God so loved the world

A teaching you will not soon forget but will read over and over by Doug Slay

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. John 3:16

John 3:16

This has been called the golden text of the bible, and it just might be. It certainly carries the theme of the bible and is central to understanding the redemption story. It contains the premise of bible theology.

This golden text is part of a whole and is located in the Nicodemus narrative. Miracles, evidential miracles, that demonstrate a – with God and the inquisitive mind of a religious scholar and leader prompts the subject concerning the necessity of being born again in order to see into the kingdom of God.

Eternal life comes into focus and makes necessary the lifting of the son of man on the cross. Eternal life can only be obtained by and through the cross. Without the cross and a crucified Christ, eternal life would not be possible.

And with this we enter into the golden text, the central theme of the bible and the God initiative to bring to man and qualify man for the kind of life man had in the garden before sin.

“Whoever believes on him should not perish but have everlasting life.” This is the quest and the universal driving force of a God of Love who would send his only begotten son to be the sacrifice that once made, could do for man what neither he nor the law could do.

Crucial to this text is God’s love for the world. I have often heard and said so myself, God loves people. This he does but this text should not be limited to only people. The picture must be widened and seen in a broader context. God loved the created order as so ordered in the book of beginnings, the Genesis.

John three sixteen is best understood when studied in light of creation. Every created thing has a beginning and Genesis chapter one and verse one puts us on solid footing: “In the beginning God.”

When our text says, God so loved the world he is not speaking of a fallen world but a whole world. The world that has its origin in “In the beginning God.”

Of course, the world of created order finds it highest purpose in man and the why of man. To plunge the depths of God so loved the world, it must find the origin of that love and the object of that love.

John in his gospel succinctly tells us the object of “God so loved”, by saying, “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:3

The Old Testament gives witness, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all of the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” Psalms 33:6 The New Living Translation puts it this way; He merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.

Another witness, the epistle to the Ephesians says, God created all things by Jesus Christ. Another evidential witness is Colossians 1:16 “for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see – such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.”

God so loved the world. As we read the book of Revelation chapter four and verse eleven, we see “Lord thou art worthy to receive glory and honour and power for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

One more witness. Acts 17: 24 “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands”

I think I have made the case, God loves the world and loved it so much he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Scripture plainly teaches; God sent his Son into the world to save the world. And then, he sent the church into the world to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom and do so with evidential signs.

To think of the world as it now is and not see the world fully restored to original created order is to miss the reason for the church to be in the world and remain in the world until all rebellion is vanquished.

It was God’s love for the world that He gave his only begotten son who came into the world and took on flesh and became one of us. And it is God’s love for the world that Jesus is building his church in the world.

It is not the job of the church to condemn the world, but it is the job of the church to save the world through the foolishness of preaching. John 3:17 puts it plainly, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved.” ESV   

As many as received him gave he them power or the right to be sons of God. The church remains in the world to be the light of the world and call men and women out of darkness into light.

Jesus came proclaiming the kingdom is here, it is in your presence and the kingdom is known by proclamation attested to by evidential signs.

Our message, the church, is the same as the message Jesus came to bring, believe the good news of the kingdom, and be saved or refuse to believe and come under judgment. In other words, those who refuse to believe will be judged by the preaching they heard but refused to acknowledge and accept.

The command to go into all the world and preach the gospel is relevant to John 3: 16 because God still loves the world.