Today’s Focal Passage: John 3:16-18
16 "For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Anyone who believes in Him is not judged, but anyone who does not believe is already judged, because he has not believed in the name of the One and Only Son of God.
All for One and One for All
“Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno” is the Latin phrase most commonly associated with French writer Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers. It’s a motto that might as well be a Scriptural reference. God gave one for all so that all might live for one; as one.
As a youth pastor, I have operated under this principle many a time. “Don’t let the many suffer for the one; let the one suffer for the many.” Not only is it a direct reference to what Christ (the one) did as he suffered for the many it’s also a principle that just works. In large group teaching time when one kid is an overwhelming distraction, why continue to allow the whole group to suffer and miss the message? No one would suggest that. You remove the one so that the many can be blessed. Of course this isn’t a sacrificial substitution as in the case of Christ. The wayward teen is anything but innocent. But discipline here provides a teachable moment that can be explained and used to benefit both the majority and the trouble making minority. The one and only Son of God did indeed suffer for the many, “that the world might be saved through Him.”
“One for all” certainly describes the heart of God and the life of Jesus. Jesus, the One, did much for us. Belief in the One cancels our debt and affords us eternal blessing. But does “all for one” do as well describing us? Is there an “all for one” unified approach to the Christian life within your family? Your church? Your small group? How about in your personal life? Do you really live out the idea of “all for one” as your response to Christ? Does everything you do, everything you say, everything you are, everything you represent indicate a life lived for Christ alone?
o If God gave His one and only Son for us, can’t we live our one and only lives for Him?
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