John 6:40

6:40 For this is the will of my Father – for everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him to have eternal life, and I will raise him up ¹  at the last day.” ² 

Matthew 18:14

18:14 In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost.

Luke 12:32

12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is well pleased ³  to give you the kingdom.

Romans 8:28-31

8:28 And we know that all things work together ⁴  for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose, 8:29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son ⁵  would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ⁶  8:30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:2

8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit ⁷  in Christ Jesus has set you ⁸  free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 2:13-14

2:13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous. ⁹  2:14 For whenever the Gentiles, ¹⁰  who do not have the law, do by nature ¹¹  the things required by the law, ¹²  these who do not have the law are a law to themselves.

Romans 2:2

2:2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth ¹³  against those who practice such things.

Romans 2:19

2:19 and if you are convinced ¹⁴  that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

¹ tn Or “resurrect him,” or “make him live again.”

² sn Notice that here the result (having eternal life and being raised up at the last day) is produced by looking on the Son and believing in him. Compare John 6:54 where the same result is produced by eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood. This suggests that the phrase in 6:54 (eats my flesh and drinks my blood) is to be understood in terms of the phrase here (looks on the Son and believes in him).

³ tn Or perhaps, “your Father chooses.”

⁴ tc ὁ θεός (Jo qeos, “God”) is found after the verb συνεργεῖ (sunergei, “work”) in v. 28 by Ì⁴⁶ A B 81 sa; the shorter reading is found in א C D F G Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï latt sy bo. Although the inclusion is supported by a significant early papyrus, the alliance of significant Alexandrian and Western witnesses favors the shorter reading. As well, the longer reading is evidently motivated by a need for clarification. Since ὁ θεός is textually suspect, it is better to read the text without it. This leaves two good translational options: either “he works all things together for good” or “all things work together for good.” In the first instance the subject is embedded in the verb and “God” is clearly implied (as in v. 29). In the second instance, πάντα (panta) becomes the subject of an intransitive verb. In either case, “What is expressed is a truly biblical confidence in the sovereignty of God” (C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:427).

⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God’s Son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:13.

⁷ tn Grk “for the law of the Spirit of life.”

⁸ tc Most mss read the first person singular pronoun με (me) here (A D 1739^c 1881 Ï lat sa). The second person singular pronoun σε (se) is superior because of external support (א B {F which reads σαι} G 1506* 1739*) and internal support (it is the harder reading since ch. 7 was narrated in the first person). At the same time, it could have arisen via dittography from the final syllable of the verb preceding it (ἠλευθέρωσεν, hleuqerwsen; “has set free”). But for this to happen in such early and diverse witnesses is unlikely, especially as it depends on various scribes repeatedly overlooking either the nu or the nu-bar at the end of the verb.

⁹ tn The Greek sentence expresses this contrast more succinctly than is possible in English. Grk “For not the hearers of the law are righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be declared righteous.”

¹⁰ sn Gentile is a NT term for a non-Jew.

¹¹ tn Some (e.g. C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans [ICC], 1:135-37) take the phrase φύσει (fusei, “by nature”) to go with the preceding “do not have the law,” thus: “the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature,” that is, by virtue of not being born Jewish.

¹² tn Grk “do by nature the things of the law.”

¹³ tn Or “based on truth.”

¹⁴ tn This verb is parallel to the verbs in vv. 17-18a, so it shares the conditional meaning even though the word “if” is not repeated.