A Lesson from the Gospel according to S. John, 3.9
Nicodemus answered and said unto Jesus, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
A Lesson from a Homily by the Venerable S. Bede (vol 2., 18)
So that Nicodemus would not suppose it was solely from the Son of Man that everlasting life was to be looked for, our Lord took care to disclose to him as well the mystery of His divinity, and to show that the Son of God and the Son of Man were one and the same Saviour of the world, thus Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Our Redeemer and Maker, who was Son of God before the ages, became Son of man at the end of ages. Thus the one Who, through the power of His divinity, had created us to enjoy the happiness of everlasting life, might Himself restore us, through the weakness of our humanity, to recover the life we had lost. Hence we must attempt in return to repay the acts of His divine kindness by loving God the Father with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole strength. He first loved us with so great a love that He did not spare His own Son but handed Him over for us all. Let us love the Son, Who, though He was in the form of God, for the sake of our liberty and life took the form of a slave and was made obedient even to death, death on a cross. Let us love the Holy Spirit of the Father and Son, for by His grace we are reborn, by His anointing we are signed unto the day of redemption; He breathes where He wills, and wherever He breathes He immediately enkindles the flame of divine love. let us believe that the Father Himself and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one God and our Lord.
If you find this edifying, please consider (if you haven’t already) becoming a paid subscriber. Your support goes directly to supporting the ministry of Akenside Institute for English Spirituality, a project I started 12 years ago to help to rebuild the Anglican tradition.
Share this post