The life-giving 3:16 - Greg Laurie - http://www.wnd.com/2014/10/the-life-giving-316/
Pastor Greg Laurie contrasts 'whoevers' of John with 'whosoevers' of Revelation
Most of us know the Bible verse John 3:16. But do most of us know why that statement was made, the context in which it was given and the impact on the person who first heard it?
That conversation changed human history, and it took place between Jesus, the carpenter's son from Nazareth, and a wealthy, powerful, influential and very pious and religious man known as Nicodemus. Although Nicodemus was famous, powerful and wealthy, there was something missing in his life. So he approached Jesus one dark night, and they had an amazing exchange.
What effect could a conversation between a Jewish carpenter and some religious man named Nicodemus have to do with us in the 21st century? Everything. It isn't merely a conversation between two men. Rather, it's a conversation between God and man. In fact, if we were going to nominate someone to represent humanity to God, we couldn't have found a better rep than Nicodemus. He was the finest this world has to offer, the closest that a person could come to being a good individual. He was very intelligent, educated, cultured and moral. He was a good guy.
Despite all of his accomplishments, however, there was something missing. Even though he was a leader in his country and in his faith, he was dissatisfied. And the words Jesus spoke to Nicodemus have unlocked the mystery of life for millions of people throughout the centuries.
A very important thing the Bible tells us about Nicodemus is that he was a Pharisee. Pharisees took the law of God very seriously. They sought to apply the Ten Commandments to every area of their lives. And every Pharisee took a solemn vow before three witnesses that he would devote every moment of his entire life to obeying the Ten Commandments. They were the theological conservatives of their day. They believed in the authority of the Scriptures and in the miracles of God.
Not only was Nicodemus a Pharisee, but he also was a leader of the Pharisees. He was part of what was known as the Sanhedrin, which was the ruling body and chief authority in Israel. They wrote laws and conducted trials. The Sanhedrin would be the equivalent of the Supreme Court in the United States today, but they were even more powerful.
If he was a careful student of the Scriptures, Nicodemus would have read the prophecies of Daniel about the Messiah. If he understood those prophecies, he would have understood that the Messiah was alive at that time. He probably would have recognized that Jesus was the Messiah. If he also studied Daniel's prophecies, he knew that the time would come when the Messiah would be cut off. Nicodemus knew time was short and that he needed to act quickly.
Nicodemus approached Jesus with great respect. He said, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him" (John 3:2 NIV).
With a single sharp and penetrating phrase, Jesus sliced through all the layers of rules and legalistic attitudes that had accumulated around the mind of Nicodemus. Like a sword, these words pierced the Pharisee's heart: "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again" (verse 3).
Sadly, when someone says they are born again, we don't even know what that means necessarily. To be born again means that you have had your spiritual eyes opened and have embraced Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Jesus was saying to Nicodemus, "You need to be born from above. Your religious beliefs aren't going to do it for you. Despite the fact that you are at the top of the heap in the religious world, it hasn't brought you any closer to heaven."
Nicodemus said, "How can someone be born when they are old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!" (verse 4). He was saying, "I accept this in premise, but how? How does a person start over?"
Their conversation had progressed from face-to-face to mind-to-mind to heart-to-heart. And Jesus came to what is called the Hope Diamond of the Scriptures: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (verse 16).
Max Lucado said of this verse, "It is a twenty-six-word parade of hope: beginning with God, ending with life, and urging us to do the same. Brief enough to write on a napkin or memorize in a moment, yet solid enough to weather 2,000 years of storms and questions. If you know nothing of the Bible, start here."
This offer is for everyone. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son." The world reaches up to God through religion, through ritual, and God reached down to humanity through Christ. And "whoever believes" means everyone, no matter what they have done, no matter how many sins they have committed.
There are other whoevers and whosoevers in the Bible as well. Revelation 20:15 tells us, "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (KJV). But if you are included in the whoever of John 3:16, you will not be included in the whosoever of Revelation 20:15.
To believe means to put your full trust in Christ. You trust in, you cling to, and you rely on Christ and Christ alone - not Christ plus works or Christ plus ritual or Christ plus anything. "Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." Notice it doesn't say hope to have eternal life. Rather, eternal life becomes the immediate possession of the child of God.
When you believe in Jesus, you have eternal life given to you as a gift from God. That is God's promise to you.
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