John Series Part 14 Revelation 5 God’s Great Love John 3:16–17
(3:16–17) Introduction: this is the world’s most well-known Scripture. Brief and to the point, Jesus revealed God’s great love.
1. The fact: God so loved (v.16).
2. The evidence: God gave (v.16).
3. The purpose: to save (v.16).
4. The proof: God sent His Son (the Incarnation) (v.17).
5. The means: through Him (v.17).
1 (3:16) God, Love of: God so loved the world. He loved the whole world. Note several facts.
a. 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
Thought 1. God loves every man, not just the religious and the good. He does not love only the people who love Him. He loves everyone, even the unlovely and the unloving, the unbelieving and the obstinate, the selfish and the greedy, the spiteful and the vengeful.
“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd” (Jn. 10:16).
“For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Ro. 10:12–13).
“Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Ti. 2:4).
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pe. 3:9).
b. The basis of God’s love is His nature. God is love (1 Jn. 4:8, 16); therefore, He loves. He acts, demonstrates, and shows His love.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Ro. 5:8).
“He that loveth not knoweth 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 dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 Jn. 4:8, 16).
c. Love acts; it expresses itself. Love does not sit still, doing nothing. It is not dormant, complacent, inactive. If love actually exists, it has to act and express itself; it has to do something good. Love is loving; that is, love is always demonstrating love to others. Therefore, God’s love acts and reveals Him to be love.
Thought 1. God wants man to know His love. He wants to reach everyone in the world with His love.
“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us” (1 Jn. 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 Jn. 4:9).
(3:16) God Loved: past tense. A past, proven fact. An outline of the greatness of God’s love is seen in this verse. (1) Height: God loved. (2) Depth: so loved. (3) Length: God gave. (4) Breadth: whosoever.
2 (3:16) God, Love, of: there is the evidence of God’s love—God gave His only begotten Son. Note several points.
a. God demonstrated His love in the most perfect way possible: He gave His only begotten Son to the world. As God, He is perfect, which means His love is perfect. Therefore, God not only loves, but He so loves. He loves to perfection, loves to the ultimate degree. Whatever the ultimate degree and the perfect act and expression of love is, God shows it. Without question, the greatest act of love is the sacrifice of a man’s own life; therefore, God sacrificed the life of His own Son to save man.
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (Jn. 15:13).
b. The word gave (edoken) has a twofold meaning. God gave His Son to the world, and He gave His Son to die. The idea of sacrifice, of great cost, is in both acts. It cost God dearly to give His Son up to the world and up to the cross.
1) He gave up His Son to be separated from Him, allowing Jesus to leave His presence, to leave the majesty and glory, worship and honor of heaven. (See note—Mk. 9:2–3.)
2) He gave up His Son to be separated from Him, allowing Jesus to come to earth …
Into a world that was …
Into a world full of …
• fallen
• darkness
• selfishness
• depraved
• hostility
• greed
• wicked
• bitterness
• immorality
• rebellious
• wrath
• barriers
• revolting
• anger
• sin
• apostate
• war
• shame
3) He gave up His Son to be separated from Him, allowing Jesus to die for the sins of men
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Is. 53:5).
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6).
“In due time Christ died for the ungodly” (Ro. 5:6).
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Ro. 8:32).
“Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Co. 15:3).
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Co. 5:21).
“Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Co. 9:15).
“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Ga. 3:13).
“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (He. 2:9).
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation” (He. 9:28).
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Pe. 2:24).
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (1 Pe. 3:18).
c. A most glorious evidence of God’s love is that God took the initiative to save man. Man did not seek to save himself; God sought to save him. God gave His Son so that we might be forgiven and saved. God is the seeking Savior.
God is not …
God does not …
• angry
• hate men
• unloving
• have to be persuaded to love men
• unforgiving
• have to be convinced to forgive men
“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee” (Je. 31:3).
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)” (Ep. 2:4–5).
d. The most glorious truth is that God gave His only begotten Son. This is the most remarkable proof of God’s love. It magnifies and shows how great His love really is. He was willing to give the thing most dear to His heart in order to save the world. Note this: God even planned to give His Son throughout eternity.
“Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it” (Ac. 2:23–24).
3 (3:16) Salvation: there is the purpose of God’s love: to save men. God’s purpose in giving His Son was threefold.
a. To save men from perishing
b. To save men to eternal life
c. To save men through belief Note: this fact says that salvation is conditional.
(3:16) Perish—Perishing (apoletai): to be lost, to destroy utterly, to lose utterly, to lose eternal life, to be spiritually destitute, to be cut off.
1. Perishing means to be in a lost state in this world. It means to be …
• aging, deteriorating, decaying, dying.
• without life (purpose, meaning, significance).
• without peace (assurance, confidence, security in God’s keeping). (See note—Jn. 14:27.)
• without hope (of living forever).
2. Perishing means to be in a lost state in the world to come. It means …
• having to die
• facing judgment
• being condemned
• suffering separation from God and all loved ones
• experiencing all that hell is
4 (3:17) God, Love of: there is the proof of God’s love, the Incarnation. God actually sent His Son into the world (see notes—Jn. 1:14).
a. Christ was not sent to condemn or to judge the world. That was not His purpose. However, we, the world, deserve to be judged and condemned.
? We are guilty both of breaking God’s law and of coming short of God’s glory (Ro. 3:23).
? We are convicted (Ro. 3:9–18; see Ro. 1:18–32).
b. Christ was sent to save the world. His purpose was to save us from perishing and to save us to eternal life.
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Lu. 2:11).
“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mt. 20:28).
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lu. 19:10).
5 (3:17) Salvation—Jesus Christ, Mediator: there is the means of salvation. Salvation is through Him (Christ Jesus) and through Him alone.
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Ti. 1:15).
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Ti. 2:5).
“And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 Jn. 4:14).
“But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour” (Tit. 3:4–7).
“Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world” (Jn. 4:42).
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (Jn. 14:6).
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Ac. 4:12).
“Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins” (Ac. 5:31).
“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (He. 7:25).
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (2004). The Gospel according to John (pp. 63–65). Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
