Commentaries:
None of God's beneficence in any way means He approves of the conduct of sinful men, but rather it is a revelation of His nature that, despite men's wickedness, He has benevolent feelings toward them. He earnestly desires their happiness and is sincerely devoted to helping them make a success of life.
The whole world lies in wickedness (I John 5:19), and mankind is unable to extricate itself from it. Part of God's solution is to give a blessing, a gift, by which all the sins of humanity can be met and paid. Think of how much good fruit will be produced because of it! Can any kindness be greater than this? Absolutely not! But it does set a clear standard and pattern of conduct for us to exemplify in our lives so we too can be seen as children of God.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Fruit of the Spirit: Kindness
The Father and the Son are not failures; their plan is right on schedule. Most of the world will be saved! The question is, "When?" However, most people will not be saved at the return of Christ—the order of resurrections (I Corinthians 15:23; Revelation 20:4-15) allows for a broader timeframe for saving the world.
Staff
Who Are the 144,000?
Our God, Jesus Christ, gave up everything and redeemed the whole world. Notice, however, this verse says, "whoever believes in Him . . . should have everlasting life," not the whole world. He did not sacrifice Himself for all mankind just because they were there, but for those out of the whole world who believed in Him. Paul writes in Hebrews 9:26, 28 that Christ gave Himself "once" for all time, for the remission of sin, and He does not have to sacrifice Himself again. That is "all" it took, but it took all He had.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Parables of Matthew 13 (Part 3): Hidden Treasure
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
John 19:38-40
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