“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” – John
3:16a
Ever feel unloved? Ever love someone only to have them betray your
love? God knows a bit about love and what it truly means. God invented love. Jesus
said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life” (John 3:16). Those are words with eternal weight. They
are holy; they stand above all other words. These words are the best
illustration of love that were ever spoken. If you want to know what love is,
look at these words.
As a Bible teacher who
teaches through the Bible all of God’s word is holy. But there are some
passages, some verses that are particularly holy. Such is John 3:16. I’m
tempted to look for a grandiose illustration or explanation of God’s love but
the best description of God’s love is His inspired John 3:16. We simply can’t
top these words of Jesus about the love of God. Thank You Lord for loving us so
much!
God’s love explained. How could belief in
Jesus save us? Jesus stated categorically that He must be lifted up. He stated
that belief in Him is the determining factor between an eternal destiny of
perishing or eternal life. In John 3:16 Jesus substantiates His statements with
an explanation of why this is so. And in the process Jesus explains the nature
and purpose of God’s love for the lost.
God’s love is explained in that He gave His only
Son Jesus. The word “gave” (Greek didomi)
means to give up. The grammar of this
verb conveys the thought of something the Father did personally and decisively.
God gave His only Son Jesus. I doubt
we can ever fully comprehend the cost of our salvation to the Triune God. All
we can say is that this giving is rooted in the Father’s love. God’s love is
enveloped in His loving act of giving His most precious Son Jesus for us.
Incredible.
God’s love is expensive. Salvation is offered
to us as a free gift of God’s grace (e.g. Eph. 2:1-9). But free doesn’t mean
cheap. Our salvation cost Jesus a death on the cross. Jesus paid our penalty
for sin (e.g. 1 Peter 1:18-19). He became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). That’s hard
to comprehend. And that’s why Paul prayed hopefully that we, “may be able to
comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and
height – to know the love of Christ which pas knowledge; that you may be filled
with all the fullness of God” (Eph. 3:18-19). Let’s make that our prayer.
God’s love speaks of belief in a precious Person.
Who is it that Jesus says a person must decide to believe in? Every person must
decide whether or not they will believe in Jesus – “the only begotten Son.” The
word “begotten” (Greek monogenes)
speaks of a single one of a kind. You
can only have one firstborn child. Jesus is uniquely the “begotten” Son of God.
The emphasis is on Jesus uniqueness not that He is “begotten” or created as
some cults say when they twist the scriptures. Jesus is unique; there is none
like Him. The word holy means unique, special. Jesus is holy because He is
unique and special.
God’s purpose in redemption is to conform us to
the likeness of Jesus (Rom. 8:29). But there is a sense in which Jesus is
uniquely Jesus and that we will not be able to be like Him. Jesus is God;
Second Person of the Trinity. One of the
prime thrusts and purposes of the gospel of John is to present to us the Person
of Jesus. John’s inspired gospel speaks to us about who Jesus is. He is the
“only begotten,” He is uniquely from God. Jesus is precious. He is God!
Perishing eternally or experiencing eternal life is dependent on believing in
the unique, holy, precious Person of Jesus.
God’s love is expansive. Note here the
expansiveness, the broadness of this statement of God’s love by Jesus. Jesus
used words like “whoever,” and “the world,” to express the scope of salvation.
God has not created some destined for eternity in hell and some destined
eternally for heaven. He has made it possible for all to spend eternity with Him. If a person spends eternity in hell
perishing it will be because they chose to do so. God’s love is broad. God’s
love is as broad as the outstretched arms of Jesus. With those outstretched
arms Jesus is saying, “Come one, come all, come and be saved from your sin,
come spend eternity with Me.” Have you received God’s loving salvation?
God’s love is effective. Maybe you feel
unloved. Maybe you have loved someone only to have them betray your love. Maybe
you’ve been scared deeply, hurt, or grieved. God’s love is the effective cure
and solution to such need. Jesus is the solution to lovelessness. God knows a
bit about love and what it truly means. God invented love. God defines love. He
authored love. He is the Creator of love and the Source of love. He sustains
and gives love power. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Those are holy words. These words stand
above all other words. These words are the best illustration of love that were
ever spoken. If you want to know what love is, look at these words.
God’s love in Christ is effective in providing a saving
escape from a sentence of eternal perishing. God’s love is effective in Christ
in providing a saving escape to eternal life with Him. Only God’s love in
Christ provides the solution to the sin problem. Only God’s love in Christ can
save us.
God’s love
is eternal. These are words with eternal weight; God’s eternal
nature is communicated here; our eternal destiny is addressed here. Here we see
what Paul was talking about when he was inspired by God to reveal love is the
greatest (1 Cor. 13:13). Jesus spoke the words of John 3:16. Remember that.
Jesus Himself spoke these precious words. These words are simple, clear,
succinct, but eternally profound. These words are from God’s heart and Jesus’
heart and conveyed by the heart of the Holy Spirit. These words reveal the
eternal heart of God; a huge part of His nature. John 3:16 contains the heart
and love of God. This is an incredible verse. It is the pinnacle of God’s
message in so many ways.
God’s love impacts
our eternal destiny. The profundity of Jesus’
words is seen in the two eternal destinies He mentions. Jesus speaks of those
who will “perish” (Greek – apollymi).
“Perish” can be defined with the words to
destroy, to die, to lose, mar, perish, or ruin. This is not speaking of annihilation. Jesus is
holding two options before us here. Each one is an eternal destiny. Each one
expresses a permanent irreversible condition that hinges on a person’s
decision. Perish here refers to the idea of eternal misery in hell. The misery
is rooted in perpetual regret for all that has been lost and contemplated
during a time that is forever.
The other option of eternal destiny mentioned by
Jesus here is “eternal life.” “Everlasting life” (Greek zoen aionion) refers to life,
vitality, fullness, blessedness without end. The idea is an eternity of
God’s best and blessing. It represents all that is found in the life God
provides. Eternal life is life with God and experiencing all the loving of God
poured out on us. “’Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the
heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God
has revealed them to us through His Spirit.” (Isaiah 64:4; 1 Cor. 2:9, 10).
Look to God’s word for what eternal life will be like (e.g. Revelation 21-22).
It cannot be stated enough that these two options
are presented to “whoever” (Greek pas).
This word is broad and all encompassing. No matter what state you are in, good
or bad, very good or very bad, these gospel words are presented to you. Jesus
opens the gospel to all people. All
people will be given the opportunity to make a decision in regard to the gospel
presented in this verse.
These are the two options presented here by Jesus;
perishing eternal death or eternal life. There is no in between or alternative.
A person will either perish or experience eternal life. It is appointed for
each person to die once and then face judgment (Heb. 9:27). At that judgment
their eternal destiny based on their decision on John 3:16 will be determined.
God’s love
calls for an eternally significant decision. What is the
deciding factor that determines whether or not a person goes into an eternity
characterized by the word “perished,” or “everlasting life”? The deciding factor
that our eternal destiny hinges upon is “whosever believes in Him.” “Believes”
(Greek – pisteuo) means to have faith in, trust in, to entrust yourself
to, commit to. The grammar of this
word (Present tense) denotes an ongoing continual action. It’s not just a
onetime belief Jesus is speaking about here. Jesus is speaking about a life
commitment.
What is it a person must decide about whether or
not they will believe? Every person must decide whether or not they will
believe that “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Breaking these words down and dissecting them leads us to see some
ramifications and details associated with the belief involved in Jesus words.
Believing in Jesus involves the following. A person must decide whether or not
they will trust God’s word. They must decide whether or not they will accept
God’s love. They must decide whether or not they will accept that God gave His
only Son Jesus. Looking deeper this implies we must accept that the giving of
Jesus was necessary and essential to our eternal destiny. It involves accepting
that our sinful state was bad enough to warrant God giving His only Son Jesus
to save us from perishing to eternal life. We must decide whether or not we
will accept that belief in Jesus and Jesus alone is sufficient for us to be
saved from condemnation and eternal perishing to eternal life. All of this and
more is connected to Jesus words in John 3:16. Profound. Have you believed in
Jesus? Do you believe in Jesus? Where do you stand on John 3:16?
John 3:16 is a revelation of God’s heart. At the heart of God’s gospel is His
love. “Loved” (Greek agapao) means to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, and
to love dearly. In this context, applied to God, it refers to the selfless, self-sacrificing, Godly love (cf.
1 Cor. 13:4-8) of the Creator. If you want to know what agapao love is in its essence, look to God and the giving of His
only Son Jesus on the cross. God demonstrates His love in the sacrifice of His
Son Jesus (Romans 5:8). Agape love is love that gives all for the sake of another. It is the supreme love of God.
This is the love that is poured into the heart of the Christian when
regenerated by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). That’s incredible! It is the love
that should compel and motivate the Christian in all they do (2 Cor. 5:14-16).
That is right.
God’s love
for us is real. It is undeserved by us. God’s love is a product
of His grace. His love is unconditional. We only need receive it. We have a
hard time perceiving or understanding it, but we don’t have to understand it,
we only have to receive it. God’s love is a gift. I encourage you to meditate
on John 3:16; just think about it. God’s love is amazing. God’s love is
incredible. God’s love is unmatchable. God chooses to share such love with us
and even pour it out into our heart by the Holy Spirit. The gospel is God’s
gracious love manifest.
There’s an old classic hymn composed by Isaac
Watts (1674-1748) entitled When I Survey
the Wondrous Cross. Written in 1707,
the hymn has stood the test of time. Any work that can maintain its relevance
over the years like this hymn must be worth our consideration. It is a hymn
that reveals what we should see of God’s love when we look at the cross of
Jesus. This hymn has been called the greatest hymn in the English language.
Isaac Watts was an exceptional man. He learned
Latin by the age of 5, Greek by age 9, French by age 11, and Hebrew by age 12.
More importantly, this gifted intellect learned to love Jesus at an early age.
He wrote When I Survey because he was
grieved by the heartless worship he saw in English churches. Watts commented, ““The singing of God’s praise is
the part of worship most closely related to heaven; but its performance among
us is the worst on earth.” Sadly, the same can be said in many a church of our
day.
By the end of his life Isaac Watt had written over 600 hymns. He is
known historically as the “Father of English Hymnody.” If you want to be
blessed, just do some research and take in hymns penned by this man of God. But
the one that represents the pinnacle of his work is When I Survey the Wondrous Cross. This hymn, written when Watts was
33, captures his heart of devotion for God. It is a tried and true favorite of
many. It is the perfect hymn to worship the Lord with in light of John 3:16.
.
When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour
contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should
boast, save in the death of Christ, my God; all the vain things that charm me
most—I sacrifice them to His blood.
See, from His head, His hands,
His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down; did e’er such love and sorrow
meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature
mine, that were a present far too small: Love so amazing, so divine, demands my
soul, my life, my all. [1]
Why not pause a moment and let John 3:16 sink deep
into your heart. It’s averse so many have committed to memory. It is a verse we
may know by memory but perhaps our familiarity with it has led to a neglect of
appropriate loving appreciation to God for all it entails. Why not take a
moment to worship Him now. Survey the wondrous cross and thank Him for His
love.
[1]Osbeck,
Kenneth W.: Amazing Grace : 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions.
Grand Rapids, Mich. : Kregel Publications, 1990, S. 106
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