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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.
The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. (John 3:16-21, 31-36)
The Gospel of John is often used by Christians, in one way or another, to introduce the Lord Jesus to the unbelievers. Of course, many other parts of the Bible can be used for this purpose, but many favor this Gospel. This is understandable. This Gospel presents an exalted view of Jesus Christ, clearly teaching both his divinity and humanity. It offers a number of instructive descriptions of Christ, such as shepherd and witness. It speaks in vivid metaphors such as light and living water. It stresses positive ideas such as salvation, belief or faith, a birth from above, truth, life, resurrection, and so on.
However, I wonder if many of these Christians who so favor the Gospel of John know what it really says, or if they read it and use it with such strong preconceptions that they fail to see its plain concerns. This Gospel contains explicit and repeated contrasts between Christ and the world, between Christians and non-Christians, between light and darkness, good and evil, and almost continuously stresses the idea of condemnation against those who do not believe and follow Christ.
These things are often not reflected by those who employ John to introduce the Christian faith to unbelievers. Do they know what the Gospel of John really teaches? Many unbelievers also fail to notice these items when they read the Gospel. They are, as this same Gospel teaches, blind to spiritual things, even when they are explained in plain letters right before their eyes. And the distorted message that they hear from Christians ensures that the cloud over their minds, already so destitute of intelligence, remain dark and heavy. It is good for Christians to present Jesus Christ to the world by the Gospel of John, but sometimes they do not know what it is that they are offering. We must not let people read the Gospel, but then preach something different from it.
John 3:16 is one of the most popular verses used in evangelism. It is almost entirely positive, and refers to love of God, his giving of the Son, and the life received by those who would believe. The next verse does not disappoint, for it says that the Son did not come to condemn the world, but to save the world. Christians so adore this verse that some allege that it sums up the entire gospel message.
However, it is doubtful that this is the exact impression that John wishes to convey. This is because John 3:16, which sounds so positive and assuring, is bracketed by many more verses on the non-Christian’s spiritual and intellectual impotence (3:1-12) and God’s condemnation against him (3:18-21, 31-36). The verses before 3:16 teach that unless a person is born from heaven, he cannot perceive or participate in God’s kingdom. A person is in a state of inability and hopelessness unless this happens to him. Then, the verses after 3:16 tell us that a person who does not believe in Christ is condemned already, and that unless he believes, God’s wrath remains on him.
Thus of course Christ did not come to condemn, since the world was already condemned. No special effort or extra step was necessary to place all non-Christians under God’s wrath – they were already under it. Even 3:16 itself suggests that anyone who does not believe in Christ will “perish,” and that this is the existing verdict against him unless he believes. A Christian fails to convey the message of John 3:16 unless he preaches it against this background.
As he does in many other places, John divides humanity into two groups. There are the elect, those whom God has chosen for salvation, so that they are those who have already believed or who would believe in Christ at God’s appointed time. And there are the reprobates, those whom God has chosen for damnation, so that they are those who would refuse to believe in Christ. Before the creation of the world, God had already decided who would belong to which of these two groups. So this is not determined when Christ is preached to a person; rather, by his reaction to Christ, it is revealed as to what kind of person he is, and which group he belongs to.
Jesus Christ is the same exalted Lord whether or not anyone believes in him or has any respect for him. A man’s reaction to Christ does not tell us something about Christ, but it tells us something about the man. No one stands in judgment of Christ, but every man is judged by him, and exposed by their opinion about him.
It is popular to confess that we cannot know a man’s heart, so that in most cases we must reserve judgment. This is misleading. We cannot know a man’s heart by our own thinking and investigation, but we must not make this human limitation greater than divine revelation. When God states a principle about the heart of man, we can believe it, and we can judge a man by it. John writes that Christ came into the world as a light, but many men refused to come to this light because their deeds were evil, and they preferred to remain unexposed under the cloak of darkness. There is no such thing as a good person who is at the same time a non-Christian. Unbelievers may complain that they think the Christian faith is false or irrational, but all objections are easily answered. These are only excuses that hide the real reason. The truth is that they refuse to come to Christ because they are evil people, damned souls that God has not chosen to rescue but to condemn, for the guilt that they inherit from Adam and for the guilt that they incur by their own sins.
The Gospel does not portray unbelievers as unfortunate victims, but as people who remain in intellectual and moral darkness, in evil thoughts and schemes, in rebellion and open hostility against God’s holy nature and standard. How can Christians so eagerly commend this Gospel, when their preaching does not reflect what it teaches? It would seem that, due to their own remaining sinfulness and the influence of the world, they have also become blind to what Scripture says in plain language. And some even attack those who preach this way, as the false prophets assailed Jeremiah for proclaiming judgment against his own people. Just as unbelievers reveal their true nature by their reaction to Christ, these professing Christians reveal their true nature by their reaction to the Scripture and to those who faithfully declare it.
At the conclusion of the Gospel, John would state that he has written this record of the life and teaching of Christ so that his readers might believe in him, and that in believing in him, they might have everlasting life. And here in John 3, he confronts his readers with the mission of Christ to save those who would believe, and with the reality of the condemnation that non-Christians come under. He does all this by a written document that he sends forth.
In other words, to accept or reject Christ does not necessarily entail an encounter with Christ in the flesh, the physical person. To accept the apostolic testimony about Christ is to truly accept Christ, to believe in him and to have everlasting life. And to reject the apostolic testimony about him is to truly reject him, and to remain under condemnation. That a person is unable to meet Christ in the flesh poses no hindrance, and thus provides no excuse for unbelief. This is because the claims made about him are spiritual, and the knowledge of him and reaction to him are also spiritual, so that he can be truly accepted or rejected without physical contact or perception. He can be accepted or rejected in the mind alone.
John was an apostle, and he indeed had physical contact with Christ, but his testimony about him concerns the spiritual, not the physical. And as I said earlier, a person who has been granted a true spiritual perception of Christ is a reliable witness for Christ. That is, the Holy Spirit enables this person to perceive in his mind that all the apostolic teachings about Christ stand true – that he was God and man, that he walked the earth, taught, healed, and performed miracles, that he died for the sins of the chosen ones, and was raised from the dead for their justification. A person who has received this insight is able to offer true testimony about Christ. He has perceived Christ in a manner and on a level that Christ ought to be perceived.
Therefore, although we may not have had physical contact with Christ, and although we may not be apostles, we can confront the world with the person of Jesus Christ just as truly as the apostles did. And indeed, our testimony is based on their testimony. To accept our testimony about Christ is to accept Christ, and to reject it is to reject Christ. That said, we still have the testimony of the apostles with us in the Scripture, so that they being dead, still speak.
Christians tend to use the Gospel to advance their tamed view of Christ and the Christian faith. However, it should be the Gospel that shapes the way we see the world, how we see people and the differences between them. And it says that there are only two kinds of people, Christians and non-Christians. Those who believe in Christ shall inherit everlasting life, but those who do not believe in him shall be condemned, for God’s wrath is already upon them. Just as John states all of this openly to those whom he wishes would believe in Christ, it is far better to declare the whole message of John 3, rather than a selective exposition of John 3:16 alone.