The Love Of God

THE LOVE OF GOD
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16). This has been called the greatest verse in the Bible. It is the gospel in brief. It is a striking acclamation of the love of God. This is the first time that the Bible ever says that God loved the world. The Jews knew that God loved Israel. He had chosen Abraham to make a covenant with him and with his descendants. The people of Israel were God's chosen people. They were aware that God loved His people. But they never dreamed that this love would be extended to the Gentiles. This was a unique teaching to them. It was a revolutionary concept. God loved the world. The word that is translated “love” in this verse is the Greek word avgapew. It was a common word in the Greek language. It had a variety of uses.

It could be used of the love of a man for his wife.

It could be used of the love of a mother for her children.

It was even used of more general things like the love that a man might have for money or possessions.

However it was never used in secular Greek of the love that one had for an enemy. Such a concept would have been totally foreign to the pagan Greeks. It was unthinkable that you might show love toward an enemy. That is exactly what God did toward us. God directed His love toward us when we were His enemies. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:7-8). The love of God produced an effect. The effect was that He gave His Son. God loved the world so much that He gave. This is what true love is all about. True love always produces a corresponding action.

John 3:16 teaches that God... gave His only begotten Son. God's gift is unique. It was the gift of His only begotten Son. This is a title for the Son of God. He is the only begotten Son. This title emphasizes two unique aspects of the person of Jesus. First, it emphasizes the unique birth of Jesus. His birth was completely different from any other birth in history. He was born of a virgin and He was born without sin. Secondly, His title emphasizes the unique position of Jesus. He is the unique Son of God in a sense in which no other man or angel can claim. His position is unique. The first part of this verse says that God sent His Son. The second part of this verse tells us why God sent His Son:

...that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16).

God sent His Son so that whoever believes in Him should have eternal life. That was the purpose for the incarnation. It was the reason for Christmas. This brings us to a question: What does it mean to believe in Christ? The idea of belief or faith always describes an attitude held by the one who believes. This word “belief” is never used of an outward action, even though it will result in an outward action. When directed toward a person, belief can have one of two possible characteristics. The first is confidence in a person's character or motives. The second is confidence in that person's ability to perform a certain function.

Both of these characteristics are in view when we believe in Jesus. We place our confidence in His character that He will keep His word. We believe that He wants to save us. We also consider Him able to perform our salvation. We believe that He has the ability to save us. The result of such faith is that the believing one has eternal life.

...that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16). The destiny of those who believe in Christ is brought out in both a negative and a positive statement.

Negative Statement|BUT|Positive Statement|
Should not Perish||Have eternal life| The Greek construction of this passage is noteworthy. The phrase translated “should not perish” is in the Greek aorist tense. This tense views the action in a point in time. It looks to a point in the future when the unbeliever will perish. It points to a time of coming judgment in the future.

However the phrase “but have eternal life” is in the present tense. This is the tense of continuing action. Rather than looking to something that is coming in the future, it looks to a present, ongoing event. Here is the point. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then you have eternal life right now. You won't only have it in the future. It is your present possession. You may not be able to see it. You can't smell it. You may not feel like you have it. But it is yours. You have eternal life.