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11Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
There are several 'we's' mentioned in John 3. The first is a polite form of address, although it may also imply that more than Nicodemus agreed Jesus was 'a teacher sent from God'. Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Sannhedrin and he also was a believer in Jesus.
The second two mentions of the word 'we' are simply a reference to Jesus as being 'one with the Father' (John 10:30) as God. Jesus was not just speaking on His own authority. Jesus said to Philip 'He that has seen me has seen the Father' (John 14:9), and in numerous other places that He was not speaking on His own authority but was saying what the Father told Him to. Thus it would be true to say that Jesus was saying that to hear Him was equivalent to hearing the Father. His words were essentially the Father's words, as opposed to Him merely being a mouthpiece or prophet.
It is also worth noting that in verses 3,5,7,11, and 12 Jesus used the pronoun I. This would further seem to indicate that there was a point being made here by the use of 'we'.
Jesus was not speaking of anything which He had been told about, or had not seen for Himself. Since He was the incarnate word who was 'in the beginning with God', (John 1:1-4) He personally knew about the truths He was trying to communicate to Nicodemus, rather than having been taught them by God.
On another level altogether, if you are trying to apply the story personally, there are a number of possibilities. Obviously the 'we' of Jesus Himself as one with the Father cannot apply to anyone else. If one identifies with Nicodemus as a seeker after truth, or even as a believer in the midst of unbelief, as Nicodemus appears to be, then that 'we' would apply.
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What is a scriptural reference?
A scripture reference is the book, chapter and verse in the Bible. Example: John 3:16. 'John' is the specific book of The Bible. '3' is the chapter in the book. '16' is the verse in the chapter.
What does St John Ch v.3 stand for?
It refers to a Bible verse. St John is the book, Ch is the Chapter number, and v.3 means verse 3. In this instance, the Chapter number is missing.
Characters in the chapter 3 of Peter Pan?
wendy micheal and john
What is your life verse?
My verse is from John chapter 3 verse 16.
How do you find a verse in a Bible?
The verse should be identified by book and then chapter and verse number within that chapter. For example John 3:16 refers to the Book of John, 3rd chapter, 16th verse.
How do you say a bible reference?
You refer to the book of the Bible, generally abbreviated, and then the chapter and then the verse, So John Chapter 3 and verse 16 could appear as: Jn.3.16, Or John 3:16
What is the smallest book in the Bible?
The two smallest books of the Bible with respect to smallest number of chapters and smallest number of words is 2 John and 3 John, respectively.3 John --- 1 chapter, 14 verses, 299 words2 John --- 1 chapter, 13 verses, 303 wordsShortest chapter (by number of words): Psalm 117
How do you call the division of each book in the bible?
Each book is divided into chapter. Each chapter is divided into verses. For example, the passage John 3:16 refers to the Book of John, third chapter, sixteenth verse.
What is the most beautiful verse in the Bible?
The best one is John chapter 3 verse 16.
What is the shortest book in New Testament?
The shortest book has ONE chapter, and 15 verses. That is John 3.
When in the Bible was Jesus crucified?
Jesus was crucified in the nineteenth chapter of John. In Luke, he was crucified in the 23rd chapter. In John, he was crucified in the 27th chapter.
Where is John the Baptist found in the New Testament?
John the Baptist appears in Luke Chapter 3. In addition to this, John the Baptist first appears in the other Gospels in: * Matthew 3:1 * Mark 1:1; and * John 1:15.
