What is likely the most famous verse in all of Scripture is John 3:16. For in it, we find the summary of the gospel. Granted, this verse has been pulled out of context, and the original languages are ignored to make it seem as if it is teaching about man’s capacity to believe. Anyone who has encountered a militant fundamentalist or a staunch provisionist has no doubt had the word “whosoever” yelled in their face.
The problem is that the verse does not state anything about man’s capacity to believe, regardless of what connotation the English word “whosoever” carries with it (and baggage, I might add).
The God Centered way to view this verse is to view it in its context but to utilize the original language to derive meaning. The phrase “whoever believes” in the LSB or “whosoever believeth” in the KJV is…
The literal translation for this would be…
All Those Believing
or
All The Believing Ones
John 3:16 is a simple and direct declaration that out of all the believing ones, none will fail to have eternal life. The Greek word Pas means (all or every part of the whole that applies). So, what is being said here by Jesus is that all those who believe will have eternal life.
What is not in view here?
Total Depravity and its extent on human nature. Also, what is not in view or being taught is whether an unregenerate man has the capacity or could have the desire to choose God or believe in Christ. So, anytime someone uses John 3:16 to throw the word “whosoever” in your face, that is an admission that they not only have not studied or been taught what the original languages say in those verses, but they are not concerned with the context.
Understanding The God Centered Context
The God-Centered context of this verse is the one that the entire passage has in view, and that is the nature of the Kingdom of God and man’s need to be born again spiritually.
Man is born with a soul and a body, but his spirit is dead in sin. Jesus tells Nicodemus that unless one is born of water (physical birth) and the Spirit (salvation, born again), he can’t enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:4-6). All men in Adam are born of the flesh. Therefore, they are in Adam. To be born again (from above, spiritually), they must be born or raised to life by the Spirit, meaning their spirit, which was dead in sin, is now raised to life.
This new birth would be one not of flesh but of spirit. It is a spiritual birth produced by the Spirit of God. Later in the passage, Jesus tells Nicodemus that those born again have eternal life. The flesh is subject to decay. The flesh can perish, but the spirit is eternal. All those who believe in the Son of Man, believe in Jesus Christ, and put their faith and trust in the perfect Savior, all have eternal life.
This eternal life is not divided into chunks or groups either. Every person who believes and has been saved equally has this eternal life in the Son. It is said that eternal life is being born again or from above. This is because the origin of eternal life has only one source: God. There is no other name under heaven whereby a man can be saved because there is no other life-giving source that produces eternal life in a man.
Want to know if you have eternal life? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ! How do you know if you are one of the believing ones of John 3:16? You put your faith and trust in the perfect Savior for salvation. Eternal life is the kind of life that a born-again person possesses.
Jesus Christ is the Word of Life according to 1 John 1:1.
Jesus Christ is the source of eternal life.
Applying This God Centered Letter
- Are you born again meaning you have repented of your sin and placed your full faith and trust in Christ and Christ alone for salvation?
- Have you told anyone else about the only source of eternal life found in Jesus?
- Do you understand the point being made to Nicodemus about how eternal life is spiritual and not physical?
Praying This God Centered Letter
Lord, thank you for eternal life found in Jesus Christ! Father, I recognize now that this passage is not teaching anything about man’s capacity to believe but is a firm declaration that all those believing will possess eternal life. Lord, help me to live a life consistent with what Scripture teaches about those who are born again and born from above.
