John 3 KJV - Commentary in Blue

 Norma A. Boeckler

John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

The Fourth Gospel can be seen as a commentary on the Torah, the Five Books of Moses. Thus the very odd story of the serpent icon that healed prefigured the crucifixion of Christ.

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Faith in Christ is the dominant theme of this Gospel. Faith means eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The "for" clauses are explanatory and are major breaks in the text. These connecting words are used in the Greek text, instead of punctuation, so they are important words. The world is frequently the unbelieving world in John, yet God loved the world so much that He gave His only-begotten Son. The Only Son was given for this singular purpose - saving faith. A similar expression comes from Paul - "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the God-Power of salvation to every one who believes...Romans 1:16.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

St. John makes it clear that the basic state of the world is condemnation, but that faith in Christ is salvation. In the name of grace, UOJists teach their dogma, condemning and expelling anyone who doubts them. Faith in Christ is not needed for forgiveness and salvation - ask Jon-Boy Buchholz. However, faith in the dogma of universal forgiveness is needed, and a decision must be made for him (Walther).

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.

Unbelievers do not enjoy forgiveness and salvation, but condemnation, because unbelievers do not call upon the Name of Christ.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Jesus is the only Truth, the True Light that illuminates every man who believes in Him. Paradoxically, many love darkness rather than light.

***

GJ -  John 3:16 is called the Little Gospel, and rightly so, because faith in Him is the God-Power of salvation. The Holy Spirit brings the Gospel Word to individuals, actually bringing the Son of God to people. This efficacious Word generates faith in those who hear it.

Luther - Faith Remains Nature's Food and Idiot

This is the kernel of the Gospel, in which the nature and character of faith is explained as an assurance of things not seen. It clings alone to the words of God and follows the things that are not seen, as alone conveyed in the word of God, and looks askance at many things which urge it to disbelieve the Word. What nature calls playing the fool, faith calls the true way. Nature may be wise and clever, faith remains nature’s fool and idiot, and thus comes to Christ and finds him. St. Paul’s words, 1 Corinthians 1:25 apply here: “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” For feeling and believing do not get together.
The Sermons of Luther, Epiphany


Volume 8 is being prepared for printing by Janie Sullivan.

Norma Boeckler is illustrating the final volume, Gems Mined from the Sermons of Martin Luther.

Nice, but where's my coffee?

Ruffled Feathers and the Eighth Commandment

Coffee is an event - not a beverage - at our home.
Mrs. Ichabod's personal chef makes pour-over coffee from freshly ground beans every morning. Often the next round is shared with Ranger Bob, our kindly neighbor, an Army Ranger veteran.

Someone linked a rare, common sense article on the Eighth Commandment. Whenever feathers are ruffled, Lutherans cite this commandment - and only this one - as if no other commandment exists. The First Table is clearly dominant for Luther, but I am biased from reading the Large Catechism. Hardly anyone notices or cites the Large Catechism, one of the great works of the Reformation.

 Someone said this was right on target for the Jeske cult.

Most people can see that Lutherans err two ways in citing the Eighth Commandment. One example is debating doctrine, which St. Paul certainly approved - "There must be divisions."

1 Corinthians 11 19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

When their published - that is public - doctrine is questioned, they fly into a rage and do their best to use this commandment to stifle all discussion and to impugn the motives of the dissenter.

This fury is not enough for them, they engage in a barage of personal insults, often about someone they have never met. Jesus' final Beatitude handles this situation well, because the drama queens aim at their own. The Atheist Forum has no interest in Lutheran discussions.

The collateral damage is to intimidate laity and clergy who might share their insights but are frightened of the subsequent damage to them, their family, and friends.

 Their lack of doctrinal leadership during the Reformation's 500th Anniversary is enough to indict them as "not apt to teach." They failed this simple question, "What is the Chief Article of Christianity, the Master and Prince, the judge of all articles of faith?"