He gospel according to John 3:16- 21.

He gospel according to John 3:16- 21.

We are in a sermon series in the gospel according to John, who’s mission/purpose is to show people Jesus as written in chapter 20:30-31 PPT. 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Theological Historical biographical account of Jesus life.

John will this time expand on and explain some elements of the introduction, and show how it relates to people / or as the text say “Whoever” would believe. In the context Nicodemus. And all the people that would read John’ account.

There will be many pairs in today’s text, loved and hated, light and darkness, salvation and condemnation, evil and good, perish and everlasting life, taking and giving, belief and unbelief.

In this passage God reveals many things about God. God is loving, giving, extends mercy to whoever would come to believe in Jesus. Condemnation is a choice. What do people really love?

Let’s read the text.

Frist, we start with God loved (PPT – none sexual love) the world (Kosmos all things created in the universe not just the Jewish people)! As the slide said this shows God is involved and has a deep affection and intimacy with creation. (This is not what the world calls love – mostly that is sexual and erotic – this is not what God is).

Depending on your view of who God is can be hard to understand. But this is how God is explained in this passage. You might have objections, what about this and that, if God loves the world, they why are there evil, and chaos etc.

All good questions and relevant, but as is good practice in studying the Bible for now we need to focus in on God loving the world, we can’t jump away because of our experience to some other part of God’s being we understand better. I would like you to note down the objections and questions you might have about God loving the world. (I don’t feel God near, I don’t see God as involving him self in my life, or on a deep level with great affection and intimacy. I think this passage might show you a different view of God than you might have.)

Let us try to press in bit more: the statement is that God loved the world. There is not a why God would do that. We could think well God, made the world, that might be why, God’s work, creation, creative. But we might also know that God judged, the world with Noah, started over, so Gods love for the world can’t be because there is no evil or creation and people act only like God had created them to. Then Gods love might be based on grace and mercy, not on the creations (humans) performance. Our ability to please God to make God love us. Therefore, Gods love for the world is found in God self. God the father God the Son and God the Holy Spirt, and we see this in the OT as well, God shows mercy and grace to people and reveal himself to them, choses to love them, even when they have forgotten or rejected God. It was always about the creation all people and nations, even creation itself. And here we see it clearly, God so loved the world - that God gave: Love, true love is “giving” we see it right here, God created gave, and now God gives out of who God is, a great gift his only son. This is amazing that God would love the world in that way to give his only son. And not just to give Him, but the reason God gave Him.

God is loving and God is giving.

What does the gift do? Why was the gift given? That whoever would believe in Gods only son Jesus, should not perish, but have eternal life. When it says whoever, it means all, everyone, - the offer of Gods love to us, and his giving of his son is for all who would believe, there is no country boundary, political, social, racial, there is none of all the things that divide humans, that can stop people form the ability of understanding Gods love for the world that they /you, your fried, your mom, might believe in Jesus as the only son of God that came that we might have life in Him and that life is eternal.

Therefore as 17 said, God did not send his son to condemn the world, to judge but instead to be able to be saved by Him the son of God.

Then God loved, gave, made away for salvation to avoid condemnation. All that is great and the best news in the world for all!

But in 18, part b comes the other side, that all/whoever does not believe in the only son of God Jesus, is condemned already because of the rejection of the son of God. What? God just made a way for all in his love then how can he just send them all away in to condemnation, as we see in verse 19. This is not God’s work. When light came Jesus, people ran away, like it said in 1: 9-10 and salvation and adoption of the people that believed, but many rejected him and ran back to darkness because they loved it and their works were evil. The people loved darkness because their works were evil, and did not want the light to expose it so they hated the light, so they ran and stayed in darkness to be continue to do evil and hate the son of God (Jesus). Because they wanted evil and what they wanted. They did not want God. But evil, and that creates hate towards Jesus, a mentality of hiding in the darkness, to not let Jesus and other know them. To exclude and reject Gods love, in Jesus Christ – for selfishness and own goals to be ones own God, to live in darkness and do wicked and evil, because that is what is serving self. The opposite of love, selfishness and hate the rejection of God. A choose to not want God’s love, but to choses evil.

But there is great hope because not all will reject Gods love for them in Christ, some will, draw near to the light (Jesus) to show that the good works they do is done by God in them. The light has come and changed them the love of God, changed them and they believed in the name of the only son of God and were saved and have eternal life with Jesus.

To the hard questions. Who are you? Do you believe and understand the love of God, as God send Jesus, do you run to the light and not way from it? Do you trust in Jesus for your life and salvation?

We were all in darkness and evil, but when we were God had send his son to set us free, this is the Good news about Jesus, the only son of God. The good news about God is God is a loving just God that has made away to be adopted in to Gods family, and that God is intermit close to creation, closes that you think, - What is God doing in you? As the text showed who God is and what Jesus has done?

What evil needs to be rejected?

What about God needs to be worshiped, praised, shared – what has happened to you view of God and of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that is shaped in Gods image more now, and that you would rejoice and praise God for his love in sending Jesus so that we can have eternal life in Christ and not stand condemned, lost in darkness and evil. If you are in darkness and evil, - hear the call, come to the light, expose you evil, give it up leave it behind, and find true life in Jesus. Evil and darkness is not true life, they are a failure to come and find true life in Jesus. Therefore are you in darkness and evil, - come to the light the true light – come to Jesus and experience real life and that God has loved you in Christ Jesus. Come. Is the call.

Many blessings.

Light.

One morning I was getting up and was going towards the bathroom, but was almost getting dizzy and falling because the light shined so bright it, and choked me. I closed my eyes and gained balance. Ever looked at the sun? Not great idea, someone shining a light in your eyes?