In name of Father and Son, the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.
Welcome to Coptic Orthodox Answers Deep Dive where we're studying together the Gospel of John. We are in chapter 3 and we saw how, last time, Christ was speaking to Nicodemus about baptism and then He linked baptism with the cross itself. And we also saw how at the end of the 1 st century, because many Jews were still Jews in the sense that they didn't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, so, at the end of the century, as St. John is writing his Gospel, he's emphasizing on the belief, that the people have to believe that the Lord is Jesus Christ and therefore he says the word believe or he writes the word believe about 98 times in the Gospel, which is approximately 10 times more than any other Gospel writer. So, having said this, we'll continue with chapter 3 right now.
So, in verses 14 and 15, we see Christ speaking about Moses lifting up the serpent on the pole in the wilderness and how, when people looked at him, they were saved, right? And here, in verses 16, He speaks about Himself. There's a correlation between verses 14 and 15 and that serpent being the shadow of Christ Himself on the cross, because it says, in verse 16:
'' 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.'' (John 3:16)
Here, it demonstrates that God has unconditional love for humanity: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, right? And we know that the only begotten Son went through pain, through suffering to recreate humanity, to forgive sins, and so on. So, there's a correlation between verses 14 and 15 and 16 to 18: a shadow in the serpent in the wilderness that leads to the reality of Christ on the cross.
But we have to notice here that God loves humanity unconditionally. That's always His disposition towards us. So, although we are sinners, God still came and saved us, like it says in Romans. So, although we can be as evil as we can be, God does not change. He always loves us. He loves unconditionally. And that's why... that's why in Luke 12:32 He says:
'' 32 ''Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.'' '' (Luke 12:32)
It is His good pleasure. He loves us, right? But the question becomes Do we love Him back?, right?, and that's what the next few verses will be discussing.
So, it is also very important to note here that Christ is shifting Nicodemus' mentality, because Nicodemus, again, he's thinking that only the Jews will be saved, but Christ, in the beginning of the chapter, told him: no, it's not because you're a Jew that you are saved, but if you believe as an adult, right?, and if you are baptized, therefore you will be saved; you're walking in that process of salvation.
But at the same time, again, he wants to shift his mentality there. So, that's why, in verse 16, it says: For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever may believe should be saved. So, the idea is salvation is not only to the Jews; salvation is for the entire world. So, that's why, in verse 17, it says:
'' 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.'' (John 3:17)
Again, there's an emphasis on the world, right? So, God comes to save the entire world, not only the Jews. So, again, He's continuing this shift of mentality in Nicodemus, because Nicodemus, like any other Jew, thought that the Messiah was coming to save them from the Romans. He's an earthly messiah like King David and that's partly why the Jews or many of the Jews have rejected Christ, because Christ spoke about a kingdom that is from above.
So, Christ here is trying to tell him: listen, it's not about Jews versus Romans; it's about death and corruption in the world. And I'm coming to... to heal this world, to kill death, right?, to heal corruption and to forgive sins. I'm here to do all these things. And... and that is not specific to the Jews, but it is for the entire world. And then, verse 18, He says:
'' 18 ''He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.'' '' (John 3:18)
So, here God speaks and says: he who does not believe is condemned already. And usually, our hearts ache for people that are condemned or people that do not believe, they're not walking in the path of God or in the process of healing, but if our own hearts ache for these people, do we not think that God's heart also aches for them? 'Cause like I said earlier is that God's disposition towards humanity does not change. He has unconditional love for us.
But because God is love, others have to also love Him. They have to choose to love Him. And if they don't choose to love Him, then they disconnect themselves from the source of life. That becomes a big problem that leads to condemnation, it leads to death; and death means a lack of life. So, notice here how the verse says: but he who does not believe is condemned already. So, it is the person's own choice whether to love God or not, accept God or not. It's something that they do on...by themselves, right?
So, again, we want everybody's salvation. We pray for everybody's salvation. But at the same time, we cannot widen the door of salvation to the point that it goes beyond the Gospel. That's not what the Gospel says. The Gospel talks about the narrow gate, you know:
'' 13 ''Enter [through] narrow gate; [because] wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, [under...] and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.'' '' (Matthew 7:13-14)
So, we know that the gate is narrow and we know that we need to struggle from our side. We know we need to believe from our side. So, as far as God is concerned, He did His part for our salvation. Now it's about us responding to Him, right? So, St. Augustine has this beautiful quote that I'll read to you, because I didn't get a chance to write down. He says:
''The physician, so far as his will is concerned, heals the sick. [That's his will to heal the sick.] If the sick despises or will not observe the directions of the physician, he destroys himself. What did you expect him to say of him who believe not, except that he is condemned?'' (St. Augustine, Commentary on John 3:16)
In other words, what do you expect will happen to the person that does not connect or does not want to connect to the source of life, other than dying? That's ultimately what's gonna happen to him and that's the message St. Augustine wants to send us.
A last point to look into in verse 18, again, it says:
'' 18 ''He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.'' '' (John 3:18)
What does it mean to believe in the name of the Son of God? So, the name is linked to the identity of the person, which means believing in the person Himself, believing in the works of Him and responding to His works will grant me salvation. It's not about magically believing in some sort of name that will magically get me saved. That's not what is being said here, but in believing in the person of Jesus Christ and being united with Him.
We will look at the past point in the second half of verse 18. It says: because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. What does it mean to believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God? Believing in the name means that I believe in the person Himself, because the name is linked to the identity of the person and the identity, obviously, is linked to the person.
So, this is about believing in Christ Himself as a person and being united with Him, to accept His salvific work and to respond to it, to unite with the source of life and therefore to have life.
This is what the name means. So, this is not a magical name that, you know, just by believing in that name, magically, theoretically, I am therefore saved. That's not what it means, but it's about being united with the person of Christ through His identity, which includes His name.
So, moving on to verse 19. It says:
'' 19 ''And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.'' '' (John 3:19-21)
Remember here that these verses are said in the context of baptism, of the cross and of judgment. So, there's a main message that is being said and the message is God's judgment is not arbitrary. God's judgment is based on the light that is within us or the darkness that is within us. That is the purpose of these verses.
Therefore God exposes who we have become through purity or through the knowledge of God or the lack of, right?, and He exposes this and He says: well, I want you to have the light in you and come to the light, expose your deeds and He... there's nothing to be ashamed of. But he who is ashamed hides, goes in the corner, he does his deeds in darkness.
The other point He is making here is that, ironically, the Jews thought that the cross was a judgment on the person of Jesus Christ, but it is quite the opposite: it's because of the cross that we, as humans, are being judged. And that's why He says: And this is the condemnation (we are being judged), that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Moving forward to verse 22. It says:
'' 22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. 24 For John had not yet been thrown into prison. 25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, ''Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!'' '' (John 3:22-26)
So, the first question usually comes to mind is Why is Christ baptizing? Is that the baptism of the Holy Spirit? The answer is no. So, in John 7:39, it says:
'' 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.'' (John 7:39)
So, the Holy Spirit was not yet given, so this was not a baptism of the Holy Spirit, but it still was a baptism of repentance similar to John the Baptist's baptism.
Another point to note in these verses is that in verse 25, he talks about a dispute, about purification between the Jews and John's disciples. Now, it's not very clear what this dispute was about, but it's probably about something related to the different baptisms, because at this point, we have Jesus that is baptizing, we have John the Baptist and his disciples that are baptizing, and we also have the Jews baptizing new converts, right? So, within these three different baptisms, there was a conflict maybe on some details in regard... in regards to purification, because purification is linked to baptism in the Jewish understanding.
So, moving on to verse 27. It says:
'' 27 John answered and said [so, he's answering his disciples here], ''A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.' 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.'' '' (John 3:27-30)
So, the main purpose of these verses is that St. John the beloved wants to demonstrate that St. John the Baptist is the disciple of Christ and not the opposite. Like we covered before, some people thought that Christ was the disciple of John the Baptist, because Christ started His service after St. John the Baptist was imprisoned. Some of St. John the Baptist's disciples became the disciples of Christ and so on, so forth, there's a few reasons. So here, the main purpose of these verses is to, again, emphasize that it's the other way around: St. John the Baptist is the disciple of Jesus and not the opposite.
But in addition to this, if we look at the details of these verses, there are two points we can take from them. So, the first one is obviously humility. St. John, here, says: A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. So, any gift a human being is given is given from heaven. If I'm intelligent, it's because God has given me this intelligence. If I'm good at this, good at that, it's because it's a grace that has been given me. And these things become a responsibility, right? We need to use these talents to serve others, to enlighten
the world around us. It's not about us becoming prideful, right?, but it's about using these gifts and also... and therefore it becomes a responsibility.
And then he goes in verse 29 and he says: He who has the bride is the bridegroom. So here, he emphasizes the relationship and the depth of the... that relationship between Christ and humanity. He is the bridegroom and we are the bride, right? So often, again, we deal with God as if He's this, like, person that is far away that we ask stuff from. But in reality, when we look at how the Gospel describes that relationship between us and God, it's always a very, very deep one. Like, we can think of the Song of Songs, for example, in the Old Testament: here, it's about a husband and his wife. We can talk about best friends. We can talk about, you know, the father and the son, the father and the daughter, and so on and so forth.
And then, the other way that Christ's second coming is portrayed in the Gospel is the thief in the night. So, God, or He is my father, my bridegroom, my best friend, or He's a thief in the night. He's a person that is not wanted, right?, and He comes at a time where I'm not ready for Him. And the end of that story is not very nice; it's not very positive.
But these specific relationships become our objective and by doing so, we find ourselves sacrificing ourselves to God, right? That's what love is. And therefore, by sacrificing myself, I decrease, meaning I put my ego under my feet, I put my passions under my feet and once I have eternal life within me, so, God increases in me, I have this eternal life, only then can I pass on this eternal life to others. So, God sends me and says: go now, do my work, go enlighten the world. But for this to happen, He must increase and I must decrease.
Moving on to verse 31. It says:
'' 31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth...'' (John 3:31)
Here, St. John the beloved is quoting St. John the Baptist and the purpose of these verses is to demonstrate the huge gap between the Son of God, the Messiah, who is a heavenly being, and St. John the Baptist who is of the earth.
'' 31 (...) He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies...'' (John 3:31-32)
So, he's saying the Son of God has a special relationship with the Father and therefore He hears directly from the Father and what He hears, He testifies, testifies here on earth.
'' 32 (...) and no one receives His testimony. [Nobody accepts this testimony.] 33 He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. [So, if you hear what the Son has to say, you also accept the Father as well.]
34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.'' (John 3:32-34)
So, the Spirit by measure here, like we'll see from what St. John Chrysostom has to say in a few seconds, it is discussing or it's specific to the Son of God Himself. The Father does not give the Spirit by measure when it comes to the Son.
'' 35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. [again demonstrating who the Son really is: He is God. He is the Son of God and therefore God.] 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life [because, again, He is the source of life, so if I believe in Him, I have everlasting life]; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life...'' (John 3:35-36)
Right? If I don't believe, I will not see life. I can only see death. And again, we looked last time at what the word believe means and we understood that it's not only some sort of mental activity. It's much deeper than that.
'' 36 (...) but the wrath of God [abides in him or] abides on him.'' (John 3:36)
So, we have two more points to tackle quickly before concluding and the first one the Spirit by measure. I just wanna read you what St. John Chrysostom has to say. He says:
''But what is it that he says, God gives not the Spirit by measure? He would show that we all have received the operation of the Spirit, by measure,...'' (St. John Chrysostom)
Meaning every human being has received the operation, the Spirit by measure, so we're all limited in a sense, right?, so, we... we don't have the fullness of the Holy Spirit within us. It's given to us, as human beings, by measure.
''(...) but that Christ has all its operation unmeasured and entire. Now if His operations be unmeasured, much more His essence.'' (St. John Chrysostom)
Meaning that this verse has, as an objective, to demonstrate that Christ is the Messiah, is the Son of God, is equal to the Father. And therefore the Spirit is not given to Him by measure like it's given to... by measure to us.
Finally, is God really angry? Is He really wrathful? Am I supposed to take these verses literally or these words literally? We said earlier that God's disposition towards humanity does not change. It does not vary. God is passionless. God loves unconditionally. But it is true that we can experience God's wrath. How does that happen? It happens when the image of God within us changes in a negative way. It is corrupted. And therefore we change, although He doesn't change.
But because we change, our experience of Him changes and that way, we experience God's wrath. There was a video done on God's wrath in Coptic Orthodox Answers - Apostolic Answers, so I will put the link in the comments section below for you to watch if you are interested, but for now...
Remember: Know your faith, live your faith, and teach your faith. And glory be to God forever and ever. Amen.
If you found this video beneficial, please, consider subscribing and turning your notifications on. Share with us your comments below regarding this video or ideas for future ones.
Remember: Know your faith, live your faith, and teach your faith.
Other suggested video: