Note: I used notes from Preachers Sermon and Outline Bible on John and John 3:16 The Numbers of Hope by Max Lucado also How big is God? By Judith Koch
Title: John 3:16 For God so Loved the World
Theme: To show who God is and what He has done.
Text: John 3:16
Introduction
We have enough it is now time for us to give out.
We began a series on John 3:16. Last week we learned what it is to be
“born again”. Jesus says that this is important because we will not be able to “see” nor “enter” into the kingdom of God unless we are born again and that of “water and spirit”.
Many people cannot see the activities and workings of the kingdom of God today because they are not “born again”. This is a mystery yet the mystery is more reliant on our trust in God and dependence in Him than that of ourselves.
This morning we will be looking at this verse of scripture. Often called the summary of the gospel. In it I believe is contained every answer to questions about salvation.
We will begin by analyzing this first section.
“For God so loved the World”
I. For God
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. (4) In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
How Big is God?
We have a tendency to view ourselves as the center of the universe, and sometimes feel that we have problems that are overwhelming. But the truth is that our minds can’t fully grasp the vastness of the universe, and by extension, the vastness of our God. If the purpose of this universe was to be a home for you and me, it is grossly oversized. But that isn’t its purpose. Scripture tells us in Psalm 19:1
1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
NLT 1 For the choir director: A psalm of David.
The heavens tell of the glory of God.
The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship
Based on the vastness of the universe, we have grossly undersized how big our God truly is.
God spoke all of this into existence. He simply said “Let there be…” Can you imagine a ball of fire the size of our sun, coming forth just from the commands of His lips? Our sun is a huge ball of flaming gas, so large that if it were an empty ball it would take 1,300,000 earths to fill it.
On earth, we have our measurements – a foot, a yard, if we want to get big, we count in miles. God’s measuring stick is in light years. At 186,000 miles per second, one light year is 5.88 trillion miles. Our beautiful blue planet is just under 25,000 miles around the equator, so light could circle the earth about seven times in one second.
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is estimated to be 100,000 light years from one end to the other, and our sun is just one of billions of stars in it. If we were to count one star per second, 24 hours a day, it would take 2,500 years to count all the stars in the Milky Way galaxy. To show the size of our solar system, our sun and its planets, compared to the size of our entire galaxy, imagine our solar system as the size of a quarter. Now throw the quarter on the floor – how many of those could you line up side by side to cover every square inch of your house? How many more to cover every square inch of your yard and driveway? Now imagine this: the size of our solar system is roughly equal to the size of a quarter compared to the size of the entire North American continent – Canada, the US, and Mexico put together.
Scientists believe that there are at least several Billion galaxies in the universe. Galaxies often group together by gravitational pull in what is known as a super cluster of galaxies. Within the super cluster are located smaller clusters. The Milky Way isn’t even the biggest galaxy in our “local” cluster. Our earth holds seven continents. If our solar system is the size of a quarter to one of those continents, then imagine our size compared to a planet big enough to have billions of continents. It is far more than our humans minds can comprehend.
We don’t know how big the universe is. Scientists have been able to see stars that are 14 billion light years away, so they know that the universe is at least 28 billion light years in diameter. And it is getting bigger. Scientists estimate that a new star is “being born” every second.
So how big is God? We are told in Psalm 147:4 that He numbers the stars and calls them by name. We are less than a speck of dust on a planet that is less than a speck of dust, yet he knows the number of hairs on each one of our heads (Matthew 10:30).
Psalms 147:4 He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.
Matthew 10:30 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
II. so Loved
1 Jn 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
This is what makes the biggest difference. This is what defines who God is. “God is love”
This is the characteristic that seems to be absent from the Old Testament but when you read closely you understand that it is written all over the page.
Only a loving God would create a being that would one day rebel against him.
Only a loving God would prepare a way for a savior to come Gen 3:15
Only a loving God would be patient enough with mankind not to give up.
Only a loving God would chose a nation to give salvation to the world.
Only a loving God would show signs and wonders to get mans attention.
Only a loving God would intervene in humanity’s mess to bring forth savior.
Only a loving God would risk His only son to come and die.
Only a loving God would sacrifice His only son for people who would reject Him.
Only a loving God would make a way of salvation.
"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us" (1 John 3:16).
"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him" (1 John 4:9).
Max Lucado from John 3:16 The Numbers of Hope
Deut 10:15 "The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day.
This passage warms our hearts. But it shook the Hebrews’ world. They heard this: “The Lord binds [hasaq] himself to his people.” Hasaq speaks of a tethered love, a love attached to some-thing or someone.2 I’m picturing a mom connected by a child harness to her rambunctious five-year-old as the two of them walk through the market. (I once thought the leashes were cruel; then I became a dad.) The strap serves two functions, yanking and claiming. You yank your kid out of trouble and in doing so pro-claim, “Yes, he’s as wild as a banshee. But he’s mine.”
In this case, God chained himself to Israel. Because the people were lovable? No. “GOD wasn’t attracted to you and didn’t choose you because you were big and important—the fact is, there was almost nothing to you. He did it out of sheer love, keeping the promise he made to your ancestors” (Deut. 7:7–8 MSG).
God loves Israel and the rest of us Plutos because he chooses to. “This is the love that won’t let go of the object of love.”3
God will not let you go. He has handcuffed himself to you in love. And he owns the only key. You need not win his love. You already have it. And since you can’t win it, you can’t lose it.
As evidence, consider exhibit A: the stubborn love of Hosea for Gomer. Contrary to the name, Gomer was a female, an irascible woman married to a remarkable Hosea. She had the fidelity code of a prairie jackrabbit, flirting and hopping from one lover to another. She ruined her life and shattered Hosea’s heart.
Destitute, she was placed for sale in a slave market. Guess who stepped forward to buy her? Hosea, who’d never removed his wedding band. The way he treated her you would have thought she’d never loved another man. God uses this story, indeed orchestrated this drama, to illustrate his steadfast love for his fickle people.
Then GOD ordered [Hosea], “Start all over: Love your wife again, your wife who’s in bed with her latest boyfriend, your cheating wife.
Love her the way I, GOD, love the Israelite people, even as they flirt and party with every god that takes their fancy.” (Hosea 3:1 MSG)
This is the love described in John 3:16. Hasaq is replaced with the Greek term agape, but the meaning is equally powerful.“God so [agapao] the world . . .”
Agape love. Less an affection, more a decision; less a feel-ing, more an action. As one linguist describes, “[Agape love is] an exercise of the Divine will in deliberate choice, made with-out assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself.”5
Stated more simply: junkyard wrecks and showroom models share equal space in God’s garage.
What is this love that endures decades, passes on sleep, and resists death to give one kiss? Call it agape love, a love that bears a semblance of God’s.
But only a semblance, mind you, never a replica. Our finest love is a preschool watercolor to God’s Rembrandt, a vacant-lot dandelion next to his garden rose. His love stands sequoia strong; our best attempts bend like weeping willows.
4 Kinds of Love
Agape – to be committed to, to suffer long, to continually give an extension of love, kind, not puffed up, vaunth not itself, seeks not its own. 1 Corinthians 13
Agape is the highest form of love there is. This is an unconditional love for others in spite of their character flaws and weaknesses. It is a difficult love to obtain simply because we, as humans, are usually concerned more with ourselves and how the world and people around us affect us. In order to love in the agape way, we must overcome our selfishness and look to the needs of others. Prime examples of this type of love are people like Mother Theresa, Cardinal Leger etc. These are people who look out for others interests above their own. It is a special kind of love that needs to be cultivated for it to grow. We can only achieve this type of unselfish loving as we put the needs of others as a priority.
Philo – to share with, friendship
Philia is pertaining to what we might call a brotherly love. Not brotherly in the sense of family, but in the sense of kinsmen ship. This is the type of love that makes us want to help the little old lady cross the street safely and watch out for our fellow man. It is a good type of love and helps us to see others as needing our love but, sadly, it can often also be a selfish love. Many people only show love to others if they can get something out of it. Thankfully, most people love out of pure motives.
Emotional term for love. Warm, reciprocal, I love you and you love me, it is mutual push and pull, if you do it the way I like it then I will like you but if you don’t do it the way I like it I won’t like you. Not self sustainable.
Eros – to derive pleasure from, pleasure bond
Eros is the first type of love we are all familiar with. Our English word Erotica is derived from the word Eros. Sadly, some people never get passed this type of love and base their relationships purely on sexual attraction.
Sensual term for love. Not a giving kind of love. Agape gives unconditionally, Phileo give mutually,
Eros gives when it is sure it is going to get. It is looking for gratification. Eros will scheme, manipulate to get what it wants.
Erotic – focus is on pleasure.
Eros is a lifestyle. Places self right in the middle and draws others to them. Makes people replaceable.
Storge – to care for, parental love
Storge is what we find in families between the different members. It is the love of mother, father, brothers and sisters. This is a much stronger type of love and involves commitment.
Parental love. Love nurturing. Stronger to the weaker. You to me and sometimes it is you loving me. Back and forth.
Love giving because I care. Helping one down to get up.
In each one of these Greek word for love we learn:
1) How God wants to love us
2) How we are to love others.
God loves us agape. Unconditional love, love that is grace.
God loves us Philo, brotherly love. Love that cares about the needs of others. God cares about our needs.
God loves us Eros. A pleasure love. God takes pleasure in us and our relationship with him.
God loves us Storge. A family love. God wants us to be part of his family.
“For God so loved . . .”
“Observe how Christ loved us. . . . He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us” (Eph. 5:2 MSG).
Your goodness can’t win God’s love. Nor can your badness lose it. But you can resist it. We tend to do so honestly
III. the World
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
"He that loves not knows not God; for God is love....And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him" (1 John 4:8, 16).
1. The idea that God loves the whole world is a new idea. The Jews believed God loved the religious (the true Jew) and hated the non-religious (the Gentiles). The same thoughts are held by many in every generation, especially by religionists.
The fact that God truly loves is shocking to many. Some wonder and others question how God could possibly love the...
• vile person
• murderer
• immoral person
• wife beater
• child abuser
• prostitute • thief
• alcoholic
• street person
• oppressor
• enslaver
• bitter, vengeful
God’s Love
Deut 10:15 "The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day.
Deut 10:15 NLT Yet the LORD chose your ancestors as the objects of his love. And he chose you,
their descendants, above every other nation, as is evident today.
Conclusion
Come experience God’s love.
