Here's another post I wrote back in April re Jn 3:16:
So, you seem to be implying that just the "inspired words of God" could be fallible since man's understanding is fallible, correct?
But at the same time, how did the "literal words from God" get on paper: Did the Holy Spirit bypass human agency and write those on parchment directly with his finger or did those literal words also come through the medium of God's apostles and prophets?
OY VEY!!!
Now, "world" in Jn 3:16 has numerous meanings. Universe doesn't fit the context since there is no biblical record that the sons of men (for whom Christ died) live anywhere other than on this little planet. Besides, this the term "kosmos" has a more narrow meaning:
kosmos
NT:2889 kosmos (kos'-mos); probably from the base of NT:2865; orderly arrangement, i.e. decoration; by implication, the world (in a wide or narrow sense, including its inhabitants, literally or figuratively [morally]):
KJV - adorning, world.
Notice at the very end in brackets "morally". (Some translators also say spiritually.) And also notice that this term is used in the wide or narrow sense. And this moral/spiritual application makes perfectly good sense because Spiritually or Morally there are only TWO kinds of people in this world. In Jn 3:16, it's used in the narrow sense to denote who God loves -- which cannot be sinners, according to numerous scripture. Therefore, who God loves in this passage are all the "whoevers" of this world who come to believe on his His Son. The "whosoever" qualifies the extent of God's love. (This is why when I share the Gospel, I give the straight biblical skinny on who God loves and died for: All those who come to believe on His Son and repent or their sins.)
But in Jn 17:9, we have the opposite scenario. Jesus omitted the "world" from his prayer because he prayed only for the two groups of elect he specifically mentioned in the chapter. "World" in this passage, therefore, is used in the negative sense and denotes the world of non-elect unbelievers.
Also, as stated previously, the nation Israel itself sets the precedent for this kind of usage for the term "world", since Paul tell us in Rom 9 that there are two distinct groups of Israelites -- Israel according to the flesh (mere physical lineage) and spiritual Israel according to the Promise.
Jesus tells us in the Good Shepherd discourse that he laid down his life for his sheep (Jn 10:15), making no mention of the goats in this world; but instead telling us elsewhere that the day would come when he would judge and condemn the goats of this world (Mat 25:31-43). He also mentions two flocks of sheep (Israel according to the Promise) and the elect Gentiles who would be brought in to join the Jewish flock, so that the two flocks will become one (Jn 10:16).
Also, at the Last Supper, Jesus himself limited the extent of his atoning work's application to just "you" or "many" (Mat 26:28; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:20). Jesus had only one group in mind, and it was not the entire world in the distributive sense.
In Gal 3:22 Paul tells us that "the whole world" is a prisoner of sin; yet this can't be true in the distributive sense since Paul teaches us elsewhere that sin shall not be a master over us (Rom 6:14. And Jesus himself said he would set his people free and the Truth would also set his disciples free (Jn 8:32, 36). John also taught that no one born of God can live a lifestyle of sin (1Jn 3:9). So again, "whole world" is being used to denote the world of unbelievers.
In fact, John tells us in 1Jn 5:19 the "whole world" lies under the power of the evil one; yet this cannot be true in the distributive sense since the apostle said earlier that "no one born of God can keep on sinning" (1Jn 3:9). Or did John contradict himself? Or maybe 1 John isn't divinely inspired? Or do we just have another situation here where "whole world" is used in a narrow sense to denote the ungodly world of unbelievers?
To sum up, all these metaphors and groups can be traced back to their origin in Gen 3:15, wherein God immediately after the Fall soverignly decreed (without consulting with any human being, or getting any human's permission) that from now on there would be two distinct moral/spiritual groups of people in this world: The godly seed of the Woman and the ungodly seed of the Serpent (Gen 3:15). There is no third seed. (And the First Adam certainly didn't descend from Eve, did he!?) So, from the very beginning, not only did we have the divine decree, but we had a "sheep" and a "goat" for our first parents! (And just as an interesting aside, a goat's head is a satanic symbol, is it not!?)
Again, scripture is self-interpreting to those who are open to seeing or hearing what it plainly says. Not only is scripture self-interpreting but it is internally consistent with itself, which if what we should expect since God cannot lie. But this is certainly not true of the Non-Reformed traditions of the Gospel, which produce so many contradictions they virtually defy counting!
Amen!
But there is the literal Words from God and the Inspired words from man's understanding from God.
And John understood Jesus to be saying the "Universe" in John 3:16 when they came from the mouth of Jesus.
But there is the literal Words from God and the Inspired words from man's understanding from God.
And John understood Jesus to be saying the "Universe" in John 3:16 when they came from the mouth of Jesus.
But at the same time, how did the "literal words from God" get on paper: Did the Holy Spirit bypass human agency and write those on parchment directly with his finger or did those literal words also come through the medium of God's apostles and prophets?
OY VEY!!!
Now, "world" in Jn 3:16 has numerous meanings. Universe doesn't fit the context since there is no biblical record that the sons of men (for whom Christ died) live anywhere other than on this little planet. Besides, this the term "kosmos" has a more narrow meaning:
kosmos
NT:2889 kosmos (kos'-mos); probably from the base of NT:2865; orderly arrangement, i.e. decoration; by implication, the world (in a wide or narrow sense, including its inhabitants, literally or figuratively [morally]):
KJV - adorning, world.
Notice at the very end in brackets "morally". (Some translators also say spiritually.) And also notice that this term is used in the wide or narrow sense. And this moral/spiritual application makes perfectly good sense because Spiritually or Morally there are only TWO kinds of people in this world. In Jn 3:16, it's used in the narrow sense to denote who God loves -- which cannot be sinners, according to numerous scripture. Therefore, who God loves in this passage are all the "whoevers" of this world who come to believe on his His Son. The "whosoever" qualifies the extent of God's love. (This is why when I share the Gospel, I give the straight biblical skinny on who God loves and died for: All those who come to believe on His Son and repent or their sins.)
But in Jn 17:9, we have the opposite scenario. Jesus omitted the "world" from his prayer because he prayed only for the two groups of elect he specifically mentioned in the chapter. "World" in this passage, therefore, is used in the negative sense and denotes the world of non-elect unbelievers.
Also, as stated previously, the nation Israel itself sets the precedent for this kind of usage for the term "world", since Paul tell us in Rom 9 that there are two distinct groups of Israelites -- Israel according to the flesh (mere physical lineage) and spiritual Israel according to the Promise.
Jesus tells us in the Good Shepherd discourse that he laid down his life for his sheep (Jn 10:15), making no mention of the goats in this world; but instead telling us elsewhere that the day would come when he would judge and condemn the goats of this world (Mat 25:31-43). He also mentions two flocks of sheep (Israel according to the Promise) and the elect Gentiles who would be brought in to join the Jewish flock, so that the two flocks will become one (Jn 10:16).
Also, at the Last Supper, Jesus himself limited the extent of his atoning work's application to just "you" or "many" (Mat 26:28; Mk 14:24; Lk 22:20). Jesus had only one group in mind, and it was not the entire world in the distributive sense.
In Gal 3:22 Paul tells us that "the whole world" is a prisoner of sin; yet this can't be true in the distributive sense since Paul teaches us elsewhere that sin shall not be a master over us (Rom 6:14. And Jesus himself said he would set his people free and the Truth would also set his disciples free (Jn 8:32, 36). John also taught that no one born of God can live a lifestyle of sin (1Jn 3:9). So again, "whole world" is being used to denote the world of unbelievers.
In fact, John tells us in 1Jn 5:19 the "whole world" lies under the power of the evil one; yet this cannot be true in the distributive sense since the apostle said earlier that "no one born of God can keep on sinning" (1Jn 3:9). Or did John contradict himself? Or maybe 1 John isn't divinely inspired? Or do we just have another situation here where "whole world" is used in a narrow sense to denote the ungodly world of unbelievers?
To sum up, all these metaphors and groups can be traced back to their origin in Gen 3:15, wherein God immediately after the Fall soverignly decreed (without consulting with any human being, or getting any human's permission) that from now on there would be two distinct moral/spiritual groups of people in this world: The godly seed of the Woman and the ungodly seed of the Serpent (Gen 3:15). There is no third seed. (And the First Adam certainly didn't descend from Eve, did he!?) So, from the very beginning, not only did we have the divine decree, but we had a "sheep" and a "goat" for our first parents! (And just as an interesting aside, a goat's head is a satanic symbol, is it not!?)
Again, scripture is self-interpreting to those who are open to seeing or hearing what it plainly says. Not only is scripture self-interpreting but it is internally consistent with itself, which if what we should expect since God cannot lie. But this is certainly not true of the Non-Reformed traditions of the Gospel, which produce so many contradictions they virtually defy counting!