John 3:16-21

John 3:16–21: For God So Loved the World

Passage

This is a continuation of the conversation Jesus is having with Nicodemus, started in the last passage. Jesus tells him that in order to see the kingdom of God you must be born again, and that the Son of Man (Jesus) must be lifted up to save His people, just as the bronze serpent was lifted up in Numbers 21:4–9.

This passage starts with what is probably the most famous verse in the Bible—if it’s not the most famous it’s right up there, along with “In the beginning” and “The Lord is my shepherd”—but that’s only the first verse, and the entire passage should be read together:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 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. 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. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 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.” (verses 16–21, Jesus speaking)

Thoughts

As mentioned, this passage starts with one of the most famous verses in the Bible: 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. (John 3:16)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 (NKJV))

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))

Even if read in isolation it’s still a pretty succinct articulation of the Gospel: Why must the Son of Man be “lifted up”? Because God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

In that one verse we get:

• God’s love for us
• God’s solution for our problem (He gave His only Son)
• The beneficiaries of this Grace (whoever believes in Him)
• The result (we will not perish, but will have eternal life)

“Eternal life,” in this context, meaning more than just “being alive,” but having life and having it abundantly (John 10:10).

No wonder that the signs held up at football games say “John 3:16,” instead of, say, 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, or 2 Corinthians 5:21, or Romans 6:23. These are all good verses, that articulate the Gospel—or at least parts of it—and there are others, but they don’t pack the same amount of theology as densely into one easy-to-remember little block of text as John 3:16.

But I’ll still stick to what I said before: As famous as this passage is, it doesn’t appear in a void. It begins with Jesus instructing Nicodemus that we must be born again, and there is yet more theology to come in the verses after that:

Text	Articulation
“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.”	It’s been said many, many times that nobody in the Bible talks more about Hell than Jesus does. But it’s important to keep in mind his motivations: Jesus doesn’t gleefully talk about Hell, looking forward to the day when He has the opportunity to throw sinners in! He talks about Hell so much because He came here to save us from it.
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already,”	This is an important point: Yes, there is a Judgement Day, and yes, God will separate the wheat from the chaff or the goats from the sheep or whichever metaphor you prefer. However, God is not waiting until Judgement Day to make His decision, looking back on our life and then weighing the good vs. the bad. The Bible says no such thing. What the Bible teaches is that we start off “condemned already.” Our default condition, from the moment we’re born, is “sinner in need of Grace.”
“because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”	… However, if we believe in Him, we can change that state from “condemned” to “not condemned.”
“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. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.”	Does this all of this stuff about God “so loving the world” and sending His Son to save us sound almost too good to be true? So why don’t more people believe? In many cases, of course, it’s because people don’t know; they haven’t heard the Gospel, they don’t understand the choice put before them. But in many other cases it’s because “people loved the darkness rather than the light.” A lot of people don’t believe because they don’t want to believe. They don’t want to submit to God; they don’t want to be “slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:15–23).
"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.”	By nature, we don’t want our deeds to “come to the light,” since so many of our deeds are sinful. If we do what is right, however, we want our deeds to “come to the light,” and be seen. But when is that actually true? When our works “have been carried out in God.” The times when I would want my deeds to be seen by all are the very times when I’d say that it wasn’t actually me doing those deeds, but God working through me.