John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
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Today's bible verse, John 3:16, may be one the best known and it is surely referred to throughout the Scriptures of the Old Testament. When the Lord sent Abraham up the mountain to offer his son Isaac and then told him that He would provide the lamb for the offering it was a foretelling of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. {Gen.22} The entire Passover is a prophetic look at the salvation that still only comes through the blood of the Lamb {Ex.12} and leads to the apostle Paul calling Christ our Passover. {1Cor.5:7}
God speaks through the prophet Isaiah to promise that He will redeem us wiping out our transgressions and no longer remembering our sins {Is.43:25} removing them as far as the east is from the west as David said! {Ps.103:12} And of course there is the most horrible, the most wonderful revelation of God when, speaking through Isaiah again of His Son Jesus, He reveals His plan to accomplish our salvation. Please take some time to read and reflect on what the Father did for you and I. {Is.53}
The Father did all that was necessary to make available that righteousness that we need and that only He could accomplish. Remember that as early as God's people traveling through the wilderness on their way to the land of promise they were told that there is no atonement without the shedding of blood. {Lev.17:11} The blood that was shed by the Lord on the cross of Calvary—Golgotha—cleansed us from the stain of sin, and as He said it is finished and breathed His last! {Jn.19:30}
The Father's love coupled with the obedience, the sacrifice of Jesus has made salvation available to all who believe and will accept. But please take note of the fact that it was not just you and I that He loved, "For God so loved the world..." the verse says. The Greek word translated as 'world' in that verse is 'kosmos' — taking in the sun, the moon and the stars and all of His creation. God looked, and saw that it was good! {Gen.1} And then all of His creation was corrupted by the sin of man. He said to Adam, "Cursed is the ground because of you." {Gen.3:17}
Man broke it, 'the whole creation groans and suffers' {Rom.8:22} but as with our transgressions, only God can fix it...and He will. Jesus said that heaven and earth will pass away {Mar.13:31} destroyed by fire. And it also is written, praise God, that He will create 'new heavens and a new earth.' {Is.65:17}
“Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:11-13)
OH, THE CLEANSING BLOOD OF JESUS! |
