Jesus of Nazareth, God’s Gift to Humanity

Jesus of Nazareth, God’s Gift to Humanity JESUS OF NAZARETH, GOD’S GIFT TO HUMANITY
(John 3:16) By A. DeWilt Chaddick
.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him might not perish, but have eternal life.” This passage of Scripture has been referred to as the “little Bible” and as the “Golden text” of the Bible. I do not know why, unless it is because this verse seems to enfold what the rest of the Bible seems to unfold.

John 3:16 is probably the most commonly quoted passage in the entire Bible and, I doubt not, the most generally misunderstood. You note that the statement begins with a reference to God. “For God . . .” "When I was a child four years old. I became conscious through mv environment and the teaching I received chat there was a, be - ing and an authority higher than either of my parents This the people called God. Nearly all the homes where I visited at that time had, fastened on the wall, pictures of an unusual looking person with long flowing robes, with perchance a halo about the head, and a lamb m his arms. They we^e supposed to be the likeness of Jesus. At four years of age I had not drawn very clear lines of distinction in my mind between God and Jesus. In fact, it is still somewhat hard for me to get these two personalities entirely separated. Sometimes I think I have made a clear distinction and then Jesus comes along saying, “I am in the Father, and the Father in me,” and then I am all at sea again. 1 am beginning now to think that was the way it was intended to be. But those pictures, and especially the robes, had me guessing. I remember, one day I broke down and asked my mother if God were a woman. I could see that she was a bit puzzled at such a question, and my little Christian mother, bless her precious memory, was not able to make it altogether plain to her four year old son. Nevertheless, I gathered from her explanation that God was not a woman, that he must have been a man—a sort of a glorified man. But now with a little more maturity and with con-siderable study of the Scriptures, I do not think of God as a glorified man nor of the devil as a glorified beast. I am trying to put away childish things. Jesus who should know more about the nature of his Father than anybody else, said, “God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). “God is a Spirit,” and again (Luke 24:39), “A spirit hath not flesh and bones.” Thus, I know that when speaking or thinking of God, I must get flesh and bones out of my mind. I realize that it is extremely difficult for us humans, accustomed as we are to material bodies, material surroundings, and finite minds, to grasp spiritual quantities or spiritual values. Man has always been in the habit of expressing himself in terms having material significance. That is why, I presume, that God has depicted himself to us in figures of speech, ascribing to himself physical attributes. We must be impressed with the reality of God. Religion, and especially Christianity, has been designed for man—not man for reli-gion. Therefore, God, in revealing his nature, speaks a language of accommodation; that is, he chooses words that will convey to man ideas which man is able to receive. For instance, in speaking of God’s power and grace, the Bible says: “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear” (Isaiah 59:1). God wishes us to know that sin is repulsive to his divine nature, so his prophet says: “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Be it remembered that God is a Spirit and a spirit hath not flesh and bones; therefore the prophet refers figuratively to his hand, his ear, his face, etc.

Probably, we could appreciate better the reality of God’s Spiritual nature if we could understand how our own spirit inhabits our body and gives us life and consciousness. This ought to be possible when we consider that death, physical death, consists of a sep-aration of our spirit from our body (James 2:26). A few moments ago our friend was vibrant with life. He walked, he thought, he spoke, he sang. He was sad, then happy. Suddenly, he died. That is, his spirit left his body. The latter is now a mold of dust. Behold what the human spirit used to do for the body of my friend! Can we not at least begin to imagine the possible effect of God, a divine Spirit, upon the universe and upon our lives?

Yes, God is a Spirit, but God is very real. Many people would like to eliminate the very concept of God. But we cannot do away with God as long as a seed will sprout. Man is able to manufacture something that looks like a seed, but he cannot put into it the germ of life. In' fact, we cannot do away with God as long as an atom of anything exists. Man cannot create. Man cannot bring into existence one particle of dust. It already existed in some form. Man cannot create, nor can he destroy. He may hate God and burn down the church house, but the latter still exists in another form. It is to be found in the ashes at his feet and in the gases that escaped into the atmosphere.

Perhaps, the atheist’s best answer to the life issue, puny as it is, was advanced a few years ago by the president of the American Atheistic Society. He tells us that science has discovered .... And, mind you, I have no quarrel with science. More power to science! Few people live today who are more indebted to science, particularly medicine and surgery, for life, happiness, and usefulness, than this obscure person. I accept every conclusion scientifically arrived at. I do not accept as truth mere guesses, hypotheses, or theories. Scientific investigation should be afforded every encouragement. Every discovery genuinely scientific must add to our wealth of truth. Whether a truth were given by divine revelation or discovered by man’s efforts, it is still a truth. All truth must be in harmony. I am not a whit afraid that scientists will ever find out anything that will shake my faith in the word of God. They may lead me to believe that, heretofore, I have misunderstood the real meaning of some parts of the Bible. In fact, I fear that even now, some of us are going about over the land preaching the way we were brought up, calling this the word of God. Indeed, each of us is continually finding additional meaning'in passages that we thought we already understood, or in passages that have escaped our special notice. Scientific investigation is calculated to enhance our appreciation of the Bible. For instance, the people of the Middle Ages thought the earth was flat. Magellan’s voyage proved it to be a sphere. Then the people could appreciate the meaning of Isaiah’s language (Isaiah 40:22) where he speaks of God as sitting upon the “circle” of the earth. With a study of gravitation and with'the development of more powerful telescopes, we have “discovered” somewhat recently the same thing that Job pointed out to his companions thousands of years ago. “He stretched out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing” (Job 26:7). Historians tell us today that every archeological find that affects at all the credibility of the Scriptures brings the Bible out on top. The great leaders of Science and the leaders of religious thought are good friends. Even. Edison advocated spirituality as the crying need for man’s progress and happiness; and Marconi said that “faith” is the bridge that spans the chasm of the unknown. I do not know your disposition. But, as for me, I am an ardent patron of science, and I also kneel humbly at the feet of the Master, asking, seeking, and finding truth. But to get back to our story.: The president of the American Atheistic Society declares that science has discovered two chemicals that, when mixed together, behave very much like life. Wonderful beyond de-scription! Two chemicals, when mixed together, behave very much like life! What business has an atheist with test tubes? He cannot deal with elements which already exist and persist in being an atheist. Where did he get the chemicals? Who made these? The power to create is a power higher than that of man. This power we call God. If any man would be an atheist, let him create something. That alone would advance his argument. If science could produce life out of inert matter, he could not do away with God until he -could create matter. And if, even, he should create matter, he would still be confronted with the problems of how man came first to be and to have the ability to create.

Thus, behind this scheme of redemption, couched in John 3:16, was that benevolent, creative, Spirit which we call God—a Being whose nature, whose power, and whose mind are so infinite in scope that they are beyond the pale of our comprehension, save to the extent which they are revealed to us in the natural order of things and in the writings which we recognize as God’s Holy Word. Therefore, we may not properly attempt to circumscribe his motives or his doings with our finite reasonings. Nevertheless, it is the Christian’s privilege and his duty to think and to reason in terms of his blessings and of God’s re- vealings (Isaiah 1:18; Php_4:8).

“So loved the world . . . .” Interesting it is that God loved the world, that is, man, when tjiere were other things upon which he might have bestowed his interests and his affections. There were the moon and the stars cast in all their glory which were the handiwork of his fingers. There were the mountains, the oceans, the rivers, and forests. There were the heavens with their rainbows and their clouds, their thun- derings and their lightnings, all competing, and uniting, to declare the glory that is God. But through all these and in spite of all these, God saw man, shrouded in the spiritual darkness about him, groping for a glimmer of light. He beheld man struggling in vain to interpret unto himself and his needs the great, universal, creative, Spirit which he felt to be above him and about him. God had pity because of man’s afflictions. He had respect unto man’s needs, He had regard for man’s possibilities. And God loved man—and this in spite of sin. “He gave . . .” God’s love was so deep, so full of divine compassion, that he made to the world a mar-velous gift. It was a gift that was to increase in worth and in brightness as the centuries took flight on the wings of time. Giving seems to be the soul of our religion. God gave his Son. The Son gave his life. Both gave the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave the word. The word gave the terms of salvation. Sinners give themselves to God. Behold, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” God sold man nothing. He bargained for nothing. He gave.

“His only begotten Son . . . .” God so loved the w'orld that he gave his only begotten Son. There were other things that he could have given. He could have given man another code of laws, but, instead, he showed him a way of life. He who views Christianity as a mere set of rules and by laws surely misses the maximum joy in Christian living. Jesus said, “I am the way,” and. “My words are Spirit and. they are life.” Or, God could have given man a longer span of yTears, but, instead, he made it possible that man should never die. “He that liveth and believeth on me shall never die,” said Jesus. Or, God could have given man a stiffer backbone, increasing his resistance to temptation. Instead, he gave the world a life-example of one who was “tempted in all points like as we are” and was found without sin. God, I am confident, was able to offer man a more beautiful earth in which to live.

Neither my experience nor my intelligence permits me to imagine what could be more comely than the rugged mountain towering heavenward against the evening sun, or of the desert sands at dawn when the wind whispers gently among the palms. What could be more lovely than the flower in the crannied wall or the shell from the seashore in all its. miracle of rose and pearl? What could be more delightful than the hillside dew-pearled, or the open sea with its billows bursting into white caps of joy? I know not how the earth could be more marvelous, but my faith allows me to presume, that, had it been the Lord’s good pleasure, he could have made a livelier emerald to sparkle in the grass and melted a deeper sapphire into the sea. But God in his infinite goodness knew a better gift for the world. “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. That is, God, himself, I understand, became flesh and dwelt among us, presenting himself as his Son. “And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.” God knew that the human family needed a leader, simple in his sublimity, who should have in his hand the scepter of righteousness and in his mouth the words of salvation. He must be a personality in whom the people would want to place their trust and upon whom they would be willing to cast their burdens. God was ac-quainted with our infirmities and knew that men stood in need of a great physician to bind up their broken hearts and prescribe the remedy for sin. He gave the world his only begotten Son. Nor was this a sudden impulse on the part of God, for we read (Revelation 13:8) that Jesus was a “lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

If our leader were to tell us of heavenly things and bid us set our affections on things above, it is fitting that he himself should have come from heaven. If he were to be a merciful and faithful high priest, succoring us in the hours of temptation, it is fitting that he should have been clothed in human flesh and have learned obedience from the things which he suffered. If our leader were to show us that by following in his footsteps we could overcome the world, it was proper that he should be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. If his message were to have a universal and lasting appeal for humankind, if he were to overcome earth’s last enemy, death, it was necessary that he be a super-human—a God-man. Then, what means could have been so reasonable for the Messiah to have made his advent into the world as the means affirmed by the Scriptures?

Here ends God’s part in the plan of salvation. Here begins man’s part. “Whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life.” The emphasis is now on “whosoever.” It has already been said that this passage of Scripture is quite generally mis-understood. There is a host of people who do not know the meaning of “whosoever.” Man-made creeds and confessions of faith declare that God has predestinated certain men and angels to eternal life and foreordained certain qthers to eternal destruction, that all are particularly and unchangeably designed for their sure destiny, and that the number in each class is so certain and definite that.it cannot be either increased or diminished. You, for instance, have to, be good and cannot.help it. You have to go to heaven and cannot help it. I have to go to hell and nobody can do anything about it. What fatalism! But thanks be to God, John 3:16 says “whosoever” believeth on him shall not perish but have eternal life. This promise comes from the author of eternal salvation. Men teach that God has willed that certain ones shall perish, but the Bible says that God “is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Paul says, God “will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

Men teach that our salvation depends entirely upon God’s predestination but the Bible specifically declares that our salvation rests utterly with our own volition. “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17). Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely! The creeds say, “whosoever can,” but Jesus says, “whosoever will.” Whosoever will! You see, it reads just like John 3:16. Jesus says: “0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not” (Matthew 23:37). And ye would not! Jesus does not say, “And ye could not.” He says, “and ye would not.” Salvation, with like blessings, is for those who have the will to lay hold upon it. Destruction awaits only those who will not escape it. “Whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have eternal life.”-- “Believeth on him . . . .” Here again is where the masses of humanity misunderstand the Bible, and par-ticularly, our present text. Why must men come to wranglings, or why must we even quibble over the ef-ficacy of faith? The problem of faith’s importance in the plan of salvation is so exceedingly simple of solution! We have to recognize only one thing: namely, that the terms denoting faith as used in the Scriptures are employed in two senses. In one sense to “believe” means merely to accept the veracity of given testimony. In the other sense, to “believe” comprehends the whole duty of man—a complete submission to the will of God. Whenever it is coupled alone with salvation or its equivalent, “belief” or “faith” means complete obedience to divine commands.

Jesus says: “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16). Here faith has a restricted meaning. Preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth—Believeth what? He that believeth the gospel (gospel facts) and is baptized.shall be saved. To “believe” here means merely to accept the veracity of testimony. In this case there is something else to do in order to be saved. Similarly, we read that Paul entered Corinth and reasoned every sabbath with Jews and Greeks, “and many of the Corinthians, hearing believed, and were baptized.” That is, they believed what Paul taught them. They believed the facts of the gospel. But to be saved, there was more to do. Again, Jesus taught the people and wrought miracles, “yet they believed not on him.” “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:42). They “believed” on Jesus; that is, they believed that he was the Son of God, but they would not confess him. No sincere person would ascribe salvation to these wicked hypocrites. They accepted the testimony in their own minds but did nothing about it. They “believed” in the restricted sense of the term. It was a case of “faith without works” (James 2:26). On the other hand, there are many passages in which faith is used in the broader sense—in the “saving” sense. For example Paul tells the Ephesians: “By grace have ye been saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Saved through faith. Here faith is coupled alone (in so far as man’s response is concerned) with salvation. It is not of ourselves; that is, our salvation is not merited. It is not of works. There is nothing that we have done or can do to deserve this demonstration of divine grace. God sent his son. We simply heard his message, embraced his teaching, submitted to his authority, put our trust in him, and set about to do his will. As a result, we were “created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (v. 9). By the same process, the Romans, “being justified by faith,” had peace with God (Romans 5:1). Faith, being coupled with justification, is used in its all-inclusive sense.

Eternal life, itself, is conditioned upon our “believing.” “Now the just shall live by faith: , but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in.him. But we are not of them that draw back unto perdition; but of them that believeth unto the saving of the soul”(Hebrews 10:38-39), . .Obviously, these people had already been saved from their past sins, else they could not have “drawn back” unto perdition. They were now interested m eternal salvation—eternal life. This eternal life was conditioned upon faith. “The just shall live by faith.” “Faith” in a saving sense ;s a process of life. We “believe to the saving of the soul.” We believe unto eternal life! But eternal, life is conditioned unon our doing the commandments. “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they ma> have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” (Revelation 22:14). Therefore, to believe unto salvation is to obey the command ments. Saving faith is obedience. When the children of Israel grew thirsty during their wilderness wanderings, they murmured against God and against Moses, and God commanded Moses and Aaron to assemble the people around the rock. He commanded Moses to raise his rod and speak to the rock. Moses gathered the people about the rock. He raised his rod, but instead of speaking to the rock, he spoke to the people. Then he smote the rock twice. The water came forth. But came also the voice of God, saying unto Moses and Aaron: “Because yebelieved me not to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land wdiich I have given them” (Numbers 20’12). “Because ye believed me not!” What did God mean? Moses had failed to obey God in one point. This is all he had failed to do; but God said of this disobedience, “Ye believed me not.” In various cases in the Bible, faith means obedience. Saving faith ahvays comprehends it.

“Whosoever beleiveth on him should not perish but have eternal life.” We.are believing on the Lrard when we repent of our sins and confess Christ before men. We are believing on the Lord when we are baptized. Paul told the jailor to believe on the Lord. The jailor went the same hour and was baptized. Why? Because he recognized it as an integral part of the process of believing on the Lord. We are believing on the Lord when we assemble each Lord’s day for worship, when we sing with grace in our hearts, when we give of our means, when we pray without ceasing. We are believing on the Lord when we love our neighbor as ourself, when we observe the “golden rule,” when we bring up our children as they ought to go, and when we study our Bibles. Indeed, we are believing on the Lord when we give a little child a cup of cold water in Christ’s name. The point is: faith is not all, but it is all faith.

“Should not perish but have eternal life.” It is not decreed that man shall perish or that he shall have eternal life. But it is foreordained that he shall do one or the other. Man has the inalienable right to choose his eternal destiny. If he chooses to believe on the Lord, his choice is for eternal life. If he chooses to not believe on the Lord, he chooses to perish.

What does it mean to perish? Not to be utterly annihilated as some would think, but it means to be eternally punished. “These (the wicked) shall go away into everlasting punishment.” Even, were it not for the worm that dieth not and the unquenchable fire; even, were it not for the smoke of their torment that ascendeth up forever and ever and their restlessness day and night; even, were it not for the mental anguish for ill-spent lives, wasted opportunities, and unrequited love, hell would be a hellish neighborhood in which to spend eternity. I own no home, but rent my dwelling place. Therefore, I refuse to live for long in the midst of bad neighbors. But alas, there is no moving out of hell!

Let us come, in conclusion, to feast our hearts upon the thoughts of eternal life. The believing shall not perish but have eternal life. One reason why my soul yearns for the fruits of eternity is because when faith shall turn to sight, when hope shall blossom into reality, and love shall be perfected, some mysteries of life perhaps can then be understood. Why do the innocent have to suffer for wrongs they never did? And why is it that the one with apparently the most to live for is often among the first to die? Why, while the aged and trembling linger in uncertainty upon the brink of the grave, does the one with the glow of youth in his cheeks, with the blithesomeness of the songbird upon his lips, and the freshness of the morning-glory on his brow, receive his summons from on high? Nought here on earth has been discovered in answer to this question since, in the dim ages of antiquity, Job announced, “The Lord giveth, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Heaven appeals to me because I am a lover of good music, both vocal and instrumental—both in their proper places. I enjoy hearing little bands of Christians sing with the spirit and the understanding. But I read that in heaven a triumphant throng shall stand upon the glassy sea to sing the glad songs of redemption—the songs of Moses and the Lamb. I read that in heaven they sing with the volume of thunder, with the rhythm of falling waters, and with the harmony of harpers harping on their harps.

Heaven appeals to me because it is pictured as a place where money,buys no special rights. How we should.;like;to live in a land where love and neighbor-liness are exalted to the throne and gold .is trodden under foot I The Bible says that the very streets are paved with shining gold.

Heaven appeals to me as a place where little children receive a square deal. There they cannot suffer for the sins ;of other people. Here they hunger, go ragged and cold. The rose fades from their faces and the sparkle from their eyes. Misery and disease prey upon their tiny bodies because the good earth’s substance. that the Lord gave us all has been amassed in the hands, of a privileged few. But how hardly shall a rich man enter into the kingdom of heaven! And there they know no hunger, neither sorrow, nor crying. Heaven is a child’s world. “Of such as these is the kingdom of heaven,” and “their angels do always behold the face of the heavenly Father.” “And except ye be converted and become as little children, ye can in no wise enter that heavenly kingdom.” One of the grandest sights I expect to behold, if perchance I may enter behind yon. jaspar walls, is a company of little children playing on the banks of the river of life, casting their image in its crystal waters. In earth our hearts yearn for the city of the eternal king. “Let us go up and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it.”

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.”