John 3 16-21

THEOLOGICAL PROPOSITION/FOCUS: God’s extensive love through the giving of His son is not to bring condemnation but redemption to the world and salvation for those who believe.

Introduction:

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Need: We avoid the light because we fear what it reveals.

Subject: How do we embrace the light?

Text: John 3:15-21

Preview: God’s immense love for the world is demonstrated when He gave His only Son for it in the redeeming of His people and the future redemption of creation.

BODY:

God Loved: (It’s an action: He gave it)

The Father gave: Why God loved the world. (Here is the problem with this, I wouldn’t) Only a God who IS Love could do this. Revelation (TO redeem the world) General Love (Mac) Specific Love (salvific love) (Mac)

2. The World:

Define the world: Lawson defines it 10 different ways used Dangers of miss understanding who the world is: 1 Cor 2:1,2 (Easy believesism) There are those who will not believe. The darkness HATES the Light (19)

3. For the Believer:

Define the believer: Those who have received grace from eternity past to eternity future. (The son was not commissioned to come in as a reactive step from the fall) This a pre-plan Eph 1:3-5)-This is who is the believer. Define BELIEVE: (trust in the finished work of Christ) Demons believe… The fruit of your faith is obedience, but don’t mistake your obedience as what saves you (if you Love me obey my commands)

4. Believe the love of God, be free from condemnation and come to His light (HP)

The benefits of being a believer= what does it mean to believe the love The new relationship with God the Father: there is now no condemnation (vs 19 “:”) The light on display is carried (SEE DEFINITION FOR CARRIED) I am at work, I produce by work…)out in God

We don’t project our injuries onto the Love of God as believers.

the receipt of doubt is being absent from the Word

Do you believe it?

John 3:16-21

May 7, 2023

READ Text John 3:16-21

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Introduction:

John 3 Review: Let’s remember that we are jumping into the middle of a deep conversation between a teacher of the nation of Israel and the teacher of the universe. Nicodemus, a man who had made it to the upper levels of society on his understanding of doing everything right. He had made his life goal to live out the Law of God by the letter only to learn that his efforts did nothing to get him any closer to the kingdom of God. He was living a “works based righteousness.” Even with all of the wisdom of the world, he could only ask, “How could this be” when Christ said, unless one be born from above will anyone see the kingdom of God.

He was equally stumped when he heard Christ compare salvation to the wind. Meaning, salvation is of the Spirit of God not the will of man. This description of salvation led to the same response from Nicodemus, “how could this be.” We saw that in his response, he was left scratching our heads to try and understand how one is saved unless we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and His work of salvation. Christ uses one last example when he tells us in vs 14 and 15 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

Remember, we talked about the importance of these verses. The lifted up is both prophetic (looking ahead to when Christ was lifted up on the cross) and spiritual meaning, it is Christ that MUST be lifted up upon the cross and lifted up in our minds as diety. It is Christ who saves, not our reason, effort and intellect. It is the Son of Man who has the power to save.

Finally, whoever believes in Christ will have eternal life. We talked about the fact that God puts the conscience with knowledge in the vice. You could keep your eyes on the ground and be lost in your sin or look up and see Him for who He is. He is your salvation.

And now we come to the most quoted, most thrown-around verse in all scripture. Even non-believers have heard/seen or even quoted it. Many love this text because it rolls off the tongue without even a thought. We see it even on postcards, Facebook pages and we even see it on bumper stickers. Do you know why? John 3:16 is a GREAT verse and many have come to know the Lord through it but it is only a very small part of a critically important conversation. It comes in the middle of many other truths and to take it by itself leads to some critical problems. This is why we teach like we do. We espouse the text to find the real meaning of the text from the author. So, today we are going to put 3:16 in context with the verses that are intended to be read with it.

It is my goal today that when you leave, you have a much greater understanding or even a challenging view of the magnitude of God’s love. I want to challenge you on the “Oh John 3:16” yea, I have heard that one. I’ll tell you, God’s immense love for the world is demonstrated when He gave His only, One, Son to redeem the world.

1. God SO Loved:

John 3:16

The word “FOR” is there to connect the thoughts of 14/15 to 16. These verses are connected and not be taken separately. The “FOR” moves from 14-21 and MUST be united in the theme of LOVE, condemnation, redemption, and obedience.

What does that mean to hear that God loves/loved? We have to look closely at two words:

SO: So means in this way (manner), thus, under these circumstances

The word SO implies “under these circumstances” meaning under the circumstances of God’s Love, we see a distinct type of Love that is completely foreign; an alien love that we can’t possibly get our heads around the gravity of it. Let’s look close at this:

a. God’s Love is originated in the PAST- God’s Love is from the eternity past. It is not “For God so loves”. If we change the tense of the word Loved to Loves, it discounts the sovereign will of the Father from the beginning of time. The text is clear that it originates from time past.

Romans 5:8

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us

Jer 31:3

I have loved you with an everlasting love;

therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.

עוֹלָם (ʿôlām); Aram. עָלַם (ʿālam). n. masc. distant past, distant future, as long as something lasts, eternity. A period of time that either stretches into the far past or far future.

This word essentially refers to a long period of time.

1 John 4: 19

19 We love because he first loved us

b. His Love is VAST: I am not talking about distance; I am talking about effect. I am talking about the power of this Love that is completely un-understandable. It is purposed and intentional according to His plan of salvation.

God SO loved a world, and that includes sin from Adam to today. Imagine the wicked rebellion from the time of creation to today that His Love had to overcome. Despite this wickedness and rebellion, God Loved so much that HE was to offer the most costly gift not even understood by the ones who were in rebellion against Him. This is VAST LOVE.

This Love brings the Gospel of salvation to the lost. This love is an indiscriminate offer of mercy to everyone without exception. The offer of His Love is showered on the very ones who hate Him, and yet, He freely gives.

God offers a general love to all humanity in His offer to the Gospel. The overarching plea and offer from God to humanity is repeated continually from the beginning of time. God, in every generation since Adam offers freedom from the cost of rebellion and wickedness. For example:

Psalm 81:13

“Oh that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways!”

Ezekiel 18:32

“I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, declares the Lord God. Therefore repent and live.”

Our Lord Jesus says “Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.”

Or

Rev 22:17

And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Instead of requiring wrath, judgment, and punishment (all of which is justified) He is, as Revelation 22:17:

17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”

2. God so loved the world.

This one word has split churches, denominations, and brothers from a dinner table. I want us all to understand that the word “world” is both universal and individual. How can that be? How can it be the “cosmos” and yet be down to the individual soul at that same time? It is so important that we understand this so let’s talk about what is written, not our presuppositions on the word.

John uses this word the most and he employs 10 different variations of the word:

1. The Entire Universe John 1: 10

4. All humanity minus believers John 7:7

6. The Elect Only John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

7. The Non-Elect Only John 17:9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.

8. The Realm of Mankind John 3:16

The world is quite worldly. Meaning completely and totally inclusive to every tribe, nation, language and generation. It is humanity general from Adam until the day He returns and the end of the age. That is a wonderful reassurance for some while a major concern for others. You see, when we do not have a grasp on the individual level of the word “world” we think too generally. We think of group discounts and a God that lumps us all into a mass of humanity. That is NOT the case.

I have identified two problems with missing the definition of this word:

1. Easy believism: “God Loves so much, everyone gets a ticket”. In my opinion, this is how this is usually taught. Hey God loves me so much, great! I love me too! Because He loves me so much, it really doesn’t matter past that and I am good to go!

Please hear me, I am sad to say that the problem in today’s culture they bought into this lie. To hold to this view that God Loves so much but this easy believism is damming. To believe this is completely missing the rest of the text. To believe this is to create a gospel that is NOT the Gospel. This view stops after “for God so loved the world” and doesn’t finish the rest of the section.

2. Fear of that it isn’t specific enough: This is the one I see as a pastor the most within the church. Is God’s love specific to me? Does His love drill down to me? I see my sin and it is ever before me. Did God see me? Does His love cover me or was I just in the mass of humanity? Not to overgeneralize, but this is a result of being taught the easy believism or generality of God’s love. Generalities in teaching has led to this type of issue.

Listen! Listen to the heart plea of one who was there and struggles with this. The word WORLD is smaller than you think. God hears your heart! If you are struggling with this, God’s promises are individually specific. His offer of such Love reaches the most insignificant. The reason He loves like this is not because of us but because the Father loves the Son and we are in the Son. We are adopte sons and daughters to the Father through Christ.

Ephesians 1:5

“In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,”

Maybe you fit into this category. Let’s see what Jesus says about where you land. Jesus continues in this chapter by using light and dark as a contrast for the lost and the saved.

John 3: 17-21

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

The word “world” in 17 implies believers. The Greek is of little use here because the rest of the Bible and 18, 19 supports the point that is written in 17 that the “world” in 17 is for believers.

Romans 8:1-2

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death

Quite simply, for the true believer in Christ, there is NO condemnation. Condemnation is specific for the non-believer. The non-believer who thinks that there is a group discount and that God gives free passes to all because He is love, there is condemnation for those. But, for those who truly believe, be reassured, there is NO punishment for the believer.

If you are a believer you will look, act and be different. Jesus makes it clear that you will be “in'' the light. Meaning, IN HIM. Being IN Him means representing Him. This hits hard the easy believism concept. To be IN Him means that the person LOVES Him and keeps His commands. You see, this is where the easy believers jump ship. “You mean I have to follow what the Bible says?” Those who do not believe in Christ, HATE this part! That is why you will not see vs 19 on billboards, necklaces or eye paint.

John 3:19

“And this is the judgment the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”

The unbeliever HATES the light. Why do we see the hatred for Christianity so obvious today? It’s right here in John 3: 19. THEY Hate God and will do anything to hate this light.

3. Who are the real believers?

Who are those who are of the light? Those who have received grace from eternity past to eternity future are in fact the ones who are IN Christ. As we talked about a couple weeks ago, these are the “regenerate”. These are the ones predestined in Christ and saw from the dawn of the age when He was commissioned by the Father.

Turn to Ephesians 1:3-5

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

That right there is for you who doubt that the Love of God is specific and directed to the individual. Your name was written in the Book before time began! Look who does the calling, choosing, and securing. Short of writing your personal name in print there in Ephesians, that verse is for the believer to see the intimacy of God’s Love for you the believer. We must remember that from the dawning of times, he carved your name in His palm! It’s in the blood of Christ that you are secured.

Isaiah 49:16,17

15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child,

that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?

Even these may forget,

yet I will not forget you.

16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

your walls are continually before me.

Who says that and who does that? It is a God who is fully committed to His children! His people and for the believer, YOU! Now Believer trust in this Love. Trust in the fact that your name is written on His palm and you will have fruit. That fruit is a love for obeying His commands, His Word. Did we catch that order? LOVE HIM and the obedience flows naturally. Not the other way around.

4. Believe the love of God, be free from condemnation, and come to the His light

Why is love hard to believe: a. past pain, b. past betrayal c. self-doubt d. confusion about what the word “world” is.

As adults, it is hard to trust in love especially if we have experienced love lost in the past. It could have come from a parent, loved one, sibling, spouse, pastor, elder or church. Look, there are several of you that are here today because of prior hurt from churches and church leaders. You are here and are skeptical, waiting for the hammer to drop, waiting to be let down and disappointed. Look, I get it. Give me some time and I will let you down. I have experienced such abuse at the hands of people. That baggage creates in all of us a hesitant heart to trust love. It only takes once or twice to destroy the trust of love.

The problem is that we take that baggage with us and apply this knowledge to our understanding of God’s love for us. We are quick to question how He could love me this much. After all, the only Love we have demonstrated is conditional love. How often do we hear or see in the behavior of others the type of love that is only given when a condition is met?

1 John 4:7-9

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

The very nature of who God is, is wrapped into the word LOVE. That God so loved that He gave. He offered the ultimate payment for people who hate and rebel. Think for a second, if this love was conditional, why pay such a HUGE price for someone who will just hurt you over and over again? No, this Love is not conditional on us, rather it is only conditional on Him. Meaning, we can absolutely trust it.

He could have, in His love, allowed people to live a fat, happy long life and then send them to hell after the 100 year life span. But, He shows even greater Love. His common grace is unimaginable! And yet…

How do I know that I am IN the light?

Let’s go back to John 3:21

“But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God”

Jesus is saying:

a. “whoever does what is true”= We talking about only believers here who come to the light because we have established that non-believers HATE the Light.

b. “so that it may be clearly seen”= we are a representative of what God has done in us, not the other way around. We are “carrying out” what God has done in us.

How can I definitely say this? Let’s look at the word “carried”

ἐργάζομαι, (a) I am at work, I work; (b) tr. I produce by work, put in force, give operation to, realize

Who does the working? God does the “carrying”. He is doing a work in the heart of the believer because love is not our default attribute. We would default to selfish self preservation. It is risky to love like God so apart from God Himself in us, we would not love like He expects.

When God is working in the hearts of the believer, we see on full display the light of God in us. We become the children of the light and the darkness is not in us. We are lights that God has blessed and sent into the world. When the light is in us, we do not project our past love injuries onto others. We love like God loves because HE loved us when we do not deserve such love.

People will say, “but pastor, I don’t know how to do that”. When I hear that, I ask, how much time do you spend with the source of such love? Most of the time that will get a sideways look. We can’t represent the love of God if we are not spending time in it. Meaning, it all starts with HIS Word. This is how we learn what real love is. How you look at the WORD of God is how you view God. If you say you love God all day long but say, I don’t have time for God’s Word, the two can not work together. Remember, we studied about the Word in John 1, “In the beginning was the Word”.

What is the measure for true love? How do I know it when I see it?

I want to leave you with a measuring device that you can test if love is real or not because we can often confuse Love with a crush, an emotional experience or some other distraction.

1John 4:16-19

16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20

This should be our prayer daily. That God keeps perfecting love in us.

There we go. How do I know if love is real? If we are a believer and say we Love God, do not fear, there is NO condemnation for a believer. Trust in His Love! This verse proves the point that we as believers are to LOVE like He loves. If you can not say this, you say you can’t love, and your love is conditional, look please at verse (20)

1 John 4:20

20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

This is a strong and powerful warning. It serves as a wake-up call to those calling themselves believers and holding out on the love that we claim we live in.

CALL OUT TO THE UNBELIEVER

Maybe you are here and you would like to stay in the easy believism. Hey pastor, God has to let me in because I’m a good guy/gal and after all, you just said He loves. Please hear me, that idea will in fact send you straight to Hell. It’s like hearing only part of the warning. I have been very clear today that God’s expectation is the belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. The word Believe is used 5 times and referred to an additional 2 times from verse 16-21. Do you think that is a major part of this passage? It is a requirement for salvation. Do not miss this! The promises for the believer of salvation is not offered to those who do not believe in Christ as LORD.

I’ll go so far as to say this. If you can’t say that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the salvation of the soul, then the Love offered in verse 16 is ONLY applicable for the short time that you have air in your lungs. God’s common grace runs out at your physical death. In His love, he is giving you a short period of time to understand, see and seek Him. Do not tempt your time here on Earth.

CONCLUSION:

We have covered a lot of ground today. It has been my goal to change/adapt or grow our understanding of a section of the Bible that is constantly mishandled and completely miss understood. Today we talked about such Love that we can not understand. The Love that is worldly yet individually driven. This Love is for the believers to see that living in this Love, we are free from condemnation. This Love gives us the right to be children of the Light.