John 3:36

36 He that believes on the Son has life eternal, and he that is not subject to the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him.

John 3:36 Meaning and Commentary

John 3:36

He that believeth on the Son
Who is a proper object of faith and trust; which, if he was not truly and properly God, he would not be: and this is to be understood not of any sort of faith, a temporary, or an historical one; but of that which is the faith of God's elect, the gift of God, and the operation of his Spirit; by which a man sees the Son, goes unto him, ventures and relies upon him, and commits himself to him, and expects life and salvation from him; and who shall not be ashamed and confounded; for such an one

hath everlasting life;
he has it in Christ his head, in whom he believes; he has a right unto it through the justifying righteousness of Christ, and a meetness for it by his grace; he has it in faith and hope; he has the beginning of it in the knowledge of Christ, and communion with him; he has some foretastes of it in his present experience; and he has the earnest and pledge of it in his heart, even the blessed Spirit, who works him up for this selfsame thing:

and he that believeth not the Son;
that does not believe Christ to be the Son of God, or Jesus to be the Messiah; or rejects him as the Saviour; who lives and dies in a state of impenitence and unbelief:

shall not see life;
eternal life; he shall not enter into it, and enjoy it; he shall die the second death. Very remarkable are the following words of the Jews ^F2 concerning the Messiah, whom they call the latter Redeemer:

``whosoever believes in him "shall" live; but he that believes not in him shall go to the nations of the world, and they shall kill him.''

But the wrath of God abideth on him;
as the sentence of wrath, of condemnation, and death, and the curse of the law were pronounced upon him in Adam, as on all mankind, it continues, and will continue, and will never be reversed, but will be executed on him, he not being redeemed from it, as his final unbelief shows; and as he was by nature a child of wrath, as others, he remains such; and as the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness of men, it comes upon the children of disobedience, and remains there; it hangs over their heads, and lights upon them, and they will be filled with a dreadful sense of it to all eternity. The Syriac and Arabic versions render it, "shall abide upon him"; so some copies.

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 Midrash Ruth, fol. 33. 2.

John 3:36 In-Context

34 for he whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives not the Spirit by measure.

35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things [to be] in his hand.

36 He that believes on the Son has life eternal, and he that is not subject to the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him.

Footnotes

• [a]. Eis: see Note, 2Tim. 1.12.
• [b]. Or 'believes not on.' It is the obedience of submission to his person, not practical obedience to his commands, whatever proof this may be of the other; but it is not exactly the same thing as believing on him as an object revealed in grace: see Note, Heb. 3.18.