John 3:16 - The Greatest Story Ever Told

JOHN THREE SIXTEEN - THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD

TEXT - John 3:16

INTRO. - I believe this to be the greatest verse in all

the Bible. It is the best loved and best known verse.

There are only 25 words in this verse yet no other

single verse in all the Scriptures has been as blessed

in the salvation of so many souls. Martin Luther called

John 3:16 the miniature gospel. It has been called the

gospel in a nutshell. It has been called a love letter

from God written in blood and addressed to all. If ever

there was a verse that Satan would love to blot out of

the Bible, it would be John 3:16. If ever there was a

verse that makes hell tremble, it is John 3:16. If ever

there was a verse that has lightened the path to heaven

for multitudes, it is John 3:16.

ILL. - Years ago a doctor in a hospital ICU gave me only

2 minutes with a lost dying woman who had called for me

in her dying hour. The doctor told me he would give me

only 120 seconds with her. What could I say in so short

a time? God spoke to my heart and said, "Give her John

3:16 and pray the sinners prayer with her. It was all

she needed. She died in peace and at peace with her

Savior.

Some have divided the verse into parts like

God’s Grace - For God so loved the world

God’s Gift - That he gave his only begotten Son

God’s Gospel - That whosoever believeth in him...

God’s Glory - But have everlasting life.

There are many ways to look at this verse but for a few

minutes this hour I want us to look at some of the words

of this great verse.

FOR GOD - John 3:16 begins as the Bible begins, with the

existence of God taken for granted. See Gen. 1:1

Only a fool would think otherwise. See Psa. 14:1 The

whole Bible stands on belief in God. There cannot be a

here without a there. There cannot be an upper without a

lower. There cannot be a before without an after. There

cannot be a creation without a Creator.

The Bible says that this God...

SO LOVED - What is love? It cannot be defined in words.

The word "loved" occurs 56 times in the Book of John.

The dictionary says love is "to have a feeling,

affection, or regard for, to be strongly attached to or

attracted toward, to hold dear". There are also synonyms

like affection, charity, devotion, fondness, liking, and

passion. All these definitions are weak when defining

the word "love". The difficulty becomes greater when you

add the word "so". GOD SO LOVED...

"so loved" surpasses illustration. Many have tried to

apply it to the love of a mother for her child. The

following ad appeared in a Boston newspaper years ago.

TO MY BOY WHO LEFT HOME MONDAY NIGHT,

SEPTEMBER 15

My darling boy,

If you should see this, which I pray

our Heavenly Father you may, please let

your distressed mother know where you

are.

Mother

The notice was signed with one word - "Mother". That was

all. No name. Nothing to let the world know who she was.

Just the cry of a mother seeking her lost boy. Not a

word about whose fault it was. No blame. No reproach.

Just the reaching out of a mother’s love seeking to

bring her wanderer back. But a mother’s love falls short

of the love of God.

The mind of man will never grasp the love of God. All we

can say is the love of God is uncaused, uninfluenced,

spontaneous, sovereign.

Deut. 7:7-8 says God loved you because he loved you.

Jer. 31:3 - I have loved thee with an everlasting love.

His is an everlasting, unending love with no beginning.

God had no beginning so his love had no beginning. All

earthly love had a beginning but God’s love reaches back

to before the world was as well as forward to when all

mountains are but dust. God’s love is infinite,

illimitable, unbounded. The little chorus sung by

children says it best, "Wide, wide as the ocean,

High as the heaven above, Deep, deep as the deepest sea

Is my Savior’s love"

A SINNER MAY GO TO HELL UNSAVED, BUT HE CANNOT GO TO

HELL UNLOVED.

THE WORLD - The word "world" is found 77 times in John.

This is not talking about the matter-world or the world

system but the world people.

The greatest love of man or woman is love of self. What

a narrow love that is! Walter Wilson said that "No one

in all the world could possible love everyone in the