After studying Scripture for a while, especially if you make time and effort to compare translations, or maybe your “superpower” lets you read the original language, it becomes very obvious that none of the words are placed there haphazardly or just to take up space. This is especially true of the prepositions, “in”, “at”, “on” “over”, “under” etc. They are small words, but they make such a difference to the meaning!
For example, many people "believe that" Jesus exists, but far fewer "believe in" Him.
However, the scripture is emphatic that Jesus desires disciples who do the latter—those who fully trust in Him.
We can see this in the Gospel of John that emphasizes this distinction by using the word "believe" twenty-two times in just the first five chapters. It’s always used in the sense of believing in whatever Jesus is doing or teaching, rather than just acknowledging that Jesus did or said something.
At a wedding in Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle—turning water into wine — John records, "This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in him" (John 2:11, NLT).
Their belief was not merely intellectual; now they placed their trust fully in Him.
Shortly after, Jesus goes to Jerusalem for Passover. He enters the temple, drives out corrupt merchants, and declares, "Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!" (John 2:16, NLT). The religious leaders demand a sign to prove His authority. Jesus replies, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19, NLT).
Though they misunderstood His words at the time, His disciples recalled them after His resurrection and "believed both the Scriptures and what Jesus had said" (John 2:22, NLT).
During the Passover, many witnessed His miracles and "began to trust in him" (John 2:23, NLT). Among them is Nicodemus, who seeks Jesus at night to understand what it means to be born again. Jesus explains, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life" (John 3:14-15, NLT).
And, of course, this leads on to one of the most astounding and well-known verses in Scripture: "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16, NLT). John the Baptist further emphasizes this truth, declaring, "Anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment" (John 3:36, NLT).
On His way to Galilee, Jesus passed through Samaria and spoke with a woman at Jacob’s well. He revealed His identity as the Messiah, saying, "I am the Messiah!" (John 4:26, NLT). As a result, "many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, ‘He told me everything I ever did!’" (John 4:39, NLT).
Later, in Jerusalem, Jesus healed a man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years, instructing him, "Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!" (John 5:8, NLT). This act further enraged the Pharisees, who sought to kill Him "because he not only broke the Sabbath, but he called God his Father, thereby making himself equal with God" (John 5:18, NLT). Jesus responded, "I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life" (John 5:24, NLT).
By the fifth chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus has repeatedly emphasized belief in His Father, and in Himself. In total, John uses the word "believe" eighty-four times in his Gospel, underlining its vital importance. The power always lies in believing “in” rather than merely believing “that”!
Why does Jesus stress this so much? I think he wants us to know that belief is the foundation of eternal life.
After walking on water, He tells the crowd, "This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent" (John 6:29, NLT). He later reinforces this: "For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day" (John 6:40, NLT).
Without belief in Jesus, there is no hope, and no life.
He calls us beyond mere acknowledgment to wholehearted trust in Him.
I am reminded of a saying of one of the former leaders of my church who said, “Head faith is dead faith; it has to drop eighteen inches!”
Believing in Jesus is both necessary and sufficient.
Blessings on you and yours, Jim Black
P.S. if you’d like to read previous ruminations of mine they can be found at https://www.salvationarmyconcordca.org/chronicle/?category=Bible%20Study