The Blessed Name: Jesus
When God’s Son came into our flesh, Mary and Joseph named Him “Jesus.” He was not named this after some relative; nor was the name given only because it pleased Mary.
Mary and Joseph followed God’s own instruction. The angel Gabriel told Mary that this was to be His Name (Luke 1). Later, when Joseph planned to put Mary away secretly because of her pregnancy, the Lord spoke to him. Joseph was told that this baby was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. “And,” said the Lord, “He shall save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).
The name “Jesus” is derived from the words “Jehovah” and “saves.” It is the name which emphasizes so clearly that salvation is wholly of Jehovah—not of man. Jesus comes to pay fully for all of the sins of His people. Nothing need be added ever.
One must note two blessed truths taught by the Lord in Matthew 1:21. First, we are told that He shall save. It is emphatic, not merely a future event. The Lord Himself told Joseph in the dream of the certainty of the salvation which Jesus shall obtain.
Secondly, we are shown that this salvation is for “His people.” It is not that Jesus will try to save all but will succeed in saving only His people. Rather, He came only to save His people. He will pay fully for their sins alone.
Jesus, later in His ministry, was very conscious of this calling. In John 6:37 He speaks of those whom “The Father gave Him.” These are “drawn” (John 6:44) and they shall come to Him and be saved. He speaks also of “His sheep” and reminds the Pharisees, “Ye are not of my sheep.” For His sheep He declares that He gives His life (John 10:11, 15, 26).
He prays not for the world (John 17:9) but for those given Him of the Father. These are the very ones, the only ones, He comes to save.
Indeed, the Christian has great cause to celebrate the Incarnation—the coming of the Son of God into human flesh. God was carrying out in time what He had eternally determined: to save in Christ those whom He had eternally chosen. (Romans 9)
To God be all the glory for the salvation of His people in Christ!!
God So Loved the World: John 3:16
John 3:16 is the text most cited when men want to prove that Christ died for everyone and that God loves every man. “There it is,” they say, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.” How could it be any plainer? Anyone who understands the English language can see that this is what the Bible teaches.
But is that so? Is it true that God loves every man? Is it true that Christ died for every man? Is it true that John 3:16 teaches this?
We ought to be sure we know what we are talking about.
Does the Bible give us the right to say to every single person: “God loves you?”
Many say that the Bible indeed gives us that right.
The reason why it is so important that we understand this text is because we can get ourselves into all sorts of trouble by making this text teach that God loves every man head for head; that Christ died for everyone head for head.
Just think about it for a moment. If God loves every man and Christ died for every man, then the big question is: Why do some men go to hell?
The only answer can be: God throws into hell those whom He loves. God throws into hell those for whom Christ died. But how can that be?
Many will answer this question: Yes, but man must decide for himself whether he is going to accept that love of God which is revealed in the cross. If he accepts that love of God and allows Jesus into His heart, then he will be saved. If he does not accept that love of God, then he will go to hell.
But this answer will not do.
It will not do because then God’s love is powerless and Christ’s death on the cross is powerless. God’s love cannot save. Christ’s death cannot save. Though God loves a man and Christ died for a man, that same man frustrates and defeats God’s love and Christ’s death.
The question is this: What is meant by the word “world”? Does the word “world” ever mean every man head for head? I think it was Spurgeon who said somewhere that there is not one single place in the whole Bible where the word “world” means every man head for head.
Spurgeon was right.
The word “world” means many different things in the Bible.
In John 1:10, “world” means “the whole created universe”: “And the world was made by him.” Here it does not mean every man head for head.
In John 16:33 “world” means “the world of sin”: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” This is also the meaning in John 2:15-16: “Love not the world … If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” The Bible makes a distinction between the people of God and the world.
In John 12:19 the word “world” means “the majority of men in Palestine”: “Behold, the world is gone after him.” Surely no one would say that here every man head for head is meant.
In John 15:18 “world” means “those who hated Christ and His disciples”: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” Again a distinction is made between the world and those who are disciples of Jesus.
And so we could go on. Nowhere does “world” mean every man head for head.
But here the world is said to be the object of God’s love. And that too is found in other places in the Bible. See, e.g., I John 2:2.
What does the word “world” mean here?
We must remember first of all that Jesus is talking with Nicodemus. And the one thing Nicodemus had to learn was that one was not saved simply because he was a Jew. He had to learn that those who are born again are the ones that see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). Jesus now makes it clear that this gift of regeneration is not for Jews only but is for the whole world. That is, God would save through Christ the whole world and not just the Jews. God saves a church from every nation under heaven.
The second truth of importance is that the word “world” in John 3:16 is limited by the words: “Whosoever believeth on him.” Those who believe on Christ are those to whom God gives faith, for faith is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8). And those who receive faith are the elect. So those whom God loves are the elect, for they are the ones that believe in Christ. And they are the ones who are saved.
This world of elect God loves. He loves this world of elect because they are the true world, the world that God eternally determined to save. They are the world which are wheat, while the wicked world are the chaff (Matt. 3:12).
This world God loves. For this world Christ died. This is the world that believes and is saved.
Not My Choice
Is the faith of our fathers living in your life? In your church? We sing the song: “Faith of our fathers living still …” and no doubt the faith is living. But the question is, “Where is that faith living and confessed?” And, “What is the faith of our fathers?” It was expressed over 350 years ago by our church fathers at the Synod of Dordt (in the Netherlands). We use the familiar acrostic: TULIP to help us remember what our fathers said the Bible teaches:
T – Total Depravity
U – Unconditional Election
This means simply: God chooses to give some people eternal life, without looking for anything good in them as a condition for loving and saving them.
Before any man or woman is born—in fact, before the world was made—God decided who would go to heaven and who would not. Before they did anything good or bad, God chose some to be His people and rejected others.
“CONDITIONAL election” would mean that God chooses to be His those who first love and choose Him. But the Bible says: “You have not chosen me, I have chosen you” (John 15:16; cf. Rom. 9:11-21). Acts 13:48 says that “as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” Only when we speak this language is the horse before the cart. CONDITIONAL election puts the cart before the horse, because it says that man believes and THEN is ordained to eternal life. Read carefully John 10:26 for another plain “horse before the cart” passage. Can one imagine what the denial of this doctrine would mean? If we remember that before we are saved, we can do nothing good (John 15:5; Eph. 2:1-6), the only conclusion is that we could never choose God. And never would. And never would be saved.
But God is sovereign and chooses whom He will choose. And after He chooses us, we choose Him daily. All we are and all we have is given us by God.
Again, this is the faith that we preach, because it is biblical; because it is the faith of our fathers, living still in our hearts, and because it gives God all the glory!!!! (to be continued…)
