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The Wrath (?) of God in John 3:36
By John Gavazzoni
John was participating in an online forum supportive of the truth of universal salvation in Christ, when a participant raised the question re: how the verse, Jn. 3:36, might be seen as contradicting that blessed truth known formally as Restorationism and/or Apocatastasis. Below is John's contribution to the discussion, in an article form, showing that the verse is not problematic at all, especially when translated carefully from the original Greek text:
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The word, "wrath," as it is conventionally used, and meant to convey, is a very poor translation-option for the Greek word in the verse in question. The root meaning of the Greek in its most reduced form is, "intrinsic fervor" or "inherent fervor." As applied to God it speaks of His love in an impassioned mode, drawing forth out of its depths its full fire... "all fired up," we might say. When God sees the deep need at the heart of our unbelief, out of the depths of His love comes a fiery determination to save us from that affliction of soul. I did a study of our modern English word, "forgive," and its derivatives, "forgiveness/forgiven," and it traces back to the Old English, "forgifian." The prefix, "for," is in the intensive mode, intensifying the body of the word which is about giving (gifian).
Contrary to most religious thought, when confronted by our sin, God's propensity for giving is intensified. We should understand that to be so given Paul's statement that, "where sin abounds, grace doth much more abound." Forgiveness is not about God, on the basis of the crucifixion of Christ, changing His mind in regard to our sin so as to forensically absolve us of guilt. It's about God....as I like to put it....being out-the-gate conciliatory toward the sinner, NOT reckoning our sins against us. It's not about a change in the heart of God, it's about a change in our hearts as in, from the Book of Hebrews, the sprinkling of the blood on our hearts, as the blood of Christ answers the accusatory complicity of the law, our carnal minds, and our defiled consciences.
God never accuses us as demonstrated by Jesus' attitude toward His murderers. As difficult as it may be for some to receive, man's sin is God's opportunity to show how great is His love. Get rid of the word, "wrath" in that passage and other similar ones. Because of what it conveys in conventional speech, choosing it as a translation-option projects onto God something utter foreign to His nature. Knowing, as Jesus prayed, God does not hold our sin against us "for (we) know not what we do." Paul came to understand that about his persecution of the church of God: "I received mercy, for I did it ignorantly." Consistent with that insight is his repeated statement in the seventh chapter of the Book of Romans about his dilemma of doing what he would not, and not doing what he would. His conclusion, "I conclude therefore, that it is not I that do it, but sin that dwells in me." In a short context he repeats himself exactly only adding, "that is, in my flesh."
Brethren, God understands us, and relates to us, and deals with us according to His understanding, which is that we, in and of ourselves, are sick of soul, needy, lost, and helpless. Do you really think He condemns us for, and in, that condition? At the root of the issue is the fact that God does not deal with sinners forensically, i.e., according to the law, but paternally.
Note: Translating the Greek as "inherent fervor," can be found in Jonathan Mitchell's Translation of the New Testament, Expanded, Amplified (and with) Multiple Renderings. Also, without conferring previously, our mutual friend and student of Greek and Hebrew, Ed Browne....in a translation sent to me privately... has it as "intrinsic fervor."
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