In Him

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:17-18)

He who believes – in Him is not judged.

He who does not believe – has been judged already.

...not believed in the name, the character, the real truth about God as demonstrated in Jesus.

This is part of the beginning of the unveiling of the “in Christ” concept that is further greatly expanded upon in the New Testament, especially by Paul.

What I see a little bit here is that if I am in Christ, whatever that really means, then I am not judged, whatever that really means. And I suspect that the more I really know what both of these things really mean the more profound and exciting this is going to be for me.

What is also interesting here is the tense of the judgment on those who do not believe. It says that they are judged already, not sometime in the future as we usually assume. Therefore, that should indicate some things very important and relevant about the true nature of whatever this judgment is talking about here. Somehow, the very act of not believing apparently induces this kind of judgment inherently.

It is clear here that these two options are being presented as complete opposites and contrasted with each other.

Believe = no judgment.

Refuse to believe = present (induced?) judgment.

Likewise it also seems to stand that these two are closely linked with living life “in Christ” or living life outside of Him. Therefore the following would also seem to be true.

In Christ = no judgment.

Not in Christ = living under judgment in the present.

I am curious about this phrase, has been judged already. What I really want to know is what kind of judgment this is as well as who is doing it. And I am not ready to jump to the conclusion that this is some kind of condemnation imposed on us by God if we don't believe. That would directly contradict verse 17 so I must rule that out from the get go.

It seems that there is a built-in answer to this question by the nature of what immediately follows. It says that this being judged already is caused by not believing in the name of the Son of God. Therefore, whatever this believing in the name means is extremely important to understand if I am to avoid coming under current judgment. This believing in the name of Jesus is here directly linked to living under judgment or not living in judgment.

I am not at all satisfied with the typical religious assertions about what it really means to believe in Jesus. Most of what I have heard along these lines is far less that truly spiritual in nature and some borders on something more along the line of magic. To simply ascribe to some set of predetermined beliefs written out by other religious people in my view is not at all what these verses are talking about. And just confessing with our mouths that Jesus is the Son of God, despite texts produced to justify that practice is likewise not sufficient in my opinion for one to enter into a real saving relationship with Him. There is something being described here that goes far deeper into the heart and soul of a person than simply the shallow versions of belief that are commonly used among many Christians today.

The very next verse tackles a closer definition of this judgment and discusses such things as light and darkness as well as hate and fear. These also give me strong clues as to what is meant by this kind of belief as well as what it means to live “in Christ.”

It says that judgment happens when we love darkness instead of light. So it must mean that living in darkness, which is really lies about God, induces judgment inside of us. This judgment I believe is better translated condemnation which some other version prefer. Because these two words are used interchangeably so often they produce a bit of confusion when thinking about them. Personally I believe that in this context the word condemnation is much more accurate to describe what a person feels when they resist light rather than the word judgment.

Condemnation is something that happens inside of us, not something put onto us by God. That would explain why it happens when one loves darkness and hates light. By resisting belief in truths about what God is really like and clinging to our own opinions instead that are based in dark ideas about God, the natural consequences of this choice always result in inner dissonance which is condemnation.

This condemnation also involves the fears that are always present whenever our lives are out of harmony with the approaching light of truth about both God and ourselves. If instead of admitting our fears and asking God to deal with them, we try to avoid the light that is exposing us, then we are being controlled by our fears instead of by a love and desire to grow into the truth.

Most of this activity is taking place at the heart level more than at the head level. But it is often true that those who hate the light may actually be very religious folk who think that they are in fact embracing light. The problem is that they insist that light is defined by intellectual truth rather than heart truth. But everyone who resists having their hearts exposed and their true motives revealed by the revelations of God's beauty and true character are actually hating the light while professing to love it.

This class of people may possibly be the most deceived people on the whole earth. They are certain that they have the truth because they can prove it unequivocally with the Bible. They can point to their lives, their behavior and their track record and say that they are obeying God's commandments and keeping His ordinances as instructed. They will even insist to God Himself that they have done everything asked of them on the final day of judgment while oblivious to the fact that they have completely failed to connect with God at the most important level of all – their heart. To their utter amazement and horror they will realize that instead of promoting and endorsing the real light of God's love they have been believing in a partial light that was not fueled by the passion that burns in the heart of the God they claim to serve.

I have spent most of my life living as one of those people so I am keen to understand more clearly what God really wants of me when it comes to loving the light. I want my own heart to be much more connected with the heart of God so I am not found to be living under condemnation instead of in the light. I want God to open my mind, my heart and my spirit to see the many deceptions that still keep my own soul in darkness and cause me to resist the light. I pray for a genuine spirit of love for the true light so that I will come to the light and live in the light continually. I want to live in Christ for real.