The Greatest Statement Ever Made - John 3:16
Text: John 3:16
SERMON - Jennifer Mears - 6.14.2005
Many great verses in the Bible regarding God’s love for man.
· Two to mention:
1. "…for God is love" (I Jn. 4: 8).
2. "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." (John 3: 16) KJV
· John 3:16 is memorized, quoted, and referred to perhaps more than any verse in the entire Bible.
· John 3: 16 is also among the most misunderstood verses in the Bible.
· Let’s explore this verse to reveal its meaning and why the verse contains such a great statement.
I. Great because of the one who loved us
A. GOD so loved! God IS Love!
· The eternal God, all knowing, omnipresent, and absolutely holy God who created all that is created – He loved! And God Still LOVES! He is LOVE!
“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.” -Deuteronomy 33:27 (NKJV)
“ 17: Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: “
18:” That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:” -Hebrews 6:17, 18 (NKJV)
21: “For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings”.
22: “There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.” - Job 34: 21, 22 (NKJV)
44: “For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
- Leviticus 11:44 (NKJV)
Also Genesis Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 SHOWS:
….. The eternal God, immutable, all knowing, omnipresent, and absolutely holy God who created all that is created – He loved!
II. Great because of whom He loved ...
A. "For God so loved THE WORLD," we are told this through this scripture.
a. The "world" (cosmos) is not the world John said to "love not," but mankind (I John 2: 15, here cosmos is used for the baser elements, see verse
“15: Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17: And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” -I John 2:15-17 (NKJV)
6). ALL Creation ….ALL living, ALL people. We are to live and be in the world but no OF the world (sin, destruction, satan, death, etc)
b. The greatness of God’s love for man is seen in the fact of the total unworthiness of man to be a recipient of God’s love:
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5: 8).
“Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans.5: 6).
III. Great because of how much he loved
A. "For God SO LOVED…," John wrote.
IV. The extent of God’s love is seen in "that he gave his only begotten Son…." (two pics)
A. The love (agapao) of John 3: 16 is unselfish and seeks the well being of the one(s) so loved. Hence, "he gave." The Father loved so much that he gave his "only begotten Son." JESUS! The Lamb of God to be sacrificed for ALL mankind!
C. Jesus was unique (only begotten is from monogenes, which means one of a kind).
Jesus, The Lamb of God (slide)
§ One of A Kind
§ Spotless
§ Perfect (the only perfect being to walk on this earth)
- Without Sin
- Pure and Holy
- Set Apart
- With Power and Glory
- Declared to be the Son of God
- Destined to hold the keys of life and death
- King of Kings, and Lord of Lords
- Alpha and Omega (The Beginning and The End)
Such an unselfish act for God to sacrifice ("gave") his one of a kind Son for sinful men!
PHP 2:8 “And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross!”
Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is
easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 18:2 “He called a little child and had him stand among them. [3] And he
said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little
children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
John 15: [12] “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”
Acts 2:38 “Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name
of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 1: [8] “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and
you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to
the ends of the earth."
Romans 5: [5] “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against
such things there is no law.”
1 Peter 4: [8] “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a
multitude of sins.”
Romans 13: [10] “Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the
fulfillment of the law.”
Matthew 7: [12] “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
Psalms 122:1 “I rejoiced with those who said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the LORD."
Psalms 27:4 “One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life...”
Psalms 23:6 “Surely goodness and love (MERCY) will follow me
all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
· LOVE = mercy, protection, deliverance, guidance, counsel, chastisement, punishment (teaching lessons)
· Just as we LOVE our children…just think of how much more GOD has loved and LOVES us NOW!
·
V. Great because of how many God loved
A. The universal depth of God’s love is seen in "that WHOSOEVER believeth…." The Pharisaic concept in John’s day limited God’s love to the Jews (Matt. 5: 43 ff.).
B. The Augustinian (St. Augustine Scholars) view would seek to circumvent God’s love to the "elect," those who have been arbitrarily predestined to be saved (called Calvinism /calvary/ today). However, the scriptures teach,
"…if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Rev. 3: 20).
VI. Great because of the negative purpose of the statement.
The verse says,
“…that whosoever believeth in him SHOULD NOT PERISH…."
A. "Perish" is an antonym for "everlasting life." The negation "should not perish (KJV, me apoletai) is literally translated "may not perish" (Marshall in Nestle’s Interlinear Greek-English New Testament).
b. We all Have A Choice
VII. Great because of the fact that there is a positive purpose of the statement
A. The opposite of perish, as seen, is "HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE." There shall only be two classes of individuals,
B. "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal"
(Matt. 25: 46).
C. Jesus presents in detail the two classes (Matt. 25: 31-46).
a. "Everlasting life" is indicative of the grandeur and bliss which awaits the saved (2 Cor. 5: 1-9, Rev. 20 – 22).
b. "Everlasting life" is the inheritance which is reserved in heaven for the saved (I Pet. 1: 4, Tit. 1: 2).
VIII. Last of all, John 3: 16 is great because of the condition upon which man can enjoy the benefits of God’s wonderful love
A. The condition is: "…that whosoever BELIEVETH IN HIM should not perish…." Let it be immediately understood, the contemplated "belief" is not a dead, inactive faith (James. 2: 14-26).
B. The faith which avails is "faith which worketh by love" (Galations. 5: 6, I Jn. 5: 3).
C. "Faith only," as such, never saved anybody (James. 2: 19).
a. "Believeth" is translated from pisteuon. (greek) The participle and present tense is describing on going, continuous action.
b. One expanded translation renders it, "…whosoever believes in (trusts, clings to, relies on)…" (The Amplified New Testament).
c.
Those who believe in him (present tense) are those who repent, confess Christ deity, and are baptized for the remission of sin (Acts 2: 38, Rom. 10: 9, 10, Acts 2: 38, Acts 16: 30-34)
The Lord adds them to his church (Acts 2: 47, KJV, Gal. 3: 26, 27). These who believe will then add all the virtues (grow) and in so doing, "…if ye do these things, ye shall never fall" (2 Pet. 1: 5-10).
However, one can elect to cease believing (Heb. 3: 12-19).
READ - 1 John 4:7-21 [NKJV)
CONCLUSION:
John 3: 16 contains a great statement.
It is difficult to know why all men are not appropriating God’s love to themselves and reaping the rich benefits (Jude 21).
WHY not receive this Love and mercy? Free for all….and God gives FREEDOM! And let us strive to love each other as God loves us. Only then will we be on our way ….learning to get in His Will and Stay in His Will!
