John 3:16The person of Christ and God's motivation to redeem
No matter where you are in the civilized world, it is unlikely that you will find someone who has not heard the name Jesus Christ, and it is just as unlikely that you will find general agreement on the significance of the person behind the name. Whether considered a teacher, prophet, king, nonconformist, heretic, zealot, martyr, myth, “good man” or almighty God in the flesh, the person of Jesus conjures perceptions that will differ from person to person, even within the Christian church.
This is not surprising in light of the relativism that prevails in our present culture. Aside from the outright rejection of the Christian worldview or the idea of God in general, idolatry permeates religious expression and people tend to make idols in their own image. The broad realm of modern Christianity is certainly not immune, and many professing Christians have reduced Jesus to an idol, a kind of divine extension of their own ideals. The big problem with this is that God, through the perfect testimony of His written word, has already explained who Jesus is: the ultimate revelation of Himself.
That the God of the universe would condescend to take on human form and come to earth is a mindbending concept for certain, incomprehensible to nonbelievers and in fact many professing believers. Yet scripture confirms it and addresses the why and how of this amazing action. The necessity of it is in fact the Bible’s overarching theme. To truly understand that necessity is to understand the conflict between God’s holiness and human sin.
No one among us is perfect. When compared with the absolutely holy and righteous God of the Bible, none of us measure up. It is sin that prevents us from doing so. Sin is described in the Bible as lawlessness, faithlessness, unrighteousness, and willful disobedience—deficiencies that even the most upstanding among us have displayed at one time or another. We are morally imperfect by nature and by action, and therefore estranged from a holy God. Scripture attests that nothing unclean may enter heaven, and none of us are clean in this regard. Despite what various religions assert, or what we may think of our own capacity for righteousness, every single person has fallen short of God’s standard, and therefore every single person is destined to perish.
There is also nothing we can do in our natural state to avoid this fate. Since the fall of man, sin has been inherent to human nature, passed down from Adam to all subsequent generations. We enter this world already marked with its convicting presence—we are dealt a fatal physical and spiritual blow before we even draw our first breath. What’s more, we have no capacity in and of ourselves to remove or expiate it, demonstrated by our continual acts of personal sin that only confirm our corrupted nature. Scripture explains that all have sinned and the wages of sin is death. So what can be done? It becomes apparent that nothing short of the intervention of God Himself could resolve the eternal predicament we all face.
However, would He be moved to resolve it? Certainly He is under no obligation to. He clearly set the terms for everlasting life and divine fellowship back at the Garden of Eden when He required man’s basic obedience, and our representative failed to comply. Through Adam, humanity transgressed against a holy and righteous God, and in Adam,
humanity stands convicted of that transgression. We may not like it, but the matter was settled thousands of years ago and we come in to the situation already condemned. One might debate the fairness of the circumstances, but there is no injustice with God. His judgments—whether we agree with them or not—are always perfect.
So we may look for leniency, but on what basis can we appeal? All of our good intentions aside, we do not have to look any further than the two greatest commandments to recognize our failure to meet His standard. Justly convicted, we can only petition for unmerited, divine mercy. But even if God in His infinite wisdom were to let us off the hook, how could he do it without compromising His perfect justice?
The Bible tells us that He has in fact done it. Reflecting His perfect mercy and His perfect justice, God has allowed for a divine substitute capable of fully atoning for sin and redeeming all who believe in Him and trust in His work. Jesus Christ, God the Son incarnate, is that substitute. He is the ultimate expression of what the Old Testament refers to as God’s lovingkindness and what the New Testament refers to as God’s grace—the unmerited favor which God extends to spare the faithful from His righteous judgment. This is the gospel message, concisely summarized in John 3:16:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
This is the essence of God’s redemptive truth and is of eternal significance to everyone who has ever lived. It outlines the basic mechanics of salvation: God’s action, man’s response, and the resulting consequence. It is the most well-known passage of the New Testament, the anchor of manifold appeals to the masses to simply believe and accept the free gift of heaven.
But who will believe? Who can overcome sin’s influence to the point that they will hear and respond appropriately to God’s call to salvation? No one, unless they have help. The broader context of the passage shows us that saving faith is ultimately the product of God, not man.
Chapter 3 of John’s gospel features the inspired account of a discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who is struggling to understand the Lord’s explanation that a person must be born again to experience God’s eternal kingdom. Jesus is explaining to him that a second birth, a regeneration, must first occur in order for a person to gain redemption and reconciliation to God. As Nicodemus points out, a person cannot physically regenerate themselves, but he misses the larger point that it is a spiritual regeneration that is being described. Birth is a passive experience; none of us decided to be born into this world or otherwise contributed to the event. Likewise, we cannot bring on this spiritual birth Jesus is talking about. It is birth from above, the act of God alone.
Why is being born again necessary? Because our basic nature is sin-afflicted, rendering us unacceptable to God and unable to seek Him. We are dead—spiritually speaking—
incapable of faith and destined to reject His absolute truth. Short of being regenerated with a completely new nature, one that is freed of the spiritual constraints of sin and capable of receiving and accepting divine truth, we are without hope. But this is not something we can achieve ourselves. Only God can grant it.
Why does He grant it? According to the scriptures, it is because of love. Because God loves the world—not just those among His original chosen nation of Israel but people of every background, ethnicity and culture—He sent His eternal Son to be the substitutionary atonement for sin; an atonement that is sufficient for all, and efficient for those who will believe. Because God loves the world, He has determined to regenerate and call many to saving faith who would otherwise perish, opening their eyes to the redemptive truth of the gospel of Christ. His sovereign act of regeneration precedes that faith, making it not only possible for them to respond, but certain. The result is the promise of John 3:16 fulfilled: salvation from judgment and eternal punishment to a glorified, everlasting life.
Understanding the identity of Jesus Christ is something that none of us can afford to get wrong, and it is only when we come to recognize our sinfulness in light of God's absolute holiness that we begin to understand the necessity of His work. Jesus is the only way to redemption, the solitary, narrow gate through which one may enter the divine fellowship of heaven. He is the supreme revelation of the one, true, living God and the greatest expression of His love for humanity. It is through Jesus Christ that man finally fulfills His purpose, "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."*
Quotation Reference:
* Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q1; 1646-47Image:
Hole, William B. (1846-1917); "Jesus in Conversation With Nicodemus" fromThe Life of Jesus of Nazareth, 1906
Scripture Alone • Faith Alone • Grace Alone • Christ Alone • To the Glory of God Alone
Most scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB)
