(v2) Nicodemus recognizes Jesus as coming from God as a teacher.".... For no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Wow what a statement by Nicodemus... the realization that God is with this person, Jesus because of the signs. Can people say the same of my life? Is there fruit, such that, strangers would say "God is with this person".
(4) The literal response of Nicodemus serves as an example for all engineering minds. Very difficult for me to wrap my mind around Spirit things. God give me a heart/mind/spirit of understanding your great Word.
(16-18) I've never really gotten past this verse(16). I think people should start writing John 3:16-18 and tact it to every Christians forehead..facing them... so that we remember that Jesus did not come to judge but to save. Non-believers have already been judge, they hardly need us Christians coming along with our own form of judgement.
(v20-21) has strong language. The NASB version says that "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, ...." (bolding mine). Hate means "an intense or passionate dislike" also to "have a strong aversion to (something)". All of these speak to a heart condition, the condition flows from the action. Doing evil produces hating the Light, while practicing truth produces a coming to the Light. How much more should this encourage us to seek, know and practice Truth!
"The literal response of Nicodemus serves as an example for all engineering minds." Amen to that. I read some of these exchanges and I am glad that it is not me because I know I would be in the same boat as Nicodemus.
ReplyDelete"so that we remember that Jesus did not come to judge but to save." Amen again. This last Sunday, our pastor put up a slide showing the result of typing "Why are Christians so" in Google search and then looking at what the auto-complete shows...
ReplyDeleteOnce again, John really challenges me to understand. Our choices obviously condemn us; Jesus doesn't have to. That is scary. In Chapter 5, vs. 22, he states "The Father himself judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son, so that all men may honor the Son."
ReplyDeleteSo even though Christ has the right to pass definitive judgment, He did not come to judge, but to save. John 12:48 says "Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words already has his judge, namely, the word I have spoken --it is that which will condemn him on the last day." By rejecting the Spirit of Love, we condemn ourselves for all eternity -
When I read these other "footnoted" passages ( Mattthew 12:32, 1 Cor 3:12-15, Heb 6:4-6, 10:26-31 ), the Hebrews 6: 4-6 really fell on me heavy. I've always known that sin isolates the sinner from communion with the Body of Christ, and today's reading shows how we condemn ourselves. But how it affects our ability to be missionaries - spreading the word is also significant. We see it when a well known Christian is caught in big sin, the "anti-God" forces love to make big headlines with it. But my less dramatic failures destroy "the bricks" of building our faith. Woe is me!
Love,
Mom