God Is Love Series

“God Is Love”

Text: John 3:14-17

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Scripture Reading: Philippians 2:7-11; John 3:1-13; Psalms 8:1-9; Ephesians 3:14-21

Introduction:

George Beverly Shea penned the words of a song entitled “The Wonder of It All”.

There’s the wonder of sunset at evening,

The wonder as sunrise I see;

But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul

Is the wonder that God loves me.

There’s the wonders of springtime and harvest,

The sky , the stars, the sun;

But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul

Is a wonder that’s only begun.

O the wonder of it all, the wonder of it all-

Just to think that God loves me!

O the wonder of it all, the wonder of it all-

Just to think that God loves me!

Even though God created beautiful things during the week of creation, the most prized of His creation was when He created man out of the dust of the earth. From the very beginning when God picked up that hand full of dust to form man He knew that He was going to have to use His plan of Redemption for all the human race some day so that He could prove His love to all of us.

Our text gives us that plan “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” There are some people that are asking, how did God give His only Son? We read in scripture that He give us His Son through a virgin girl by the name of Mary. But why did He give us His only Son they are asking. The answer is simple yet complex. God gave us His Son so that He could die, but Jesus did not die an ordinary death. He had to become obedient unto the death that He was to die. Philippians 2:7-11 says:

7 “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

But, why did He have to die that way, the people are asking. God showed us His love by giving us His Son, but Jesus had to show us His love for His Father by taking upon himself all the sins of mankind and then dying in our place of us. Jesus choose to die this horrible death of being beaten and hung on a old cruel rugged cross with three rusty spikes.

Then God showed us His complete love toward all mankind on the third day of His son’s death by raising His only son from the dead. In doing this God was showing us that we could have new life also through the death and resurrection of His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus. That is how the first part of the chapter which our text come from receives to true meaning. John 3: 1-13 “1 ¶ There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.