Study of John 3:16, Part IV

Now, we should drive clear of confessing pure universalism and/or say that God only saved creation rather than the particular people called Christians. Lets look the design of God's love or the correct object of that love. It may be seen from the previous verses in John and their OT equivalents that the serpent was raised toward Israel, not Egypt. Lets define Israel in this parallel as all those who have heard the gospel. This is fitting because no one can be saved without hearing the gospel. This is not everyone without exception. This is enough to prove, that everyone without exception is not the meaning of world, but a particular people. It leaves another door open. It leaves another question unanswered.

There are three obvious possible reasons of God for raising such a serpent on a stick to the Israelites. 1)To punish the disobedient who do not look. 2)To heal the sick who look. 3)To give everyone a chance to be healed. These three things are not mutually exclusive. One may look at these things and say they are all simultaneously true. Or only one is true.

Let's delve into this matter further. The condemned are condemned already. The purpose of Christ coming and being raised is not to condemn. Number one is not valid. Here the split starts. Two and Three or just Two. One person may say the intent was to heal. Another may say that it was to give the chance to be healed and by virtue heal those who look.

This is like the Arminian/Calvinist split. Did God come to save or Did he just intend to give everyone a chance and have the ability to be saved by raising Christ up on the cross. The same dichotomy arises with Moses. The Calvinist will say that the disobedient will remain disobedient without God. The Arminian will say that they have a choice and it is solely their choice that makes them disobedient. Yet, its it by chance and choice or by grace alone that men are saved. Part 5 gets into all the details.