Universally regarded as the golden text of the Bible, this verse sums up the entire canon of
Scripture. While one might find another
verse to match it in terms of God's intent, certainly none can eclipse it. It commences like the Bible. It begins with God, it continues with His
plan and it culminates with the results of that plan. This plan is known to all as the plan of
redemption. God is the originator, Jesus,
His son, is the vehicle by which this plan has been implemented and the ‘whosoever’ are the beneficiaries of
that plan.
Today, anyone of us can insert his name in the
column bearing the caption 'whosoever'
once he has come to God by faith in Jesus Christ.
John 6:37
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out.
Revelation 22:17 And 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.
The Old Testament writers and prophets
anticipated it. The New Testament
apostles witnessed it while the New Testament writers reminisced about it. So, not only is it the golden text, but it is
also a golden fact and I dare say, a golden opportunity.
1 Timothy 1:15
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
The peoples of the world will be saved by
acceptance of it or lost through rejection of it. Those who gained heaven would have done so
because they believed its authenticity and those who make hell their final
destination would have done so because they doubted its veracity.
John 3:18
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God.
For: The greatest reason
Note how the inspired writer begins this
verse. It begins with a word that
introduces reason (for).
The word for
is used as a preposition or a conjunction and has four meanings. Take note of the
following:
Preposition: For:
1. Appropriate
to (lessons for beginners)
2. Beneficial
to (this is for you)
3. In
favour of (I'm for going now before it's too late)
Conjunction: For:
1. For
the reason that; on account of…
For the reason that
God... What a way to start! Embraced in that for is the entire world, including you and me. None is left out, no not one. So, for the reason that God loved every one
of us... 'For' certainly introduces the greatest
reason anything that was ever done was done.
But what is the
reason? Let Scripture speak for itself.
Luke 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners to repentance.
1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of
all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom
I am chief.
God: The
greatest being
That God is the greatest being, there ought to be no
doubt. Only the fool fails to note this
fact. The Word of God clearly vindicates
His supremacy and His superiority.
Deuteronomy 4:35 Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest
know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.
2 Samuel 7:22 Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for
there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all
that we have heard with our ears.
Isaiah 44:6 Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and
his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside
me there is no God.
So Loved: The greatest degree of affection
The greatest degree or extent:
It cannot be exceeded. There are
no words to express this extent. One may
say without fear of contradiction that the degree of God's love is
infinite. It cannot be expressed other
than by God, Himself. Jesus quantifies,
qualifies and personifies this love in:
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friends.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
1John 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but
that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
The World: The
greatest community
The world is in fact the greatest community of humans.
As used here, it is not a reference to the cosmos or all of creation but
to all those who were created in God’s own image. It refers to the all inclusive.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that
the world through him might be saved.
1John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins:
and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
That: The
greatest link
'That' used as a conjunction here shows the relationship between
the greatest love as expressed by
the greatest Lover in the greatest outpouring of such love. The song writer penned:
Such love, such wondrous love,
Such love, such wondrous love;
That God should love a sinner such as I,
How wonderful is love like this!
And if this be an
indicator of His great love, note the demonstration of that great love in the
following.
Living He loved me, dying He saved me,
Buried He carried my sins far away;
Rising He justified freely forever,
One day He's coming O Glorious day!
He: The
greatest Lover
The Bible clearly shows that no one has achieved neither
the height and depth nor the length and breadth of love that God has
demonstrated. His love is an infinite
love. There is no limit to it. Scripture expresses God and love as
synonymous.
1John 4:8 He that
loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
The Bible also establishes that God is the origin of
love.
1John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love
is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
Outside of God there is
no love. All else is but a sham and
incapable of enduring the test of life and time. The love of God transcends time and the
grave.
1Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, love, these
three; but the greatest of these is love.
In addition, Paul in his
epistle to the Romans captures God's love for us. For even when we were enemies of God, Jesus
died for us.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
John does likewise in his
third epistle.
1John 4:7-8 Beloved, let us love one another: for love
is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. [8] He that
loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
Gave: The
greatest Giver
Not only is God the greatest lover but He is also the greatest giver. The greatest
loving finds expression in the greatest
giving. In a very real sense, the
gift of His son was the gift of Himself.
Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over
the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Even the omnipotent God
could do no better than he did to redeem man from the curse of sin. He gave his all. Hence we ought to pay greatest heed to the
following texts.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
2Corinthians. 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable
gift.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
His Only: The greatest sacrifice
The point that God gave His all is borne out in the fact
that He gave His only son. This speaks
of unparalleled sacrifice. This, in
fact, was total commitment. The
illustration is given of a farm whose animals decided to have a party. At the pre-party conference the animals were
called on to pledge what they would contribute to the success of the
party. The fouls promised some eggs, the
cows promised milk but the pigs were strangely silent. When it was suggested that they could give
some pork, the pigs responded that such an offer would be total sacrifice. This was the nature of God's commitment,
total sacrifice. The beautiful song of
invitation reminds us all:
"I gave
I gave my life for thee.
What wilt
thou give for me?"
Yes, God is in fact the greatest giver
Begotten: The greatest outpouring
In the offering of His
son, God in essence poured out Himself.
Jesus was the son straight from the bosom of the father.
John 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only
begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Jesus was not created as
some teach, but He always was with the Father and is of the same essence as the Father. Like the Father, He is the
"I AM".
Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM:
and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me
unto you.
John 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
He is Emmanuel, God with
us.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son
is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace.
Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and
shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is, God with us.
2Corinthians 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling
the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath
committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
1John 4:9 In this was manifested the love of God
toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we
might live through him.
Son: The
greatest gift
The greatest gift ever
given was packaged in swaddling bands and lay in a manger.
Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there
was no room for them in the inn.
Luke 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary,
and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
Jesus, God's son was his
greatest gift to man
2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
That whosoever: The greatest impartiality
The grand declaration in
the song rings out far and wide.
Whosoever will, whosoever will,
Shout the proclamation over vale and hill;
'Tis a loving Father calls His wanderer home,
Whosoever will may come.
By faith in Christ Jesus,
each one can say "whosoever means me".
Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings
of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his
house upon a rock:
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to
me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
Revelation 22:17 And 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.
Believeth: The greatest faith
The greatest faith is in
fact the simplest faith, more aptly expressed as child-like faith. It is akin to the kind of trust that a little
child puts in his father.
Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye
be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the
kingdom of heaven.
Acts 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to
please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a
rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
In Him: The greatest object
The Bible speaks of faith
in God, God being the sole object of that faith. This is in total opposition to the stance
that one needs to appropriate the faith of God.
The question that should sensibly follow is who or what is the object of
God's faith? We are clearly admonished
by the word to have faith in God.
Mark 11:22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have
faith in God.
2 Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these
things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day.
Shall Not Perish: The greatest escape
Some highlight the escape
from the prison at Alcatraz as the greatest escape. However, we are reminded in the word of God
that to be safe from the clutches of hell and the devil is the greatest
escape. God has provided this
opportunity through Jesus Christ His Son.
The writer to the Hebrews
asked an interesting rhetorical question.
Hebrews 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great
salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed
unto us by them that heard him;
But: The
greatest contrast
'But' used as a
conjunction always shows contrast. God guarantees life but Satan offers
death. Jesus is the light of the world
but men prefer darkness.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift
of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
3John 1:11 Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but
that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath
not seen God.
The Bible is replete with
contrasts such as light and darkness, life and death, truth and falsehood, good
and evil but there is none as devastating as the contrast that is given in this
love note (shall not perish but have everlasting life).
Have: The
greatest possession
If we are categorised by
what we possess, then there is no possession that can be compared to the
salvation that comes to him who appropriates the provision God has made for
those who come to Him. That provision is
the object of this verse as well as the entire Bible. They who “hath
the Son hath life”.
1John 2:23 Whosoever
denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the
Son hath the Father also.
1John 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that
hath not the Son of God hath not life.
Everlasting life: The greatest desire
Human intellect has made
astronomical strides in science and medicine.
The obsessive quest of man is not only to be able to create life but
sustain it indefinitely. Most of us, if
not all of us, would like to live forever.
This is particularly so if that longevity is characterised by rich
quality and fufilment.
God, through Jesus
Christ, has offered this opportunity to all those who will be willing to come
to him in repentance.
John 11:25-26 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection,
and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
[26] And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou
this?
1 John 2:25 And this is the promise that he hath
promised us, even eternal life.
1 John 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given
to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
Stewart Russell
No comments:
Post a Comment