De-universalizing the Gospel
One of the texts viewed as most foundational to the Christian gospel (and, in
effect, encapsulating it in condensed form) is John 3:16. This verse is routinely quoted, in isolation, as an expression of the
gospel in summary form. It reads as follows, in the New King James Version of
the Bible, “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.” It has
been routinely assumed that this reference to God’s love for the “world” and
the usage of the seemingly all-inclusive “whosoever” confirm the universal
nature of the gospel, and its relevance for all of mankind.
Certainly, a cursory reading of this text would seem to prompt such a
conclusion. But let’s look at it in its context.
The immediate context begins in v.1 of chapter 3. Nicodemus, a First Century
Jewish religious leader goes to Jesus secretly, by night, to engage him in
discussion involving various aspects of the spiritual economy within which they
both lived, and over which Nicodemus was one of the “rulers”. Jesus immediately
confronted him with information concerning the necessity of spiritual rebirth
“via water and the Spirit” in order to gain entrance to the Kingdom of God
(i.e. eternal acceptance with – and the approval of - the God of Israel,
manifested in the reception of eternal life).
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him,
"How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered
and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these
things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what
We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe
if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came
down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have eternal life.
Note Jesus’ words to Nicodemus, above. He appeals to the lengthy tradition of
the prophetic ministration of Truth to the Israelites throughout their history,
only to be met with unbelief and rejection. Jesus drew
a direct analogy between His own death on the cross and Moses’ lifting the
serpent in the wilderness, in order to provide physical healing and salvation
to those Israelites who had been bitten by deadly
snakes. Notably, the ENTIRE CONTEXT of John 3 is focused
on Israelite spiritual realities and distinctives –
the faith element manifested in unique ways during the Old Covenant “world”’s existence. To really understand
that “world” and its relationship to the First Century gospel, however, we need
to consider the broader context of this chapter.
Going back to chapter 1 of John’s Gospel, we read the following:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him,
and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There was a man sent
from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness
of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He
was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of
that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives
light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world
was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as
received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who
believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Note the direct parallelism in vss. 10,11, above. John
used the phrase “the world” (Gk. “cosmos”) to refer to God’s Covenant People
(“His own”, v.11). The parallel is inescapable. The “world” or “cosmos” of the
People of Israel is in view in this chapter, NOT the entire human race (as most
theologians/expositors would have us believe). Going back to the first verses
above then, we find it permissible to paraphrase the text as follows: the Word
was “in the beginning [of the Israelite “cosmos”] and the Word was with God and
the Word WAS God [YHWH of the Israelites, who established/created their
“cosmos” in the giving the Law to Moses]. “All things
[within that “world/cosmos”] were made through Him and without Him nothing [in
that “world/cosmos”] was made that was made”. “In YHWH
was life, and the life was the light of men [who were citizens of that OC
“world”]. And the light shines in the darkness [the spiritual darkness unique
to the Israelites/Jews who rejected their own God and His Law] and the darkness
did not comprehend it [see vss. 10,11 below]. There
was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came for a witness [to
the Jews/Israelites, and THEIR “world” specifically], to bear witness of the
Light, that all [of the “elect” within the OC “world”] through him might
believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear
witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which gives light to every man
coming into the “world” [either being born as an
Israelite/Jew or gaining citizenship therein via becoming a proselyte].
He was in the world [the Israelite/Jewish “cosmos”] and the world
[Israelite/Jewish cosmos] was made through Him, and
the world [Israelite/Jewish cosmos] did not know Him [as their Messiah]. He
came to His own [the OC People, specifically “the elect” WITHIN that “world”
and Nation] and His own [OC “elect”] did not receive Him. But
as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood [through physical
heredity as a Jew/Israelite], nor of the will of the flesh [through adherence
to the Mosaic Law], nor of the will of man [through personal effort and
self-righteousness of any kind], but of God. And the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us [the First Century Israelites/Jews], and we beheld His
glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth.”
I believe the paraphrase above represents, essentially, the originally intended
meaning in this passage, and it sets the tone and establishes the focus for the
rest of the Book. The next verses further reinforce the focus of this Gospel on
the Old Covenant Mosaic spiritual economy of the First Century:
15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom
I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.' " 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and
grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through
Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Further down in the chapter, we find John making some
very specific statements concerning the relevance of Christ Jesus to the First
Century Israelites/Jews and THEIR “world”.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This
is He of whom I said, 'After me comes a Man who is preferred
before me, for He was before me.' 31 I did not know Him; but that He should be
revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water."
Note that John specifically states that Jesus was to be revealed TO ISRAEL, NOT
to the entire human race, per se. Jesus Himself confirms this focus in His
earthly ministry in Matt. 15:24, “But He answered and said, "I was not
sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
In referring to Christ Jesus as the “Lamb who takes away the sin of the world”,
John was emphasizing His fulfillment of the blood sacrifice “type” belonging to
Old Covenant Mosaic Judaism. The redemptive element in Christ
Jesus’ Messianic role in this regard is revealed as exclusive to Old Covenant
Israel in Hebrews 9:15, “15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the
new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under
the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the
eternal inheritance.”
Thus, we see that John 3 is prefaced by the contextual
establishment of an exclusively Old Covenant Jewish/Israelite “world” focus and
framework of understanding. The applicability of John 3:16 to all of mankind universally, therefore, is really not permissible
when due consideration and weight is given to the context.
“For God so loved the world [of His Covenant People,
particularly the “elect”] that He gave His only begotten Son [as THEIR
Messiah], that whosoever [among them, within the OC “world”] believeth in Him
should not perish [at the destruction of their “world” in 70 AD, and the Great
Day of Judgment upon them as a People], but have everlasting life”.
In saying this, I do not mean to suggest that the First Century gospel
was not instrumental in bringing an eternal “cosmos” into being which has
universal, eternal ramifications and involvement with mankind
as a whole. But the gospel texts so commonly used to
support modern evangelistic efforts and “gospel preaching” are, as has been
demonstrated above, wrested out of their context and made to mean something
never intended.
The eternal New Covenant Kingdom established in and through the First Century
saints has direct involvement with mankind today, on this planet – but the
means of access to that Kingdom by faith (as a spiritual proselyte) must be
carefully distinguished from the First Century gospel declared in texts such as
John 3:16.
John McPherson
Gold River, BC
CANADA
as of 4-2008