Quote:
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"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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
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This is the bit I don't get. God/Jesus tells us that Jesus is sent by God "that the world through him shall be saved" - Now I can understand this if it relates to the world listening to Jesus' fundamental message of love thy neighbour and all that.
BUT
What I don't understand is where the whole sacrificial business comes in. What was going to happen if Jesus hadn't appeared when he did? Was God going to smite us all for our sins unless he got blood? That seems wrong somehow.
So I'm trying to reconcile a number of issues here - all of which are declared as truth at one point or another, by some group or other.
Jesus' divinity.
Jesus' status as sacrifice
Jesus' status as saviour (a saviour from ourselves, from God, from who, or what?)
The trinity in general
God's inability to commune with us in person,
and God's professed love for us, his creation.
The best reconciliation I can (still) think of is that God manifested himself as one of us, and lived among us, grew even to love us, even though he was killed by us - but has forgiven us our sins, saving us from immediate peril (God's angry retribution) on the one hand, and showing us the power of Faith, Forgiveness and His message, thus saving us from ourselves on the other.