John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Reading John 3:16, it seems as if anyone who believes in the Son of God will have eternal life. Our pastors have told us to believe in the Son of God is to believe in the cross and what He did for us. Based on our first impression of John 3:16 and what our pastors have told us, it appears that this offer is made to everyone in the world because God so loved the world.
On the other hand, if we would read John 3:16 in Greek, it says, “For God so loved kosmos,” it does not say “for God so loved the world.” Who or what is kosmos?
There are several different ways to translate kosmos, all depending on the context. We can easily translate kosmos as the world or even as the universe. It is also possible to translate it as order, and something ordered. If we were to translate it as the universe, we quickly ran into a contextual problem because the universe refers to planet earth and all the other planets in the known universe. Nowhere in the Bible does it say anything about life on other planets. This is why we can not say, “For God so loved the universe” because that would make it seem as if Jesus died for the sins of humanity and the sins of people/creatures on other planets. In Matthew 15:24, Yeshua says He only came for the lost sheep of the house of Israel, not for the entire world. This shows us we can not translate kosmos as the world. So then we are left with only one option, translate it as order and something ordered.
“For God so loved order that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John, the apostle, was a Hebrew and a Jew, used to thinking and speaking Hebraic and not Greek. So when he wrote John 3:16, he thought in Hebrew and translated it into Greek. The word kosmos is a Greek translation of the Hebrew word Shalom. What John was trying to say in Hebrew was, “For God so loved Shalom that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
What is Shalom?
Shalom is so much more than just peace; it is completeness, wholeness, abundance, and peace in every area of your life. The Bible says, in Psalm 119, Psalm 1, Matthew 6:25-34, Shalom comes to us when we obey the Mosaic law (the Torah). So in a way, it would not be wrong of us to translate John 3:16 as:
“For so God loved the law of Moses that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”
What does it mean to believe in someone in the Bible?
The word used for believe in someone means to obey them and their authority. So if you believe Jesus is your Lord, you will not only believe He died for you, but you will also follow His teachings. What did He teach us to do? Matthew 23:2-4 says He taught us to obey Moses. So if you believe in Jesus, you will abide by Moses.
This is why we could also translate John 3:16 as:
“For so God loved the law of Moses that He gave His one and only Son so that whoever obeys the Son will not perish but have eternal life.”
John 1 says Yeshua (Jesus Christ) is the word of God, and He has no beginning and no end. Psalm 119, among other examples, says the Torah (the law of Moses) is the word of God. This is why the Bible says Yeshua is the living, walking, breathing Torah (the Mosaic law.)
This is why we could also easily translate John 3:16 as:
“For so God loved the law of Moses that He gave the law of Moses so whoever obeys it will not perish but have eternal life.”
So what happens if we obey the Mosaic law?
The Bible says in Matthew 6:25-34, among other examples, we will be given Shalom. Shalom is not an absence of problems, but Shalom is the fullness of everything you need in your life right now to face whatever situation you might find yourself in. It is what we see described in Matthew 6:25-34 and Deut 28:1-13; it is an existence where Yehovah meets all our needs.
What the Bible says is not that Yehovah loves the world, but that Yehovah loves the Torah (the law of Moses), so He gave the Torah so whoever obeys the Torah will have eternal life. The Torah (Jesus) came to teach us how to follow the Torah, and then He went to the cross and atoned for all the times we have broken it. So when He was whipped and crushed for our sins, it was the Torah you and I disobeyed who was broken, beaten, and crushed for our iniquities. The Torah had every right to judge us, but instead, He chose to teach us how to properly obey Him and then take upon Himself the punishment we all deserve.
Now we understand Matthew 15:24.
In Matthew 15:24 the Yeshua says He has only come for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The question then gives itself, how can we identify Israel? Isaiah 56:3, Rom 2:29 says Israel is all those who obey Torah (the law of Moses.)
This is why we could also translate John 3:16 as For so Yehovah loved Israel that He gave Israel Shalom by once more giving them the Mosaic law so whoever obeys it will not perish but have eternal life.
This is what John 3:16, Matt 15:24 are all trying to tell us: Yehovah never loved the world; He loves Israel. And because of His love for Israel, and because of His promise to Abraham, He has given Israel one more chance to live by the Torah. (Jer 31) Now He has given Israel a living, walking, breathing Torah who walked among them and taught them how to obey Him. Then He went to the cross, following the Torah as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. If we repent back to the Torah (the law of Moses), we will be healed of our sicknesses because, by His stripes, we are healed. We will be given Shalom and not lack anything.
Choose to repent and come back to the Torah today to walk in perfect Shalom.
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I hope this Shabbat sermon has blessed you. If you have any need for prayer or a prophecy, please contact me today for free. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me for free.
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