“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
Beloved, This week we turned our attention to one of the most recognized verses in scripture and a verse that almost everyone has claimed at some point or another; John 3: 16. It is perhaps one of the clearest declarations of God’s promise to us in that the one who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will have eternal life. On the surface this seems simple enough but there is a component of this verse that goes largely overlooked, the integrity of this eternal promise. Now you may say that is absurd, everyone knows that what God has promised is eternal life and to that comment I would agree wholly but what is missed in most conversations about this verse is the sovereignty of the One doing the promising. A promise is only as good as the one who makes it and in fact, promises are solely based on the trustworthiness of the one who makes them. In God’s case, His promises are a direct reflection of who He is, that is, God’s promises reflect His holiness, righteousness, justice and so on. If God were to somehow violate or break His promise, He would then not be trustworthy and His promise would be meaningless. In the same way, when we latch on to God’s promise by focusing only on the end result while ignoring the very attributes of God that validate His promise, we make that promise meaningless also with the end result being we miss out on what God has promised. Does that mean God’s promise becomes null and void? No, it simply means that we have missed the promise. To put it another way, consider a United States One Dollar Bill. Where is the value of a dollar bill? Is it in the paper? The ink? The engraved artwork? No, the value of a dollar bill is in the trustworthiness of the United States Government that backs a dollar bill. In fact, without the backing of the government, the piece of paper we call a dollar bill would have little to no real value. Likewise, the promise of eternal life has no value apart from the One who backs it up; the One who makes it all really happen. This is what many people do. They embrace the promise of eternal life by saying they believe while ignoring the One who backs up the promise. In short, they want the benefits without the responsibility. Perhaps that is what John addressed when he wrote the phrase “whoever believes.” John did not intend a one-time profession that is devoid of any other involvement. What John tells us is that the one who lives a life of continued, ongoing belief is the one who receives eternal life. The one who not only accepts the promise of eternal life, but more importantly, the one who embraces completely the God who makes that promise is the one who receives what has been promised.
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