There is a Bible verse that most everyone knows or has at least heard it some time in their life. Yes, you guessed it, it is (John 3:16). This morning I just want to break down this verse a little bit.
John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
GOD SO LOVED – The word “so” often denotes intensity. For instance, a man may say to his wife, “I love you sooooo much,” as he wishes to express the measure and depth of his love. This is a pretty good way to describe the depth of this verse. But there is another way too. There is another way of using the word “so” in English, which describes the way in which something occurs. When a mother is seeking to train her children how to place cutlery on the dining room table, she might well place the knife and fork in position and say, “now when you put the knife and fork down on the table, place them just so” (or in this way). We could rightly read the text as “God’s love for the world is seen in this way…,” or “For this is how God loved the world.”
THE WORLD – There are at least ten different uses of the word “world” (Greek kosmos) in John’s gospel. Context is a most vital component in determining the meaning of words. Here, the word kosmos is being used in a general way to speak of humanity, of Jews and Gentiles.
GOD GAVE HIS SON – God’s love for the world is seen in tangible terms – the giving of His Son…
PURPOSE – God gave His Son with a particular plan in mind. Notice there is a strong element of particularity (rather than universality) here. The purpose was not to save everybody on the planet (past, present, and future) but to save those who believe in Christ.
WHOEVER BELIEVES – Literally, the text reads “in order that every one believing in Him…” It says “every” or “all the ones believing…” That’s hard to express in English but in essence, it is saying “all the believing ones.” That’s what is being communicated. It is saying that there is no such thing as a believing one who does not receive eternal life, but who perishes. Though our English translation says “whoever believes,” the literal rendering is accurately translated as “every believing one” and the emphasis is NOT AT ALL on the “whosoever,” but on the belief.
The ones BELIEVING will not perish but will have everlasting life. Why?
Because of the main verb – God GAVE His Son. God gave His Son for the purpose (Greek: hina) that every believing one should not perish, but that every believing one should have everlasting life.
(John 3:16) actually speaks of a limitation, of a particular, rather than a universal, redemption. Clearly, not everyone will be saved. Only those who believe in Christ will be saved. The Father loved the world in this way: He gave His Son for the purpose of saving those who believe. The Son is given so that the believing ones will not perish, but by contrast, have eternal life. That is the purpose of the giving. So, what (John 3:16) teaches is: ALL who do (a.) believe in Him, will not (b.) perish, but will have (c.) everlasting life
PERISH – The word does not mean merely the end of physical existence or annihilation. We know this from the context. (John 3:17) indicates that the perishing involves divine condemnation, complete and everlasting so that a person is banished from the presence of the God of love and dwells forever under His wrath. Here’s a lengthy quote from John Piper:
“The misery of hell will be so great that no one will want to be there. They will be weeping and gnashing their teeth (Matthew 8:12). Between their sobs, they will not speak the words, “I want this.” They will not be able to say amid the flames of the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14), “I want this.” “The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night” (Revelation 14:11). No one wants this.
Unbelieving people know neither God nor hell. This ignorance is not innocent. Apart from regenerating grace, all people “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18). The person who rejects God does not know the real horrors of hell. This may be because he/she does not believe hell exists, or it may be because he/she convinces themselves that it would be tolerably preferable to heaven. But whatever he/she believes or does not believe, when he/she chooses against God, he/she is wrong about God and about hell. He/she is not, at that point, preferring the real hell over the real God. He/she is blind to both. He/she does not perceive the true glories of God, and he/she does not perceive the true horrors of hell. When he dies without the salvation and forgiveness that comes through Jesus Christ, he/she will be shocked beyond words. The miseries are so great he would do anything to get out but won’t be able to. Hell is the inevitable consequence of unforgiven sin.
In our culture, today is the notion that God does not “send” people to hell. But this is simply unbiblical. God certainly does send people to hell. He does pass sentence, and he executes it. Indeed, worse than that. God does not just “send,” he “throws.” “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown (Greek eblethe) into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15) (Mark 9:47) (Matthew 13:42) (Matthew 25:30). When someone says that no one is in hell who doesn’t want to be there, they give the false impression that hell is within the limits of what humans can tolerate. It inevitably gives the impression that hell is less horrible than Jesus says it is. We should ask: “How did Jesus expect his audience to think and feel about the way he spoke of hell?” The words he chose were not chosen to soften the horror by being accommodating to cultural sensibilities. He spoke of a “fiery furnace” (Matthew 13:42), and “weeping and gnashing teeth” (Luke 13:28), and “outer darkness” (Matthew 25:30), and “their worm [that] does not die” (Mark 9:48), and “eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:46), and “unquenchable fire” (Mark 9:43), and being “cut in pieces” (Matthew 24:51).
These words are chosen to portray hell as an eternal, conscious experience that no one would or could ever “want” if they knew what it is like
I thank God, as a hell-deserving sinner, for Jesus Christ my Savior, who became a curse for me and suffered hellish pain of God’s wrath that He might deliver me from the wrath to come. While there is time, He will do that for anyone who turns from sin to faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
EVERLASTING LIFE – Quality and Quantity: Different in quality from the life characterized by this present age. Different in quantity – everlasting – never-ending life.
I hope you know the Lord Jesus Christ today as the Savior, King of kings, Lord of lords. That you know that you have salvation in Jesus Christ. If not maybe today you will confess your need for Him and believe on Him for your salvation.
July 23rd, 2020