John 3:12

John 3:12

If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

a. ASV: If I told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you heavenly things? [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: If the earthly things I said to you, and ye do not believe, how, if I shall say to you the heavenly things, will ye believe? [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Amplified Bible Classic: If I have told you of things that happen right here on the earth and yet none of you believes Me, how can you believe (trust Me, adhere to Me, rely on Me) if I tell you of heavenly things? [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Peshitta Eastern Text: If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how then will you believe me if i tell you about heavenly things?   [HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT.Copyright  Ⓒ 1933 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1968 by A.J. Holmon Co.; Copyright  Ⓒ 1957 by A.J. Holmon Co. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.]

1. “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not…”

a. If [Strong: 1487 ei, i;  a primary particle of conditionality; if, whether, that, etc.:--forasmuch as, if, that, (al-)though, whether. Often used in connection or composition with other particles, especially as in 1489, 1490, 1499, 1508, 1509, 1512, 1513, 1536, 1537.]

b. [Strong: 3588. [ta] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [ta] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn,ta, tēs,tois, tō, tōn, hé  hē ]

c. [I have] told [Strong: 2036 épō, ep'-o; a primary verb (used only in the definite past tense, the others being borrowed from 2046, 4483, and 5346); to speak or say (by word or writing):--answer, bid, bring word, call, command, grant, say (on), speak, tell.]

c. you [Strong: 5213 hymîn, hoo-min';  irregular dative case of 5210; to (with or by) you:--ye, you, your(-selves).]

d. earthly [things] [Strong: 1919 epígeios, ep-ig'-i-os; from 1909 and 1093; worldly (physically or morally):--earthly, in earth, terrestrial.]

e. and [Strong: 2532 kaí, kahee; apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

f. ye believe [Strong: 4100 pisteúō, pist-yoo'-o; from 4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or  thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ):--believe(-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.]

g. not [Strong: 3756 ou, oo; a primary word; the absolute negative (compare 3361) adverb; no or not:--+ long, nay, neither, never, no (X man), none, (can-)not, + nothing, + special, un(-worthy), when, + without, + yet but.]

2. “…how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?”

a. how [Strong: 4459 pōs, poce; adverb from the base of 4226; an interrogative particle of manner; in what way? (sometimes the question is indirect, how?); also as exclamation, how much!:--how, after (by) what manner (means), that. (Occasionally unexpressed in English).]

b. [shall ye] believe [Strong: 4100 pisteúō, pist-yoo'-o; from 4102; to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ):--believe(-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.]

c. if [Strong: 1437  eán, eh-an'; from 1487 and 302; a conditional particle; in case that, provided, etc.; often used in connection with other particles to denote indefiniteness or uncertainty:--before, but, except, (and) if, (if) so, (what-, whither-)soever, though, when (-soever), whether (or), to whom, (who-)so(-ever).]

d. [I] tell [Strong: 2036 épō, ep'-o; a primary verb (used only in the definite past tense, the others being borrowed from 2046, 4483, and 5346); to speak or say (by word or writing):--answer, bid, bring word, call, command, grant, say (on), speak, tell.]

e. you [Strong: 5213 hymîn, hoo-min'; irregular dative case of 5210; to (with or by) you:--ye, you, your(-selves).]

f. [Strong: 3588. [ta] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [ta] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn,ta, tēs,tois, tō, tōn, hé  hē ]

g. heavenly things [Strong: 2032 epouránios, ep-oo-ran'-ee-os; from 1909 and 3772; above the sky:--celestial, (in) heaven(-ly), high.]

1). This is a powerful statement that enforces the many things the Bible speaks about, such as natural science. 

a). Henry Morris, The Biblical Basis For Modern Science , p.20. “How could an enquirer be led to saving faith in the divine Word if the context in which that Word is found is filled with error? How could he trust the Bible to speak truly when it tells of salvation and heaven and eternity, doctrines which he is completely unable to verify empirically [i.e., capable of being observed and proven], when he is taught that Biblical data that are subject to test are fallacious [i.e., unsound, deceitful, fraudulent]. Surely if God is really omnipotent and omniscient, and the Bible is really His revelation…then He is able to speak through His Scriptures as clearly and truthfully with respect to earthly things as He does when he speaks of heavenly things.”

2). If the Scriptures said something about the natural world that could be observed to be wrong, then how can we trust what it says about something we cannot observe such as spiritual things. There are many scientific statements in Scripture, that have been discovered through observable science, one of which is the Meteorological knowledge of the water cycle and the currents of the wind. Another is the discovery of deep sea vents in the bottom of the ocean. These scientific truths though mentioned in Scripture thousands of years ago have only in the last century been discovered. 

a). Ecclesiastes 1:6, 7 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. 

17 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

b). Job 38:16 Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?

(1) In 1977, scientists made a stunning discovery on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean: vents pouring hot, mineral-rich fluids from beneath the seafloor. They later found the vents were inhabited by previously unknown organisms that thrived in the absence of sunlight. These discoveries fundamentally changed our understanding of Earth and life on it.https://www.whoi.edu/know-your-ocean/ocean-topics/seafloor-below/hydrothermal-vents/

3).  A couple more are the shape of the earth, and the laws of orbits that keep the solar systems and galaxies in order.

a). Isaiah 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

b). Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

c). Jeremiah 31:35, 36 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth  the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:

31:36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.

(1) God designed the laws governing the different astrological bodies, whether they be the galaxies, suns, moon, or planets, He designed and set in motion the laws governing them, their orbits. They are so exact and so predictable we set our clocks by them. The earth rotates the sun every 365.2 days. Jupiter rotates the sun every 4332 days, Mercury every 88 days. We know some of the ordinances but most we do not know. In his book When Day and Night Cease, Ramon Bennett says this concerning the gravitational pull of the planets that assisted Voyager 2 after its launch: “The planets in our Solar System come into line every 176 years and one such even took place during the 1980’s. The United States, taking advantage of the line up, launched the spacecraft Voyager 2 from Cape Canaveral in August 1977 on a data-gathering trek through space. Voyager 2 cruised at 37,000 mph, (60,000km), accelerating to 61,000 mph (98,000 km) when pulled by the gravitational force of the planets. It reached Jupiter in 1979, Saturn in 1981, Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in 1989, after travelling some two and one half billion miles (four billion kilometers). By using the gravitational pull of each planet during the lineup reduced the length of the trip by eighteen years.”

(2) This information was gotten from National Geographic: “Voyage of the Century” National Geographic, Volume 178, No 2 August, 1990.

4). The bottom line in all this is: Jesus says that if he tells us things about the natural world and they turn out to be untrue, why would we believe him if he tells us about spiritual things that cannot be proven. The fact is we won’t! If I can’t trust him on the natural things I won’t trust him on the spiritual things. But, if what he tells us about the natural world are proven true, especially when those things that were written are not proven for thousands of years (Ecclesiastes 1:6, 7; Job 38:16; Isaiah 40:22; Job 26:7; Jeremiah 31:35, 36),  that tells me something. It tells me that what he told us about spiritual things are also true, and I believe it, in fact I have based my eternity upon his words.