John 3:16
John 3:16 (WEL) “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that anyone believing in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
V16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that anyone believing in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Breaking this down in phrases is helpful.
For God refers to the source of what follows.
So Love refers to the degree of love.
The world refers to all of humanity, so also in John 3:17 and John 3:19.
The He gave refers to a gift.
His only begotten Son refers to the Lord Jesus who is God the Father’s only son, particularly the virgin birth.
So that refers to the application of and answers the question “why” did God do this.
Anyone refers to the offer of salvation is offered to every individual.
Believing in Him refers to the condition for God to save, forgive, etc.; it is only faith.
In Him refers to what one must believe in; it is only Jesus Christ and His Gospel.
Should not perish refers to eternal conscious torment in the Lake of Fire.
But refers to the alternative for those who believe.
Everlasting life refers to one of the results/benefits of salvation, namely, living with God without any ending of the relationship.
Some teach the heresy that world refers to the elect (by the Calvinist definition of the word) instead of any human having the offer of salvation.
Dr Andy Woods (Sugar Land Bible Church) via AskAndy AI responds:
Dr James White claims that according to the Greek in John 3:16, the word “world” must and is only referring to the elect of God. Is Dr. White correct?
No. Dr. James White’s claim that the Greek word kosmos (“world”) in John 3:16 must mean “the elect” is not correct.
Why:
The Greek word kosmos is used broadly throughout the New Testament (about 240 times) and is not elsewhere used to mean “the elect.” Treating kosmos in John 3:16 as a technical term limited to the elect requires reading a theological system back into the text rather than letting the word’s normal usage and immediate context govern the meaning.
Other passages in John and in John’s epistles use the same language to speak universally. For example, Jesus says “I will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32), and 1 John 2:2 calls Christ the propitiation “for the sins of the whole world.” These uses show John’s language regularly embraces the wider world, not a narrow elect-only sense.
Reading world as limited to the elect forces theological gymnastics (redefining common words) and conflicts with the plain reading that God’s love and Christ’s atoning offer are proclaimed to the whole world. That does not mean everyone is ultimately saved, but it does mean Christ’s death and God’s love are presented as genuinely intended for all people to have the opportunity to believe.”
Also, the Lord Jesus is speaking to a Jewish religious leader who believed that salvation deals with Israel alone and the need for a Gentile to be a Jewish proselyte. Compare Acts 15:1. Jesus tells Nicodemus that God loves the world, Jew and Gentile, alike, which would have been shocking to Nicodemus.
(Holman Commentary) “Nicodemus would have believed firmly that God loved Israel, but not much in Jewish theology allowed for God to love the world. This is new revelation, the new covenant breadth of the gospel.”
(NKJV Study Notes Full Color, 3rd Edition) “God’s love is not restricted to any one nation or to any spiritual elite. World here may also include all of creation (see Romans 8:19–22 and Colossians 1:20).”
(Zondervan King James Version Commentary, New Testament) “World” identifies all people on Earth, or perhaps all creation (see discussion on 1:9-10).”
Greek studies:
(Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Abridged – Little Kittel)) As the inhabited world, the cosmos can narrow down yet again to the ‘human world’ or ‘humanity’ (cf. the LXX, the Koine, and the rabbis). This sense occurs, e.g., in the Great Commission in Mark 16:15; cf. Luke 2:10; Acts 1:8. In Matthew 26:13 kósmos might still be taken in a spatial sense, but in Mark 16:15 the main idea is that of preaching to all the dwellers on Earth. The meaning ‘human world’ is also the main point in verses like Matthew 5:14; Matthew 13:38; Matthew 18:7; 2 Peter 2:5; Hebrews 11:7; 1 Corinthians 4:13; 1 Corinthians 4:9 (angels are included here). The human world that is hostile to God is implied in 1 Corinthians 1:27-28; Hebrews 11:38.
(Baker Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words) “The Johannine writings often import distinctive theological emphases into kosmos. In the prologue of John’s Gospel, Jesus is the light “coming into the world” (John 1:9), which makes clear that kosmos refers to the (unredeemed) created order, and perhaps to humanity in particular. However, John’s Gospel emphatically does not adhere to the strict dualism of Gnosticism. “God so loved the world” that he sent his Son “into the world” in order to “save the world through him” (John 3:16–17 NRSV). However, John also frequently speaks of “the world” as a monolithic entity that is blind to Jesus’s divine identity and therefore rejects him. Thus, Jesus can also say to his disciples, “You do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world” (John 15:19 NIV). However, the disciples are still part of “the world” and must love one another so that “the world may believe” that Jesus was sent by the Father (John 17:15, 21). Therefore, Jesus sends his disciples into the world just as he was sent into the world (17:18). The believers’ posture is therefore to love the world and preach the gospel to the world, but to always be set apart from the world and not to share in its values.”
(AMG’s Comprehensive Dictionary of New Testament Words) “primary meaning: order, arrangement, ornament ► a. The earth on which we live > Matthew 13:35; John 21:25; Acts 17:24; Romans 1:20; 1 Timothy 6:7; Hebrews 4:3; 9:26. b. The earth in contrast to the heavens > Romans 4:13; 1 John 3:17. c. The human race > Matthew 5:14; John 1:9-10a–c; John 3:16-17a–c, 19; John 4:42; the word is often used in Romans, 1 Corinthians, and 1 John. d. The Gentiles, as distinguished from the Jews > Romans 11:12, 15. e. The present condition of man as a stranger and enemy of God > John 7:7; 8:23; 14:30; 1 Corinthians 2:12; Galatians 4:3; Galatians 6:14; Colossians 2:8; James 1:27; 1 John 4:5a–c; 1 John 5:19. f. Temporal possessions considered as a whole > Matthew 16:26; 1 Corinthians 7:31a. g. The expression of magnitude and variety (i.e., in the case of the tongue) > James 3:6. (After W. E. Vine.) * Other ref.: 1 Peter 3:3.”
Alford:
“τὸν κόσμον, the world, in the most general sense, as represented by, and included in, man,—Genesis 3:17-18; Genesis 1:28;—not, the elect, which would utterly destroy the force of the passage: see on John 3:18.”
Regarding “All who believe”
The good news of the gospel is that “whoever” believes will be saved.
Comments
Brian Henson
- Dr. Mounce, couldn’t πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων be translated as “all the believing ones” or “all who believe” instead of “whoever believes?”
- Bill Mounce (Author)
- It is singular, so no. Probably better, everyone who believes.
- Brian Henson
- Thanks!
Trom Zambeezo
Is “believing” in this passage conditional since “eternal life” and “perishing” are subjunctives?
- Bill Mounce (Author)
- I just did a more indented blog on this point and why the construction is indefinite. They are subjunctives because they indicate purpose, not because they are uncertain. The only uncertainty is if someone will or will not believe.
It is much clearer when we read and study the passage in context. Doing so shows that the offer and possibility is universal.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/john-3-commentary#3:16
We learn:
- The importance of believing God; His words are true and to be believed, not explained away.
- God wants all people to believe in Jesus alone.
Questions:
- Do you believe God’s words in their plain, normal sense?
- Have you believed in Jesus’s message?