John 3:16 What Does It Say?

JOHN 3:16 WHAT DOES IT SAY? 5-3-08

Today I want to bring a few thoughts from this most informative verse, John 3:16, it has been called the gospel in a nutshell so I want you to pay close attention.

If this was the only verse the world ever heard it would be enough to save the entire world if people only believed it. The depths of this verse are inexhaustible.

Every verse in the Bible is great, but if there is a greatest verse in the entire Bible… it surely must be John 3:16.

I remember when Al Gore was running for President, and he was trying to convince people that he was a bible believer, he made the statement that his favorite verse in the bible was John 16:3, he got his program all out of line. John 16:3 says, And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.** These are the words of Jesus, but its not John 3:16.

Listen as I read today’s text verse, John 3:16

16For God so loved the world,**{population} that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Let me point out right here that God has many sons, such as we that are born again, spiritually born again. We read in 1st Pet.1: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again**[to beget] unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, -- but Jesus didn’t have to be “begotten again-born again” because He was already { his only begotten Son}

God so loved the world.-- did you know that God never saved the world by love?, It don’t say that God’s love saved the world, the love of God alone could never save sinners, if His love was what was required to save sinners then Jesus would not have had to die. God does not save by love. God saves by grace! Eph. 2:8–9. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast” so God saves by grace, not by love.

Notice the little word {in} that whosoever believeth in him -- which means believes in Christ. That is, we trust Him as the One who bore the penalty for our sins. This is a personal thing. Each individual person must believe that He died in our place and in our stead.

Because Jesus Christ is the only-begotten Son of God, this reveals to the entire world His love in giving him for us and in giving him to us proves to the entire world that he truly loves us.

He has given his only-begotten Son to die in sinful mans place, Jesus was perfect and holy, and He was willing to die in our stead.

Rom.5: 1 Therefore being justified by faith,** we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ----- 8-11 But God commendeth**{to set together, -to exhibit} his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, being now justified **by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled **{good standing} to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 11And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the at-one-ment. {at one with God}

Listen as I read the text verse again: 16For God so loved the world,**{population} that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

What we have here is the love of God shown in action. --Notice the source of this love—it’s of God. that he gave-- this is the greatest gift that any one could ever receive. And because it is a gift means that there is nothing that has to be done in order to receive this gift, in fact if we had to do any thing at all to receive this gift, then it would no longer be a gift because we had to put forth some type of works in order for it to become ours.

Rom. 6:23--- The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ. There is no greater gift anywhere.

God has given him, that is, he has made an offer of him, to all, and given him to all true believers, to all the intents and purposes of the new covenant. He has given him to be our prophet, a witness to the-- -------people, the high priest of our profession, to be our peace, to be head of the church and head over all things to the church, to be to us all we need.