Marbury Church of God

Just for interest’s sake: a look at how the sixteenth verse of the third chapter of every book of the Bible (where such a reference is applicable) provides a surprisingly useful snapshot, a different way of looking at the “Bible in a nutshell.” I’ve already done this for the New Testament, so here we go, from Genesis to Malachi. Some of the results will seem a bit bizarre, but it’s quite remarkable the extent to which the overall thrust of each particular writing is encapsulated in this seemingly semi-random fashion. (All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version [NRSV]):

Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said,
”I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children,
yet your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.“

Exodus 3:16
”Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying: I have given heed to you and to what has been done to you in Egypt.“

Leviticus 3:16
Then the priest shall turn these into smoke on the altar as a food offering by fire for a pleasing odor.
All the fat is the LORD’s.

Numbers 3:16
So Moses enrolled them according to the word of the LORD, as he was commanded.

Deuteronomy 3:16
And to the Reu´ben‧ītes and the Gad´ītes I gave the territory from Gil´e‧ad as far as the Wadi Ar´non, with the middle of the wadi as a boundary, and up to the Jab´bok, the wadi being boundary of the Am´mon‧ītes;

Joshua 3:16
…the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Za´re‧than, while those flowing toward the sea of the Ar´a‧bah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. then the people crossed over opposite Jericho.

I’ve been wanting to do this exercise for some time. It’s hard to find anyone, at least among churchgoers, who cannot quote, or at least recognize, John 3:16, which in my memory runs as follows: 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. It’s a bit interesting, though, to go through other books of the Bible and pick out the sixteenth verse of the third chapter. I’ll save the Old Testament results for later, but here’s what the list looks like in the New Testament. All verses here are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). It gives a surprisingly well-rounded mini-overview of New Testament teaching.

Matthew 3:16
And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending on him like a dove and alighting upon him.

Mark 3:16
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy.

Luke 3:16
John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

Acts 3:16
And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.

Romans 3:16
…ruin and misery are in their paths,

1 Corinthians 3:16
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?