No Never! A New Testament Word Study
The word we are studying is Strong’s #3364 – ou me, and means “a double negative strengthening the denial; not at all.” The word is translated various ways in the New Testament: “any more, at all, by any (no) means, neither, never, no (at all), in no case (wise), nor ever, not (at all, in any wise).”
This word occurs in 84 verses in the New Testament. This study will look at several themes repeated throughout the NT, but it will not deal with every occurrence of this word. If you are interested, you can trace this word out yourself using a good Bible program, such as SwordSearcher.
In regards to the Preservation of God’s Word:
Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.
The Lord will preserve His holy Word forever! For English-speaking people, God’s preserved Word is the King James Bible. Don’t ever let men take away that assurance from you. God will never, ever lose His Word! No never!
In regards to Salvation and Eternal Security:
Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mark 10:15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.
Revelation 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.
The Word of God teaches that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, and are worthless in God’s sight. (See Isaiah 64:6) We cannot earn salvation – it is a free gift that we must receive. We must humble ourselves as little children and receive the Gospel, believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the complete penalty for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day. His resurrection was proof that He was God manifested in the flesh and that His sacrifice for our sins was accepted by our Heavenly Father. The Lord has written the names of all true believers in the Lamb’s Book of Life and will never, ever remove those names! No never!
Romans 4:8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
Praise the Lord! The penalty for our sins was eternally paid by Jesus Christ. When we come to Jesus for salvation (through repentance and personal faith in Him), He will never, ever hold our sins against us again! No never!
John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I Am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. It is interesting to note that the word for never in the last part of the verse is made up of Strong’s #’s 3364 and 4455, which means “at any time.” Why look for fulfillment in the world, when contentment and lasting satisfaction is only found in Him? The Lord Jesus Christ is saying that when we come to Him for salvation, He will completely fill that void inside us and we will never, ever thirst again! No never!
(Note: These references to never hungering and never thirsting again once we come to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation refer to that empty hunger and never-ending thirst that the lost feel without the Lord. The true believer will hunger and thirst for righteousness and for a closer walk with their Saviour – and that thirst is fulfilled and quenched – satisfied completely – when we dig into God’s Word and keep our eyes upon Him. Matthew 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.)
John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I Am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
John 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?
When Jesus is our Saviour, and we are following Him (by abiding in His Word), we will never, ever walk in darkness again! No never!
John 8:51 Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death.
Revelation 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Death means “separation.” The first death is physical – when our spirit separates from our body. (See James 2:26) The second death is when someone dies without having received the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. This second death is spiritual – separation from the presence of God in the Lake of Fire (Hell) for all eternity. (See Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9) Before we were saved, we were spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins, but now we are alive in Jesus Christ and will never, ever face spiritual death again! We will never, ever face separation from the Lord God! No never!
Luke 21:18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.
Perish means “to die, to waste away, to be destroyed or ruined.” The Lord is saying that we will not die or be destroyed apart from His will. (See Matthew 10:28-31; 18:12-14; Luke 12:6-7; Revelation 1:18) In the context of the afterlife, perish means to be punished in Hell eternally. (See John 3:16; Luke 13:5; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Corinthians 2:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:10; 2 Peter 3:9) Those who have accepted Jesus’ gift of eternal life will never, ever perish! No never!
John 6:37 All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (In this verse, the phrase “never leave thee, nor forsake thee” actually contains five negatives in the Greek and is therefore the strongest, most vehement promise in the New Testament!)
Revelation 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new name.
The Lord will never, ever turn His back on His children or cast them out of His presence; He will never, ever leave them or forsake them – not for any reason! No never!
1 Peter 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded.
Confounded means “to be ashamed or disgraced.” When the Lord returns, all our trust in Him will be rewarded, and the whole world will see that Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The unsaved souls will be ashamed at their rejection of Jesus, but in eternity we will never, ever be ashamed of the salvation found in Him! No never!
In regards to Rewards:
Matthew 10:42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
Mark 9:41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in My name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
There is a reward for our faithfulness and service (done in Jesus’ name) waiting for us at the Judgment Seat of Christ, which we will never, ever lose! No never!
In regards to the Lord’s Return:
Matthew 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
One final word of encouragement: The Lord has promised that the generation of the Israelites that came together and formed a nation in 1948 (study out the context of the above verse), will not pass away before all these things be fulfilled, including the return of Jesus Christ. The day is soon approaching when the Lord will come back for His own at the rapture. Will that day be too far off? No never!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Study written January 28th, 2003
By Jerry Bouey