The 3:16s

Every "3:16" verse in the New Testament, and what it says to me. I will be using the NIV for my purposes here. 3:16 will always be included, but other verses will be used as necessary.

Matthew 3:16-17:

"As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

These verses are cool for many reasons. First, God appears in all three of His "forms," Father, Son, and Spirit. I don't think this happens anywhere else, so baptism is obviously important. Also, Jesus came "up out of the water." The prepositions imply that total immersion is necessary to have a real baptism. If Jesus was baptized in such a way, surely we all must follow. Good stuff.

Mark 3:16-19

"These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him."

A list of the twelve disciples. Good information, but probably the least useful verse of those that I am posting. Not a bad list to know, though.

Luke 3:16

"John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

The fire of the Holy Spirit burns in all saved Christians, ignited by the salvation that Jesus Christ offers, and symbolized by baptism in his name after being graced with said salvation. The Holy Spirit allows us to evangelize and to do good works. Wonderful.

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Everyone knows this one. It is worth note that this verse was spoken by Jesus himself to Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin and a leading Pharisee. Jesus is here both literally telling Nicodemus that salvation and entrance into heaven only comes through the Son, but that traditions of man (which the Pharisees were very well known for: they took Levitican and Deuteronimian law very very very literally) are not enough. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8-9. These verses, in conjunction, basically define the basis of Chrsitianity.

Acts 3:16

"By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see."

This verse is referring to Peter's healing of a cripple earlier in Chapter 3. It shows that all power that man has to do good comes from faith in Christ. All of the miracles done by the apostles were done only through the power of Christ, and thus it is the same with us.

Romans 3:10-18

As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know." "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Oh. My. Goodness! These verses are a stunning, painful indictment of the sinful nature of mankind! No one seeks God; He brings us to Him. We cannot by our own volition follow His Word; it is by grace. We are natural sinners, but we are able to strive towards righteousness through the power of God alone. It is by His mercy that we are offered salvation, despite our natures.

1 Corinthians 3:16

"Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?"

Take care of your body, because God lives in it. Do not desecrate it or engage in sin, because you are defiling a temple of God. This is a serious commandment.

2 Corinthians 3:13-16

"We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains as the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is lifted away."

New Testament grace is superior to Old Testament law in many respects, this being paramount among them. We are not truly able to see God's plan simply via the old method. Only though Chirst may our blindness be taken away, and allow us to follow a path that brings glory to God; our sole purpose.

Galatians 3:16

"The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ."

This one is very difficult for me to uncover, but I am pretty sure that it means that we all will reap the rewards promised to Abraham's descendents, because we are all one through Christ. (Galatians 3:28)

Ephesians 3:14-19

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

Paul is saying that all knowledge, power, everything, comes from God (which seems to be a prominent theme in my responses to these verses, but it is true: EVERYTHING is from God!) The Holy Spirit allows us to live in a Christ-like manner, which we should strive to do. Agape cannot be understood without God.



(I have been writing for quite a while now and am becoming weary. It might have something to do with writing for an hour and a half. I will finish this later, but I want to know what everyone thinks about this so far.)