John 3:16 Revisited
John 3:16 is perhaps the greatest known verse in the Bible in today’s culture. Often in discussions of free will vs. grace, this verse is usually found within the ammunition of the Armenian camp to be used in order to debunk any premise of a Calvinist. Just as often, it is quoted alone and out of context in respect to the rest of the third chapter of the Gospel According to St. John. This chapter actually points to more tenets of Reformed Theology than that of Armenianism.
In the third chapter, a prominent Pharisee named Nicodemus has come to talk the Jesus. Since Jesus is becoming increasingly controversial, Nicodemus does this at night.
Verse 2 through 7 says:
He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”
Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’”
Now what Jesus has done here is give what is called a logical priority of rebirth over faith. In order to have faith, one must first be reborn. Yet, the way in which we use the word first must be handled with great care, for first is not used in a temporal sense. Indeed, the rebirth of a person and the acceptance of the gift of faith occur simultaneously, yet also, in succession. First one is reborn, then when believes, and all that are reborn also believe, and all that believe have been redeemed.
What really is at issue here is how exactly does this rebirth occur prior to our faith and belief? For if we do not believe in Christ as our Savior, and deny in our hearts His atoning work (for that is what unbelief is), how can “rebirth” ourselves prior to this belief?
Christ answers this claim later in chapter six. In chapter six, Christ has preformed the miracle of feeding 5,000, and then retired to the other shore of the lake of Capernaum. The crowd has found Him, and Christ gives refers to Himself as the bread of life and says in verses 35 though 50:
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, which I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Before we move on, let us look at these words more carefully. Christ talks of both the actions of God and the actions of man; for he talks of what God does for His Son, and what man does because of those actions. Not once but twice, Christ refers to those who believe as the ones the Father has given Him. This is a clear example of God’s election of Christ’s Bride. Also, in both instances, Christ says that he “will never drive away” nor “lose any that he has given me” in reference to the true saints God has predestined. This clearly refutes any doctrine of loss of salvation.
Now we move on to answer our first question, where does our rebirth come from. The people were deeply disturbed by Christ demanding that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood (you would too after centuries of meticulous ritual cleansing). So they question Jesus and his divinity. Jesus answers in verses 44 though 51:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
It is clear what Jesus is saying. God must draw us first, before we do anything on our own. He works completely apart from us and unilaterally, then and only then can we be reborn. This is why faith is not on our own accord, but a gift from the Father.
The key to all of these passages is the understanding of the relationship of Flesh and Spirit, and the condition of the Flesh after the Fall of Man. It is generally accepted that the Armenians’ view of the Fall is different from the Reformed theologian’s. Altough the tenet of Total Depravity is the most popular in the Armenian camp, there are essential differences in each views. Basically, the Armenian holds that after the Fall, man was changed in some ways, and that grace was necessary in order for salvation be possible. Yet, man still has and “island” of righteousness in his will and his soul. This “island” is what makes the ability to accept Christ, without the divine initiative, possible.
However the Reformed view is drastically different from this view. That “island” of righteousness does not exist in Man after the fall, the sin of Man permeates to every essence of who we are. Total Depravity is more often called Radical Corruption, in order to give a clearer picture of what this doctrine exactly means. The word radical comes from the Latin word radix, which means “core” or “heart.” This exemplifies what the human condition became after the Fall, and just how much we need grace in order to be saved from this condition. So is this Biblical, that the Flesh of Man after the Fall completely consumed our quintessence so that we cannot come to God on our own volition? Let us examine once in again into the words of Christ.
Verses 60 through 65 says:
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing (emphasis mine). The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”
When Christ says that “the flesh counts for nothing,” he is not saying there is still a little-something in us that God has found good, and thus decides to bestow grace because we have accepted Him first. No. Christ is giving us the strongest emphasis he can give in any language’s syntax. To add all the more, Christ knows those that are His sheep and those who will betray them, for he knows those whom God has elected, and those that have been passed over. He knows whom the Father has enabled and redeemed, so that they may be reunited with Him for all eternity.
In conclusion, today many are affronted by this passage. These are not the words of Calvin, Luther, Edwards, Spurgeon, or Owens, but these are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and our Savior. Today we find no problem in what seemed to be dietary blasphemy to the Jews in what Christ was saying, but the controversial implication that we as humans just are not good enough for God. The disciples were right when they said it was a “hard teaching.” So then, does this offend you? I would be lying if I said that these words of Christ are easy to accept, for I am searching as we all are. Even so, I cannot deny them. For it is as Peter said later in verse 68: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’”
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Comments
Christ talks of both the actions of God and the actions of man; for he talks of what God does for His Son, and what man does because of those actions. Not once but twice, Christ refers to those who believe as the ones the Father has given Him. This is a clear example of God’s election of Christ’s Bride. Also, in both instances, Christ says that he “will never drive away” nor “lose any that he has given me” in reference to the true saints God has predestined. This clearly refutes any doctrine of loss of salvation.
It is clear example of God’s election of Christ’s Bride. However, what it is not clear about is what is God’s election. It is possible that God elects all those who decide to place their faith in him as his elect. Without a clear biblical definition of what God’s elect is, one cannot know exactly what this means. Since God lies outside of time, it is possible for Him to choose all that believe in Him to be his elect. All without destroying that which makes our love possible.
Christ does say that He will never dive away those that the Father gives Him. While you say this argues for unconditional election, another meaning is possible. It also is silent about those that choose to leave God. Actually, since those that are chosen are those that end up believing in God, the unconditional election is side-stepped.
Ok, Travis, I want to get some things straight. When Jesus talks says, “see the kingdom of God”, are you equating that with “having faith”? I always thought that seeing the kingdom of God was when we went to heaven. I could be wrong here, no doubt. I just don’t understand the logical priority that Jesus gives rebirth over faith.
For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
I keep hearing the arminian view that while God is all powerfull and wants all to seek Jesus and believe and thus be saved, there are some that choose not to and God restrains
Himself out of love for them.
I am not sure that the passage you quote does what you say it does. I think that Jesus is siply talking about the spiritual nature of his message. I don’t see anything that puts rebirt over faith.
Perhaps I am missing something - can you clairify why you think Jesus is giving logical priority to rebirth over faith?