For God So Loved the World - John 3:16

As a reminder, we’re still in the middle of the nighttime meeting between the Pharisee Nicodemus and Jesus and their discussion continues through verse 21. John 3:16 is what comes after Jesus explains to Nicodemus the work of the Holy Spirit. 

Next week, I’ll preach John 3:16-21. But it certainly seems appropriate to stop and reflect on this one verse, because it’s the most well known verse in the entire Bible. Whether you’ve grown up in church or not, you’ve probably heard someone quote John 3:16 at some point or another.

I work from coffee shops pretty regularly and someone vandalized the bathroom wall in Mill Mountain here in Salem with John 3:16. I don’t think vandalism is the most effective form of evangelism, but regardless we see it everywhere.

I’m also pretty sure Tim Tebow would write John 3:16 on his eye black that he put under his eyes when he played football. I simply share that to demonstrate how popular this particular verse is.

All that to confirm what we already know, this verse is extremely famous. But it’s famous for good reason. It’s a short summary of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It succinctly explains the gospel.

And so for that reason, it’s a wonderful verse, but John 3:16 has become so cliche we forget the message of the verse. Yes, it’s a wonderful summary of the gospel, but Jesus explains something important about the gospel message. He explains the “why” behind the gospel. Jesus tells us why he came to die on the cross, atoning for our sins, to make us right with God: it was out of love.

Jesus describes the depth of God’s love in John 3:16. In this one verse we see the object, the gift, and purpose of God’s love.

The Object of God’s Love

It doesn’t matter if you study God’s Word on the narrative or big picture level or on the verse or word level because regardless of how you look at it there are riches to mine.

Studying God’s Word is like looking at the Hope diamond at the Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. The diamond itself is huge, has a bluish hue and it sits on a display that rotates. And as it rotates, you appreciate its beauty even more because you’re able to see it from different perspectives.

So it is with God’s Word. You can appreciate the beauty of God’s Word from a grand perspective - looking at the broad story of the Bible and likewise, appreciate the beauty of God’s Word by drilling down into the word level.

Obviously we’re going to be drilling down into the word level of John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world…” The object of God’s love is “the world.” The Greek word for “world” is kosmos. Kosmos is a reference to the moral makeup of the world. The system of the world, if you will.

But what makes up the morality or system of the world? It’s mankind. It’s humanity.

So it goes without saying that when Jesus references the world, he’s not talking about the mountains, trees, and animals - he’s talking about humanity.

It sounds obvious, but God loves mankind. But before you fully dive into God’s love for people it’s important to note the logical connection between, “the world” and “whoever believes.”

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes…”

It really just reiterates the point that Jesus is talking about mankind. When he says “world” he’s talking about people because only people can believe.

“Whoever believes” is the most controversial part of this verse. Because a lot of times it’s cited as a counterpoint to the reformed view of salvation. That is, God draws sinners to himself. He works in the hearts of sinners.

But “whoever believes or whosoever believes” really seems to fly in the face of our understanding of salvation. Because on the surface, it really sounds like people make a decision for Christ.

But upon closer examination, it really doesn't conflict with the reformed view. “Whosoever believes” isn’t incompatible with the reformed understanding of salvation, because it’s true. Anyone can believe in Christ. No one is beyond the saving grace of God. God is certainly the author of salvation, and yet, we don’t know who will put their faith in Christ. That’s all behind the veil so to speak. We don’t know where the Holy Spirit is at work.

This is what Jesus was getting at last week when he said, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” The Spirit is at work in people’s hearts and lives. And it’s the Spirit that empowers people to put their faith in Christ.

But more importantly, what Jesus is communicating to Nicodemus is that God’s love is bestowed upon “whosoever believes.” In other words, the love of God that’s expressed in John 3:16 is His special, redemptive, saving, love.

It’s important that we understand there are different types of love. This was true in the ancient greco-roman world and it’s still true now. You might say you love your neighbor, but it’s not the same love that you have for your spouse.

There’s a difference between God’s general or imago dei love and His special, redemptive, saving love. There’s a difference between being made in the image of God and being saved.

A lot of false assurance comes as a result of conflating or confusing the general love God has for his creation with the saving redemptive love He has for those who have put their faith in Christ.

It’s tempting to think that because God loves mankind that he made in his image, he will therefore, save all people.

This is a misunderstanding of John 3:16. When people think about John 3:16 they hear, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so no one will perish but all will have eternal life.”

We naturally oppose faith and submission to Christ, which is why universalism or the idea that all people will go to heaven is so appealing to our flesh.

It’s that one clause we take issue with, “whoever believes in Him.” You see, “whosoever believes” actually narrows the door. How can I say that? Because as we all know, not everyone believes in Christ! You see God’s redemptive love is reserved for the people of faith.

The Gift of God’s Love

I have a friend that would periodically do street evangelism and he would do it with another man, who would call out, “God loves you, God loves you, God loves you” to people as they passed by.

God bless anyone that has the courage to go out and do something like that and not to mention, it’s certainly coming from a good place.

But apparently one time they were out there and someone said to this man, “If God already loves me, then I’m fine.” No doubt, it either suggests God’s saving grace is upon a person which is something God only knows, or it implies that God wants you to save yourself which is theologically inaccurate.

For the record, I’m not suggesting that you should shout someone down for saying, “God loves you.” Because 99.9% of the time when someone says “God loves you” it’s coming from a good place.

And to be fair, you could say, “God loves you” in the general, “you’re made in God’s image” sort of way.

My point is that we must be careful with our words so as to not imply something that isn’t true. We certainly shouldn’t tell someone that God loves them in a redemptive sort of way if we’re unsure they’ve put their faith in Christ.

Hopefully you see how this undercuts the gospel: If God loves indiscriminately, why did Jesus need to die? What was he saving us from?

You see, God’s saving love isn’t indiscriminate and there is something that we need to be saved from: our sin. We need to be saved from ourselves! This is why the Apostle Paul reminds us that “the wages of sin is death.” Sin separates us from God.

Humanity needed to be rescued! A way to God needed to be established. This is why a Savior is absolutely necessary. This is why God sent Jesus Christ, his only-begotten Son.

God sent his “only-begotten Son,” which by the way, isn’t a reference to Jesus being made or created. The Nicene Creed affirms this with the statement, “begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father.” The “only begotten Son” is a reference to Christ’s role and relationship within the Trinity. He was sent out on a mission - to save people from their sins.

A perfect sacrifice was required in order to restore fellowship with God. The gift of Christ demonstrates the depth of God’s love. God loved mankind so much that he sent a perfect redeemer.

This is why it’s so important that you and I believe and trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation. Because it is only through his perfect sacrifice we can have restored fellowship with the living God and have hope for eternal life.

This is something that we cannot do on our own. We need Jesus Christ.

Perfection cannot be in the presence of imperfection. Perfect holiness cannot be in the presence of wretched sinfulness.

A wonderful exchange happened on the cross of calvary. Our sin was put on Christ, and his righteousness is given to all who put their faith in him. God’s love is the reason behind Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

For most people, simply telling them that you love them isn’t good enough. Because at a certain point, words fail. They really become meaningless. We want to see your love demonstrated. We want to really know that you love us.

It’s at this time I’d like to remind you all that today is Father’s Day! I’m just kidding!

In all seriousness, we all want to know that we’re loved, and the greatest demonstration of love is self-sacrifice. Giving yourself up for someone else.

This is precisely what Jesus even says in John 3:16! “For God so loved the world that he gave…” Jesus wasn’t compelled by force. He freely offered himself. The second someone is compelled to do something by force, it’s no longer an act of love.

But God loved so much that he sacrificed the Son, the second person of the Trinity in order to restore fellowship with man.

But as we know, it’s even greater than typical restoration. It’s eternal fellowship with God.

The Purpose of God’s Love

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

So we’ve talked about the object of God’s love, humanity, we talked about the gift of his love, Jesus Christ, and now we’re on the third point, the purpose of God’s love.

So we’ve talked about “whoever believes in him,” but now I want to focus our attention on “shall not perish.”

I hate to break this to you, but none of us will live forever. We will all one day die. Hopefully, that isn’t news to anyone here. So when Jesus says, “shall not perish,” he’s not referring to somehow avoiding physical death. Clearly Jesus is talking about God's redemptive plan of salvation. He’s clearly speaking of spiritual death. He’s speaking of hell. Spiritual death is hell.

Sometimes I hear hell described as eternal separation from God, which is inaccurate. The presence of God is in hell, but it’s not where his grace, love, and mercy are present. Rather hell is where his anger, justice, and wrath is poured out. Maybe a better way of putting it is hell is separation from the love of God.

I’m going to get a little morbid for just a second, so bear with me, death is the most terrifying part of life. Each day we live, we take one step closer to death. It’s the moment we look at with great dread, fear and despair. Now consider the torment, the pain and the agony of death but not for a moment, but for all eternity. That is hell.

That is what Jesus is referring to in this verse.

But again, notice more importantly what he says, “...shall not perish but have eternal life.” Faith in Christ is the saving grace by which we avoid hell, the just punishment due to all of us for sin, and receive an unearned reward: eternal fellowship with the living God.

This is the matchless beauty of the gospel of grace. Through faith in Jesus Christ we receive that which we do not deserve.

Whether or not you’re a Christian, life doesn’t end at death. Your soul lives on eternally either in heaven or hell. You don’t have to take my words for it, this is what Jesus is getting at in this one verse.

And it’s through this, we better understand the purpose of God’s love: redemption. To redeem the lost. To save sinners. This is the incredible, pursuing love of God.

To reiterate what I’ve already said: this is the most famous verse in the entire Bible and for good reason. It’s a microcosm of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But on a more fundamental level it helps us understand the reason behind the gospel: God’s love. There are several things that I want us to think about in reflection upon this verse as I wrap up:

First, you receive God’s saving love not based upon what you’ve done but what Christ has done. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

We must put our faith and trust in the sufficiency of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. That it was indeed sufficient to take away our sins and to save us! You see he did it. He saves and we don’t.

This is an incredibly important thing to note concerning this verse because it contradicts our natural inclination that we must earn someone’s love.

Isn’t that what’s hardwired into our brains about love? There’s a real temptation for women to believe promiscuity will earn them the love of men. Men are tempted to believe financial success will earn them the love of women.

Or perhaps your actions and attitude will earn you your parents’ love. Everywhere we look we’re told we have to earn love.

And so there’s a natural inclination to believe that God works the same way. What we do earns his love. In fact, this is what we believe saves us. If we’re a “good person” then God will love you. It’s what Christ has done that earns you favor with God.

The love of God in all of its fullness is bestowed upon those that have put their faith in Jesus Christ. That what he did was enough.

Next, you demonstrate the presence of God’s love in your life by giving your love away. “We love because he first loved us.”

Again, it’s important to note that God lavishes love upon an undeserving people. We’re all sinners, and yet, God saves sinners. No one deserves the redeeming love of God and that’s the point. Therefore, we should be quick to love others.

I want to be careful here, because if you’re not careful it can sound like you should thoughtlessly shower people with love. I’m not saying show the love of God by giving all your money away to Al Qaeda.

It’s hard to define in concrete terms what it means to love others well. What I have in mind is we need to be willing to inconvenience ourselves for other people. We need to go out of our way for others. We all need to pray and ask God how we can be more loving, how we can be better vessels and conduits of His love.

If you’re willing to pray that prayer, I’m sure you’ll get an answer.

We’ll conclude with this thought: the gospel of Jesus Christ is synonymous with love. John tells us in his epistle that “God is love” and we see here that the gospel was His great act of love.

Here’s what I think this means for us: all acts of genuine love must find their root in the gospel. And I want to take this one step further: sharing the gospel with others is the most loving thing you can do.

I know every parent and grandparent wants to show their children and grandchildren they love them - then talk about the Lord with them.

I know we all have family and friends that we care about that are lost: talk about the Lord with them.

Resist the lie that affirming every sinful inclination is how you love someone. That’s gospel-less. You see, telling the truth of the gospel was how Jesus explained to Nicodemus the depth of God’s love.

The truth of the gospel and the love of God are inextricably tied together. You cannot have one without the other. To talk about God’s love is to talk about the gospel and to talk about the gospel is to talk about the love of God.

May you and I have the boldness and courage to love others in the same manner Jesus loved Nicodemus. Let’s pray together.