Whoever Lives by the Truth Comes into the Light
John 3:21a
But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light,
I. Lives by the truth
If we borrow the matching expression in the Old Testament for ‘lives by the truth’, it would be ‘to demonstrate one’s faithfulness”, “to act faithfully”, or “to act uprightly” [3].
II. Comes into the light
To remember that God is the initiator and principal actor in salvation [1] (John 3:16, 1 John 4:10, Romans 5:8, John 6:44), let us read John 6:44.
‘No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.
God wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).
Two different responses are written in John 3:20 and John 3:21.
III. Whoever
Some people persist in doing good and seek glory, honour and immortality. They will establish the experiential relationship with the light (John 1:4, John 17:3). See Romans 2:6-7.
6 God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life.
Some people stand on the side of truth. They listen (and come) to the light. See John 18:37b.
Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.
Some people hear God and learn from Him. They come to the light. See John 6:45.
It is written in the Prophets: “They will all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.
Some people are close to the kingdom of God. See Mark 12:34.
When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’
The reference used for this section is [2].
References
[1] Borchert, Gerald L. The New American Commentary: John 1-11.
[2] Lange, John Peter; Schaff, Philip. A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: John.
[3] Bryant, Beauford H.; Krause, Mark S. The Gospel of John.
