Re: Understanding John 3:16

James H. Vellenga (jhv0@viewlogic.com)
Thu, 19 Dec 96 15:33:24 EST

>
> And so, I affirm that this verse means,
>
> God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten
> Son in order to save all the ones believing in Him.
>
> It is important to note that the saving is not made contingent on
> believing here, but, as it turns out, the saving is contingent on
> the sending. He came to save His people from their sins (Mt. 1:21).
>
The translation seems fine, but it seems to me that the contingencies
are joint rather than mutually exclusive. For example, if one says

"I put a light in the ceiling so that it would shine on
everyone coming into the room."

then two conditions are necessary for "shining on". One is
the light in the ceiling, the other is that people actually
come into the room.

Similarly, it seems to me that the salvation requires not only
the Son's being sent, but it is also effective (according to
this sentence) only for the ones who keep believing in Him. The
sentence doesn't explicitly say that salvation is only for
those who believe, but it also doesn't explicitly say that
salvation can only come through the Son's being sent. But both
seem implied.

Regards,
Jim Vellenga

James H. Vellenga | jvellenga@viewlogic.com
Viewlogic Systems, Inc. __|__ 508-303-5491
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