A Discourse About The Word "World" in John 3:16 (John 3:14-16)
The first word of
John 3:16 is a conjunction that inextricably ties
John 3:14-15 to
John 3:16, and here are the Lord Jesus' words as recorded by the Apostle John:
"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that every believing will in Him have eternal life, for God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that every believing in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life
"
Lord Jesus brings in history by way of mentioning "
the serpent in the wilderness"
John 3:14), so here is the contextually linked passage about history:
Then YHWH said to Moses, "Make a fiery [serpent], and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live." And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. (
Numbers 21:8-9).
Based on God's command about "
the serpent in the wilderness" (
John 3:14) and the results of the "
bronze serpent" that Moses set on the standard (
Numbers 21:9), the population of persons that certainly were affected by God's command about "the serpent in the wilderness" in order to live were ONLY each bitten person that looked at "
the serpent in the wilderness".
Furthermore, there is a different population of persons which includes persons that DID NOT LOOK AT "the serpent in the wilderness".
Therefore, there are separate populations of persons identified in Jesus' words as recorded by the Apostle John (
John 3:14-16) with the first "population of bitten look to live" and there was the second "population of everyone else".
In the next four paragraphs, we see the Word of God speaking to Moses (
Numbers 21:8) in relation to the Word of God speaking to Nicodemus (
John 3:16).
- Notice how "everyone who is bitten" (Numbers 21:8) relates to "world" (John 3:16).
- Notice how "when he" (Numbers 21:8) relates to "that every one" (John 3:16, note that the singular (not plural) Greek word pas [Strong's 3956] translates accurately as "every one" not so much as the unfettered promiscuous connotation of "whosoever" [KJV] or "whoever" [NASB]).
- Notice how "look" (Numbers 21:8) relates to "believing" (John 3:16).
- Notice how "live" (Numbers 21:8) relates to "eternal life" (John 3:16).
Jesus sets the relation between differing populations of persons by way of Him including "
the serpent in the wilderness" (
John 3:14,
Numbers 21:9), so the "population of bitten look to live" directly corresponds with the word "
world" as per Jesus' usage (
John 3:16).
The Word of God conclusively proves that the context establishes the word "
world" as used by Jesus in
John 3:16 includes ONLY the population of persons that currently believe in Jesus or will in the future believe in Jesus.
Post 1 of 3.
Your heart makes false statements about God and man. Free-will is a conjured concept of the traditions of men (
Matthew 15:9).
In Truth (John 14:6), the Almighty God is Sovereign (Genesis 1:1) in man's salvation and affairs of man (Daniel 4:34-35)! PRAISE MASTER JESUS!!!
1 John 2:2-He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of
the whole world.
1 John 2:15-17-Do not love the world or anything in
the world. If anyone loves
the world, love for the Father is not in them.
16 For everything in
the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from
the world.
17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
1 John 4:3-6- but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in
the world.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in
the world. 5 They are from
the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of
the world, and
the world listens to them.
6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
1 John 4:14- And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of
the world
1 John 5:19- We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
Now its very clear from the Lexicon definition and in 1 John that the cosmos/world does not mean Gods elect (that is Calvinism) not what John means in his epistle. It clearly means everyone with no exceptions in this world, all of its inhabitants who make up the ungodly multitude. It is clearly all inclusive of everyone, all, the entire world that lies under the evil one in opposition to God from the context of 1 John.
Only someone with a closed mind trapped in their dogma/doctrine would argue otherwise resulting in eisegesis( reading their own ideas into the text) rather than exegesis ( letting the text dictate ones ideas ).
We see above that
the whole world lies under the evil one and its that same identical
whole world in
1 John 2:2 that Jesus made PROPITIATION for which is clear from the CONTEXT in 1 John.
So if the above truth from
1 John 2:2 which is clear as to the biblical meaning is all inclusive not exclusive ( Gods elect Jew/Gentiles) which comes from ones dogma/doctrine ( calvinism) and not Scripture and specifically in 1 John makes me a non calvinist then I'm here to official renounce my association with that group.
I'm all about the TRUTH never dogma, never the doctrines of men, never to win friends, but to only uphold the Truth in Gods word from its context. And the context here is in clear opposition to the teaching of Calvinsm in 1 John. World NEVER means Jew/Gentiles in the epistle but means all of the inhabitants of the world /cosmos who are ungodly , where the lust of the flesh, the pride of life and the lust of the eyes come from and the god of this world the evil one the spirit of antichrist , the spirit of falsehoods rules and reigns in all of those inhabitants in opposition to God.
Its that world whom Christ made propitiation. Doctrine/Dogma will never cloud my mind and I will seek, search truth until my dying day and never allow any systematic theology or bias to cloud my view of Scripture.
The Golden Rule of Interpretation
“When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.”–Dr. David L. Cooper (1886-1965),founder of The Biblical Research Society
These Greek Lexicons affirm world means all, everyone, the whole world without exception.
Thayers
Cosmos: the inhabitants of the
5. world: θέατρον ἐγενήθημεν τῷ κόσμῳ καί ἀγγέλοις καί ἀνθρώποις,
1 Corinthians 4:9 (Winers Grammar, 127 (121)); particularly
the inhabitants of the earth, men, the human race (first so in Sap. (e. g. )):
Matthew 13:38;
Matthew 18:7;
Mark 14:9;
John 1:10, 29 ( L in brackets); ;
Romans 3:6, 19;
1 Corinthians 1:27f (cf. Winer's Grammar, 189 (178)); ;
2 Corinthians 5:19;
James 2:5 (cf. Winer's Grammar, as above
); 1 John 2:2 (cf. Winer's Grammar, 577 (536)); ἀρχαῖος κόσμος, of the antediluvians,
2 Peter 2:5; γέννασθαι εἰς τόν κόσμον,
John 16:21; ἔρχεσθαι εἰς τόν κόσμον (
John 9:39) and εἰς τόν κόσμον τοῦτον, to make its appearance or come into existence among men, spoken of the light which in Christ shone upon men,
John 1:9;
John 3:19, cf. 12:46; of the Messiah,
John 6:14;
John 11:27; of Jesus as the Messiah,
John 9:39;
John 16:28;
John 18:37;
1 Timothy 1:15; also ἐισέρχεσθαι εἰς τόν κόσμον,
Hebrews 10:5; of false teachers,
2 John 1:7 (yet here L T Tr WH ἐξέρχεσθαι εἰς τόν κόσμον; (so all texts
in 1 John 4:1));
to invade, of evils coming into existence among men and beginning to exert their power: of sin and death,
Romans 5:12 (of death,
Wis. 2:24; Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 3, 4 [ET]; of idolatry,
Wis. 14:14). ἀποστέλλειν τινα εἰς τόν κόσμον,
John 3:17;
John 10:36;
John 17:18; 1 John 4:9; φῶς τοῦ κόσμου,
Matthew 5:14;
John 8:12;
John 9:5; σωτήρ τοῦ κόσμου,
John 4:42;
1 John 4:14 (σωτηρία τοῦ κόσμου
Wis. 6:26 (25); ἐλπίς τοῦ κόσμου,
Wis. 14:6; πρωτόπλαστος πατήρ τοῦ κόσμου, of Adam,
Wis. 10:1); στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου (see στοιχεῖον, 3 and 4); ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, among men,
John 16:33;
John 17:13;
Ephesians 2:12; ἐν κόσμῳ (see Winer's Grammar, 123 (117)),
1 Timothy 3:16; εἶναι ἐν τῷ κόσμου, to dwell among men,
John 1:10;
John 9:5;
John 17:11, 12 R G;
1 John 4:3; εἶναι ἐν κόσμῳ, to be present,
Romans 5:13; ἐξελθεῖν, ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου, to withdraw from human society and seek an abode outside of it,
1 Corinthians 5:10; ἀναστρέφεσθαι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, to behave oneself,
2 Corinthians 1:12; likewise εἶναι ἐν τῷ κόσμου τούτῳ,
1 John 4:17.
6. "
the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ" (cf. Winer's Grammar, 26):
John 7:7;
John 14:27 (); ;
1 Corinthians 1:21;
1 Corinthians 6:2;
1 Corinthians 11:32;
2 Corinthians 7:10;
James 1:27;
1 Peter 5:9;
2 Peter 1:4;
2 Peter 2:20;
1 John 3:1, 13; 1 John 4:5; 1 John 5:19; of the aggregate of ungodly and wicked men in O. T. times,
Hebrews 11:38; in Noah's time, ibid. 7; with οὗτος added,
Ephesians 2:2 (on which see αἰών, 3); εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου and ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου (see εἰμί, V. 3rd.),
John 8:23;
John 15:19;
John 17:14, 16;
1 John 4:5; λαλεῖν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου, to speak in accordance with the world's character and mode of thinking
, 1 John 4:5; ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, i. e. the devil,
John 12:31;
John 14:30;
John 16:11; ὁ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ he that is operative in the world (also of the devil
), 1 John 4:4; τό πνεῦμα τοῦ κόσμου
b
. of all mankind, but especially of believers, as the object of God’s love
J 3:16, 17c; 6:33, 51; 12:47.
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature : A Translation and Adaption of the Fourth Revised and Augmented Edition of Walter Bauer’s Griechisch-Deutsches Worterbuch Zu Den Schrift En Des Neuen Testaments Und Der Ubrigen Urchristlichen Literatur (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 446.
