Herman Ridderbos in his work, The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary writes on John 3:12 which reads, “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things.” (ESV) Ridderbos comments,
“For in light of the heavenly things it will become clear that being born from above, from “water and Spirit,” is not an “anonymous” miracle from above but something that occurs only through faith in him who came from above or, as vs. 13 has it, “descended from heaven.”1
Ridderbos is affirming that “being born from above” comes about “only through faith in him who came from above.” Who are those who can have faith in him [Jesus] who came from above? Only a limited number of elect people? No! In John 3:14 and 15 we read,
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (ESV)
It is important to note that the “whoever believes” of Jn. 3:15 and 16 is accompanied by verse 17 which states the reason why God sent his Son into “the world.” It was not “to condemn the world” but “to save the world through him.” (CSB) John 3:16 is a summary of the gospel. Here are three translations that highlight different truths in the verse.
“For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that every one who believes in him shall not be lost, but should have eternal life.” (J. B. Phillips)
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (CSB)
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (ESV)
And lest we mistakenly think that God’s love for the “world” should be taken as a generic term from which we can extract a limited, predestined elect that he has set his love upon, equally important is verse 18. It clearly indicates the reason why one remains under condemnation. It is “because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” And it would be the height of a static eisegesis to conclude – as the Calvinist must – that this verse is providing us raw theological information about what is characteristic of the non-elect individual, that is, “he has not believed” because he has not been granted faith by God. That would be a complete distortion of the plain sense of the text. Yet that is what is required on Calvinism. The same goes for the “everyone” or “whosoever” that believes. This is not merely informing us that “whoever” believes is referring to those that God caused to believe on the basis that they are predestined to salvation. Rather, the “everyone” or “whoever” or “whosoever” is referring to anyone. It therefore means that faith is a possibility for any and every person and that there is a real dynamic of invitation to all here to be among the “everyone” or “whoever” or “whosoever” that believes. “That whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” is an invitation to do just that; to be among those who believe in him.
Again, the clear sense of the verse is that it is the person themselves who is rejecting the message and who is refusing to believe. The point is that this personal decision and responsibility is incoherent with unconditional election. Therefore, these verses show that unconditional election is unbiblical.
Hence, God’s love for “the world” means his love for the individuals that comprise that “world.” The term “world” is used precisely because of its universal implications and cannot artificially be restricted to a generic reference to an elect in every tribe, tongue, and nation as in Calvinism. Besides, even if “world” were to refer to every tribe, tongue, and nation, these are comprised of individual people and therefore John affirms God’s love for them all without exception. The Reformed doctrine of unconditional election must be read into the text. It does not flow from it.
Also, other accounts recorded in John speak of individuals themselves disobeying or rejecting Jesus. Inherent in the meaning of these words is the implication that they ought not and need not disobey but should obey. They ought not and need not reject Jesus but should accept him. This surely indicates that belief and unbelief are not predetermined by God. These texts speak against God changing people’s desires by an “irresistible grace” such that they believe or “passing them by” so that they remain in the unbelief they were predestined to by God.
We therefore take it that the Bible testifies to a genuine human response to God and Christ in texts such as Jn. 3:18, 36; 5:34, 37-47; 7:17; 8:24; 12:37, 48. This means that one’s eternal destiny is an open issue and dependent upon one’s response to “the gospel of God” (Mk. 1:14, 15). John’s gospel points out that coming to believe is a matter of a personal reorientation from a temporal, physical, earthly point of view to an eternal, spiritual, and heavenly point of view regarding the will and work of the Father in Christ (see Jn. 3:1-15; 6:25-65 especially v. 63). This was the very purpose of Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus. It is the very purpose of Jesus’ ministry as the Word of God. He was to show them the Father and the unity of himself and his work with the Father’s will. Also, the Spirit is at work in this Word. The gospel, if it is to be truly “good news,” presupposes that one can and must willingly acknowledge and come to “know” the will and work of the Father in Jesus (Jn. 7:17; 8:12-59; 15:21-25; 16:3; 17:3; 19:35; 20:24-31). Any sinner can come to this point because the Spirit is at work in the gospel message according to its content or message of grace (i.e. “God loves you,” “Jesus died for you,” etc.), as well as its call of invitation to the sinner to come to Christ and be saved through repentance and faith. The sinner’s response of faith or unbelief is not presented in these texts as predetermined by God. One can and must believe that Jesus was sent by the Father to be the savior of the world. One can also reject that revelation of God and the salvation found in Christ. And as it clearly states in John 3:18 that person remains under condemnation “because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.” (CSB)
Reformed Calvinist deterministic sovereignty, total inability, and unconditional election are therefore incoherent with this biblical witness to the dynamic nature of faith in the relationship between God and man. On this basis we are compelled to reject the Calvinist viewpoint and seek an understanding of sovereignty, election, and predestination that is coherent and consistent with the full scope of biblical teaching.
1 Herman Ridderbos, The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 134.
The Truth of the Gospel 