The Gospel According to John 3: 16

By Joseph John Bowman

John 3:16 is the most well-known verse in the Bible. God has used it in the salvation of many precious souls. This verse is the most concise statement of the love of God for us and the way He made so that we can get to Heaven. Martin Luther called it “The gospel in a nutshell.” It tells us that God planned our salvation and

• Language: English
• Publisher: TOPLINK PUBLISHING, LLC
• Release date: Nov 19, 2018
• ISBN: 9781970066456

Joseph John Bowman

The author is a Canadian born in British Columbia. He was saved at the age of seven. At the age of thirteen, he was baptized by immersion in a small town in B.C. Following that, he came into the fellowship of the local Church. He then moved to Edmonton, Alberta to attend a Bible School and has lived there for over forty years. He met his wife there, and they have two sons and seven grandchildren. He has served in the place he worships as an elder and Bible teacher as well as an evangelist. During the last ten years, he has spent much time putting the truths of the Bible to paper. He has spent more time studying his Bible, and as a result, trusts that these thoughts on the Scriptures will be a help and encouragement to you.

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The Gospel According to John 3:16

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Joseph John Bowman

Copyright © 2018 by Joseph John Bowman.

Paperback: 978-1-970066-44-9

eBook: 978-1-970066-45-6

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any eleactronic or mechanical means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.a

All Scripture quotations – unless otherwise mentioned – are from the King James Version of the Bible. (It is known otherwise as the Authorized Version.)

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Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

Chapter One – For

Chapter Two – A God of Love

Chapter Three – The Physical World – God Made It

Chapter Four – The Human World – God Loves It

Chapter Five – The World’s Systems – God Hates Them

Chapter Six – God Gave His Son – To Bethlehem

Chapter Seven – God gave His Son – To Israel

Chapter Eight – God gave His Son – To the World

Chapter Nine – God gave His Son – To the Cross

Chapter Ten – Our Responsibility – To Believe

Chapter Eleven – Believe or Perish

Chapter Twelve – Eternal – Everlasting Life – Its Security

Chapter Thirteen – Eternal – Everlasting Life – Its Length

Chapter Fourteen – Eternal – Everlasting Life – Its Quality

Chapter Fifteen – Eight Things that will Pass Away

– Rev.21:1-22:5

Summary

One Last Offer

Conclusion

Bibliography

Biography

For your information, the following was written by the same author:

1. Heaven My Celestial Home

Acknowledgments

Before starting, I want to make clear that anything I have said or learned during my study of the Bible is not due to any knowledge that I have gained solely by myself. There is a saying No man is an island, and that is especially true of all believers. I remember a well-respected man of God, John Abernethy, saying once, You can always tell a self-taught man because he is the man who does not know anything. I want to state that I have learned much from ministry and gospel given on this verse over the years. I knew a teacher of the Word who had been studying the Scriptures for most of his life. His name was Arnold Adams. He was involved in the public ministry of the Lord for well over sixty years. When he was ninety-three, he told his son that he had enjoyed some fresh thoughts on the three individuals in John 3:16. His fresh insight shows us that much as we know, we will never know it all. There will always be so much more to learn of the things of God.

In all of our study of the Scriptures, we will never learn all there is in any one passage. As well it will never grow old or dry to us. That is true, no matter how much we may think we know, or understand, of any given passage of God’s Word.

In the study of the Scriptures and learning the doctrines taught therein, we need the fellowship and teaching of one another. We are indispensable the one to the other.

However, there is a source that every believer has, who is greater and more knowledgeable than any human, great though they may be. He is the Holy Spirit of God. The Lord Jesus promised that when He came into the world that He would teach us all things. We have His mission, to the believers, given to us in these verses.

Howbeit when He the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself: but whatsoever He shall hear, that doth He speak: and He shall show you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you (John 16:13-14).

It is unto Him we owe all truth. He is the One who teaches us the things of God. We would be powerless to understand what is taught by God without His intervention and teaching. Knowing this truth, we are more appreciative of His work when we realize that His teaching is unknown among the unsaved. They are entirely ignorant of the teachings of Scripture. Some know the facts of the Bible because they use it as a textbook, and learn its’ contents that way. However, the depths of the teachings of the things of God are hidden from them. They are only made known unto His people through the intervention of His Spirit to His people. Paul tells us that those who are unsaved are unable to understand the Word of God. He said, calling those who are unsaved a natural man.,

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Cor. 2:14).

On the other side, those who are saved, are referred to as spiritual. The believers can understand the things of God even though they may be ignorant of the teachings and knowledge of man.

But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:15-16).

The word judged has the meaning of one who can understand or scrutinize intensely. It tells us of how the believer looks into the depths of the things of God. That is our desire.

At this time I want to express my appreciation to my dear wife, Joanie. She has stood by me during many hours of study, and when I have spent time alone which we could have spent together. I owe her much as she has gone over my writings many times. She has corrected spelling and grammar errors and made many valuable suggestions on how the text should best be written. She has made it more understandable in many ways. She has been a great help in correcting factual errors in the text. For that and much more, I want to say how much I appreciate the valuable part she has played.

Preface

John three sixteen is the best-known verse in the Bible. Every child who has ever been to Sunday School has heard it. Most have memorized it at one time or other. I know that because I was one of those children.

From my youngest years, I had the Bible read to me, and I learned all of the leading Bible stories. As a family, we spent time around the breakfast table memorizing verses and passages from the Bible. Almost the first verse I learned to say by heart was John 3:16. In time I, along with my brother and sisters learned the whole chapter by heart. The message in it is timeless. We will never tire of its majesty and grace.

One of the first memories I have of it was when I was about five or six. In the Sunday School, I attended there was a contest. We were to learn and be able to say correctly, all of the books of the Bible. As the first one to be able to say them, I won a plaster text with the verse John 3:16 carved on it.

That text hung on the wall of my bedroom for many years. It was impressed on my memory, and I learned the account of the interview the Lord Jesus had with Nicodemus by heart. It became an essential part of my young life as I came to realize the necessity of the new birth. I learned that the only way for that to be accomplished was through the message given in this verse. It had an indelible impact on me, and that impression has remained to this day.

It has had an impression on the majority of believers. There is hardly a gospel meeting when this verse is not quoted. There are many verses that preachers of the gospel use frequently. However, there is none that is quoted more often than this verse. I know that because I have used it myself, in almost every message I have preached. God has used this verse in the salvation of countless souls.

If there were no other verses given to us, we would be without excuse, for this verse tells us the way of salvation. Even a child can understand that God has made a way whereby they might be saved. It is not complicated and needs not for us to perform any great work and change our way of life. All we need to do is believe. It does not take a lot of intelligence or significant knowledge of the Bible to understand the message given here.

I was recently reminded of a preacher of the gospel, who during one of his campaigns spoke for three weeks on John 3:16. Upon being asked why his response was,

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 (John 3:16).

We can never speak too many times on this verse because the