21
THE KING’S BUSINESS
incarnation was for the purpose of the death (Heb. 2 :9 ) . Morris analyzes this verse in this way, 1. “ Love in its grandest source— ‘GOD’ ; 2. Love in its purest form— ‘so loved’ ; 3. Love in its widest sphere— ‘the world’ ; 4. Love in its highest pur pose—‘ SALVATION.’ ” Verse 17. “ For God sent not His (rather, “ the” ) Son into the world to condemn (rather, judge) the world; but that the world through Him might be saved (rather, may be saved through Him).” This verse sets forth God’s purpose in sending His Son. It was no less than the salvation of the whole world through Him. Whether or not this purpose should be accomplished would depend upon what man. did with the Son Whom He sent, but,. whatever men might do with the Son, this was God’s purpose in sending Him, the salvation of the world. ‘Alas 1the con text tells us plainly that this wonder ful purpose o f God failed o f complete realization through men’s loving dark ness rather than light, and therefore rejecting the Son who brought salva tion to all. That any man is lost is not God’s fault—Man is lost first of all because he chooses sin. God in His wonderful love made him in His own image, a moral being with the power to choose good or evil, and man chose evil. But that is not all, man having chosen evil and thus perishing, God in even more wondrous love stopped at no sacrifice to save him. He gave His Son to save the world, vile and sunken in sin as it was, and whosoever re ceives the Son will be saved. What becomes of the individual man de pends entirely upon what is done with the Son; but God’s purpose stands un changed, no matter what man may do and that purpose is that the world should be saved. Jesus is the “ Sav iour of the world” (cf. ch. 4 :4 2 ; 1 John 4 :1 4 ). In point of fact, His
(vs. 19, 20) the amazing stubborn ness in the choice of sin of a large portion of those whom God so won- drously loved. The supreme proof of God’s love is the gift of His Son: the supreme proof o f the desperate wickedness of man is his rejection of that Son. The greatest wonder, ever seen in heaven and manifested on earth is God’s amazing love to sinners : the most amazing thing about man is his desperate ingratitude and wicked ness in despising and rejecting this love. This verse brings out the Deity of Christ, not only in the title “ only be gotten Son,” but even more clearly by the teaching that eternal life depends on believing on Him. To assert that believing on a created or finite being would secure eternal life would be rankest blasphemy. The one who can bring eternal life by believing on Himself must be God. That the Lord Jesus Christ does bring eternal life to those who bèlieve on Him is not only revealed here and in many other places in the Bible, but is a fact of personal experience today; and this experimentally .demonstrable fact that the Lord Jesus gives eternal life to those who believe on Him is decis ive proof that He is God manifest in thé flesh, In the Old Testament (Jer. 17 :5 ) Jehovah says, “ Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh 'flesh his arm.” . But here the same Jehovah speaking through His in spired Apostle John says, “ Whosoever believeth on Him” shall obtain eternal life. Evidently then the Lord Jesus is not merely a man, to trust on Him is not to trust on the.arm of flesh—He is God. It was not merely in the incarnation that God gave His Only begotten Son, it was in His death on Calvary (cf. Rom. 8 :3 2 ). Indeed, .the incarnation was for the sake o f the cross ; the death on the cross was not a mere incident of His being incarnated, the
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker