The text of John 3:16-18 is included in the context formed by 3:9-21. Nicodemus, not understanding how one is born "in water and Spirit" receives an explanation that is centered on the role of the "One from heaven" (see v. 13), the "Son of Man" (v. 13.14) who is further identified in these verses as "God's only Son" (v. 16), "the only Son of God" (v.18). Verses 16-18 is an explanation of vv. 14-15: "And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life ."
"Ëternal life" is the life that is found in the Word (John 1:4) that became flesh and dwelt among us (1:14). It is related to the water that Jesus gives (see John 4) and to birth "in water and Spirit" (3:5). In 3:16-18 "having eternal life" is contrasted with "perish" (16) and "being condemned" (18) and is synonimous with "being saved" (v. 17). "To have eternal life", "to be saved" hangs on one condition: that one believes in the name of the only Son of God (v.18), who is also the "Son of Man" that will be "lifted up" on the cross (v. 14-15).
"Eternal life" is offered through the Son of God whom God "gave" to the world, "sending" Him. Scholars recognize in God's act of giving-sending the events of the Incarnation and death on the cross, both of which are expressions of God's love. Raymond Brown observes that the result clause in 3:16 expresses the reality of the action's result, i.e. that God actually gave His Son because of His love. It is a nuance that is made more explicit in John's first epistle: the insistence that Jesus' coming into this world and his death was real.1
In the biblical literature of the Old Testament, the idea of salvation has two coordinates: rescue from a threatened life and restoration to a more secure life2. It is an idea that is theologized in God's acts in behalf of his people, for his servant David and for His devotees. In the literature of the New Testament, salvation is identified with Jesus in whom God has acted in a definitive way. The idea of salvation is also correlated with the idea of covenant. Thus, while Yahweh rescues Israel from a threatened existence from Pharaoh, he still gives them a choice as to whether they will stay with Him or not. In Deuteronomy, this is tantamount to a choice between life and death: fidelity to the covenant leads to life, infidelity leads to death3. The manner by which Israel defines itself vis-a-vis the covenant with Yahweh determines whether they live or die. In John 3:16-18, one's attitude towards Jesus spells the difference between life and death, being saved and being condemned. Thus, God is moved by love to save the world, offering his Son to it. Those who would "believe" the Son will pass on to life while those who do not, will remain in condemnation.
The One Sent by God is then the key to life. In vv. 34-36, we find a further clarification about "believing" in the Son.
For the one whom God sent
speaks the words of God.
The Father loves the Son
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,
but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life,
"Belief" in the Son is synonimous with "obeying" the Son, what Paul describes as "the obedience of faith." The faith that brings to life is a response to God's invitation in Christ that involves one's way of life. It requires the reordering of one's priorities according to the norms set forth by Jesus. In John 14-16, this is synonimous with "abiding in Jesus' words", "keeping Jesus' commands". In John 6:60-71, it also means remaining faithful to Jesus even when one's companions in discipleship have abandoned him.
There is another aspect to "belief" that needs to be mentioned: those who believe in Jesus are the Father's gifts to Him. In other words, even the act of believing does not derive primarily from one's own sensibilities or convictions; it is also received. Jesus will express this in a different way: "No one comes to me unless it is granted to him by the Father (Jn. 6:65)." Thus, if to believe in Jesus means to be among his disciples, it is not by human decision that one becomes so, but "of God". Already in the Prologue (see John 1:13) we find this description of those who "accept" the Son: they are those
who were born not by natural generation
nor by human choice
nor by a man's decision
but of God.
The new birth that is the topic of Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, a birth "in water and Spirit", is made possible by God who invites all men to life in the Son, in obedience to Him who is Word of God, constituting them as God's children and making Himself known to them as "Father" (cf. Jn. 17:6).
Finally, the One Sent is also the one who gives His Spirit without measure. Spirit is how we translate the Greek word "pneuma" which also means "breath" or "wind". It is not difficult to see the relationship between "Spirit" and "life" since we know that those are alive who still breathe. The common experience of the spoken word accompanied by the act of breathing out is probably behind the juxtaposition of the statements about the words of the One Sent on the one hand and the "gift of the Spirit" in the other (3:34). If one who obeys Jesus' words is also his disciple, then discipleship cannot do without the Spirit. The statements of Jesus about the Holy Spirit in Jn. 14-16 confirms this interpretation. The Spirit is the other Advocate who will always be with those who obey Jesus' words. If in 3:16-17 it is the Son whom God "sent" and "gave", in Jn. 14-16, it is the Spirit whom Jesus will send and give to his disciples. Thus the downward movement that proceeds from God towards the world in His act of love involves His giving of the Son and the Son's giving the Holy Spirit. In fact, at the moment of Jesus' death on the cross, he "handed over the Spirit." And then on the evening of His Resurrection, he once more gave the Spirit to his disciples in the act of sending them.
The birth "from above" that Jesus explains to Nicodemus is the work of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. God who is "love" is the Father who grants rebirth to eternal life, through His Son who gave the Spirit to the world and to those He called "brothers" that they may have life and have it to the full.
- 1. See 1 Jn. 2:22-23;4:2-3;5:6-12.
- 2. The idea of redemption is to be understood as an act of rescuing someone through substitution. One redeems by exchanging something for someone as in the case of prisoners of war who have to be "redeemed" for a price set by the captors.
- 3. See for example Deut. 8:18-20 and Joshua 23:6-16.
