"The 'what-ifs?' increase exponentially when your heart is walking around outside of your body wearing Buzz Lightyear light up shoes."
- BlestWithSons
Friday, January 15, 2010
Have you ever noticed how many really good verses in the Bible are chapter 3, verse 16? I know that the chapters and verses were added over a thousand years after the bible was written. So I realize it's just coincidence. But it's a cool one. So just for fun, I thought we should look at all the 3:16's in the New Testament and see what we learn.
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. (Matthew)
These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter) (Mark)
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. (Luke)
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. (John)
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. (Acts)
ruin and misery mark their ways (Romans)
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? (I Corinthians)
But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (II Corinthians)
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. (Galatians)
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (Ephesians)
Only let us live up to what we have already attained. (Philippians)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. (Colossians)
v.13-May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.(There was no I Thessalonians 3:16, so I used the last verse of chapter 3.)
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. (II Thessalonians)
Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great:
He appeared in a body,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory. (I Timothy)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (II Timothy)
Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith.
Grace be with you all. (Titus 3:15 - last verse of the book.)
no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.( Philemon verse 16 - There's only one chapter.)
Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? (Hebrews)
For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. (James)
keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (I Peter)
He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (II Peter)
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. (I John)
So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.(Revelation)
Kind of a fun New Testament Survey, huh? If nothing else, at least this will help you remember the address for some common verses. Though I found reading these verses quite edifying.Did you notice that almost all of those verses are about Jesus?
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Comments on "3:16":
2. Bill
- 01/15/2010 8:21 pm CST
Awesome observation, Phil.
Knuth wrote a book on this? Awesome! He was *the man* for computer geeks back when I was getting my comp sci degree. That was in the early pre-Cambrian era, of course.
3. Bob Sacamento
- 01/16/2010 10:20 am CST
Knuth wrote another book, something like "Things a Computer Scientist Rarely Thinks About" based on some lectures he gave at MIT, where he talked alot about his "3:16 project". Kind of interesting. He's more of a mainline Protestant than an Evangelical but it's still a book an Evangelical geek would want to read.
4. Cara
- 01/17/2010 12:27 am CST
Not to be nit-picking nerd (and I suppose it may depend on what translation you're using) but I have "13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead" for Philippians 3:16.
The only reason I noticed is because I was talking about the paradoxes in the Bible of the "already and not yet" with some girls one of whom is arguing that we are all already saints and perfect, seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, and the other who is convinced of the necessity of confessing that we are all sinners and keeping a low view of ourselves. It was an interesting conversation - love those kind. Later we talked about shoes. :)
Your version stuck out to me because I wondered what the entire chapter was discussing as far as "what we have already attained." So there you go. :) At any rate, this scripture turned out to be a great reminder to press forward and not look back, (no matter if we've ironed out if we're simultaneously saints and sinners shopping for more shoes).
5. Shrode
- 01/17/2010 6:37 am CST
Cara,
First of all that is an interesting discussion!
Second of all,did you notice that whatever version you pasted from above literally had a "13" in the front? go back and look at your comment. The NIV and HCSB both have what I cited as v.16 and what you cited as v.13.
In what translation did you see what you cited as verse 16?
The King James has this as verse 16-
16Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
7. Pigwotflies
- 01/20/2010 3:45 am CST
I was going to mention the Knuth book, but James got there first. It is beautiful - each verse is illuminated by a different calligrapher and accompanied by Knuth's, sometimes idiosyncratic, but interesting thoughts on the book from which it comes. I bought my fiance a copy for his birthday. The easiest way to get hold of it is direct from the publishers, A-R Editions (Who seem to mostly publish early music).
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Donald Knuth (computer scientist extraordinaire) wrote a book on that very topic called 3:16. It's pretty hard to find, but I have flipped through a copy. Worth a look if you can get it!