorrow!

Whoever Believes In Him

"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIrV)

We continue our study of John 3:16 with the third phrase whoever believes in Him.

• whoever is the Greek word πᾶς. It means all, every, any.
• believes is the Greek word πιστεύω which means to have faith in to trust
• in is the Greek word εἰς which means into or to
• Him is from the Greek word αὐτός which refers back to the subject - God's son
• So, putting it all together, we get all who put their trust in Christ...
• When considering εἰς for "in" think of standing in front of a vending machine with your money in hand. Unless you put your money into the machine, you will not receive the drink or snack (or whatever) you want out of the machine. You have to totally relinquish your money to the machine in order to get the benefit from it. In the same way, you must totally relinquish your trust in yourself and put it into Christ in order to truly believe in Him and get the benefit from it

What is the benefit we receive? We'll find out as we finish the week.

He Gave His Only Son

"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIrV)

Today, we continue our study of John 3:16 by looking at the next phrase "that he gave his one and only Son". But first let's reflect back on our summary of the first phrase. God loving, longing for, and wanting to be with, those that He had created and was taking care of, is the reason for...

• that again emphasizes that what was said before (God so loved the world) is the reason for what is following
• He gave is the Greek word δίδωμι which of course means to give. This certainly implies that God gave freely. He wasn't compelled or forced to give, He gave because He wanted to.
• His is the Greek word αὑτοῦ which implies possession or ownership. God did not give anything that He didn't have the right to give. He was free to give because He possessed.
• one and only is the Greek word μονογενής which means only born. An only child (especially and only son) would be quite valuable. The only born child would be quite precious to the parent.
• Son is the Greek word υἱός which does mean son. In the Jewish society of the day, the only son would be the sole heir to all of the belongings of the parents. Without an heir all that a parent owned when they died would be distributed to more distant relatives and the father's family line would end.
• So, God freely gave his only heir, the one who would inherit all He had...

So, who was God doing this for? We'll find out tomorrow.

God So Loved The World

"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIrV)

This week, we'll be doing a phrase-by-phrase study of John 3:16. It's a favorite verse of my younger son's and since older brother is out of town, we're tailoring our family devotion time to younger son.

Today, we're looking at the first phrase "For God so loved the world..."

• For is the Greek word γάρ which implies that what immediately follows is giving a reason. Thus, God loving the world is the reason for what we'll be studying the rest of the week.
• God is the Greek word θεός which means a deity. Here of course it is referring to the one true God. This is the root word from which we derive the word theology for the study of God.
• so is the Greek word houtō which means in this way. This may be referring back to the previous part of chapter 3 where Jesus says He will be lifted up and verse 15 tells us "that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life"
• loved is from the Greek word ἀγαπάω which means love. This kind of love is a moral love and denotes longing after rather than just having affection for. We commonly hear this described as unconditional love. Here we can think of it as being an active love wanting the object of the love to be drawn near.
• the world comes from the Greek word κόσμος (kosmos) meaning the world. The word implies an orderly arrangement that God is tending and caring for.
• Taking this all together, God loving, longing for, and wanting to be with, those that He had created and was taking care of, is the reason for...

We'll study what He did because of this love as we work through the week.

Walking through Holy Week: The Crucifixion

Today, Good Friday, we come to the story of Jesus being crucified. Let's read.

³² Two other men were also led out with Jesus to be killed. Both of them had broken the law. ³³ The soldiers brought them to the place called The Skull. There they nailed Jesus to the cross. He hung between the two criminals. One was on his right and one was on his left.

³⁴ Jesus said, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they are doing." The soldiers divided up his clothes by casting lots.

³⁵ The people stood there watching. The rulers even made fun of Jesus. They said, "He saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One."

³⁶ The soldiers also came up and poked fun at him. They offered him wine vinegar. ³⁷ They said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."

³⁸ A written sign had been placed above him. It read, -this is the king of the jews.-

³⁹ One of the criminals hanging there made fun of Jesus. He said, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself! Save us!"

⁴⁰ But the other criminal scolded him. "Don't you have any respect for God?" he said. "Remember, you are under the same sentence of death. ⁴¹ We are being punished fairly. We are getting just what our actions call for. But this man hasn't done anything wrong."

⁴² Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

⁴³ Jesus answered him, "What I'm about to tell you is true. Today you will be with me in paradise."

Jesus Dies

⁴⁴ It was now about noon. The whole land was covered with darkness until three o'clock. ⁴⁵ The sun had stopped shining. The temple curtain was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Jesus called out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my very life." After he said this, he took his last breath.

Luke 23:32-46 (NIrV)

Discussion

• When Jesus was crucified, was He crucified alone?
• Of those who were crucified that day, who deserved to die?
• Who recognized that Jesus did not deserve to die?
• What did he receive for believing this?
• What reaction did the people who crucified Jesus have?
• Do you think they felt like they had finally beaten Jesus?
• Do you think they felt better about themselves by making fun of Jesus?
• How do you think they would have felt if Jesus had saved Himself?
• Would Jesus have been doing God's will if He had saved Himself?
• We read that it was dark for three hours - during the daytime!
• Does this remind you of what Jesus said to those who arrested Him?
• Does this mean that the forces darkness and evil have won?
• What was the significance of the temple curtain being torn in two?
• The temple curtain was what separated the people from the holy of holies in the temple. This is where the high priest would only be allowed to go one day a year to make a sacrifice for the people. It was the most sacred place in the temple.
• The tearing of the curtain when Jesus died signifies how His death gives us access to the holiness of God.
• When Jesus died, was it willingly?
• He committed His soul to God.
• He took His last breath
• It sounds like He died exactly when He wanted to die.

Walking through Holy Week: Jesus' Arrest

It had to happen. Jesus knew it would. He was arrested. He was out praying and His closest disciples were with Him (although they were having trouble staying awake).

⁴⁷ While Jesus was still speaking, a crowd came up. The man named Judas was leading them. He was one of the Twelve. Judas approached Jesus to kiss him.

⁴⁸ But Jesus asked him, "Judas, are you handing over the Son of Man with a kiss?"

⁴⁹ Jesus' followers saw what was going to happen. So they said, "Lord, should we use our swords against them?" ⁵⁰ One of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.

⁵¹ But Jesus answered, "Stop this!" And he touched the man's ear and healed him.

⁵² Then Jesus spoke to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders. They had all come for him. "Am I leading a band of armed men against you?" he asked. "Do you have to come with swords and clubs? ⁵³ Every day I was with you in the temple courtyard. And you didn't lay a hand on me. But this is your hour. This is when darkness rules."

Discussion

• Did Jesus let the fact that He was about to be arrested keep Him from what He was doing?
• Did the people who wanted to arrest Jesus finally think they had the advantage?
• Who led the crowd that was arresting Jesus?
• How did Jesus disciples react?
• Did Jesus approve of a violent reaction by His disciples?
• Did Jesus go with the people who arrested Him willingly? Why or why not?
• Why did Jesus say they arrested Him at night? What did He mean by this?