For God So Loved The World
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD
JOHN 3:16-21
If you are not certain that you are “born again” and have the “light of life,” read verse 16 again and put your own name in that verse.
Here is an important paragraph which summarizes some of the main themes of the Gospel. It shows the purpose and effect of the mission of the Son and the reason why it did not meet with a full response.
3:16 has been described as “the gospel in a nutshell.” It tells us that the love of God was the motive force behind the incarnation and passion of Christ. It was a love great enough to embrace the whole world—a world which was made through the Son but which did not recognize him (John 1:10) and even hated him (John 7:7). It was love shown not just in sentiment but in giving. God’s gift was the greatest that could ever be made—his only Son (cf. Genesis 22:2,16). It was a love which required a response of faith, a commitment, in return. The relationship resulting from this could be described as eternal life, the life of the age to come experienced in the present.
Light inevitably casts shadows. Though the purpose of the Son’s mission was salvation (rescue and health), the effect of it was often judgment. (He can even say that in one sense its purpose was judgment—9:39.) This was not something arbitrarily imposed but it resulted naturally from a refusal to be exposed and to face realities. It is something which, like the offer of eternal life, is taking place already. It is even now showing up what is genuine and what is shoddy and mean. Light and the process of discrimination are inseparable. How terrible it is that for some the offer of life should almost become the means of death!
Superficially, the act of belief appears a very small factor to determine the difference between salvation and destruction, but in reality this is not so. Belief is indicative of a fundamental change of life. It involves the open acknowledgment of sin, whereas, as Christ observes, a man’s corrupted nature impels him to avoid the light of exposure (3:19ff.). It also involves a sense of need, an awareness of a personal insufficiency and the appropriation of God’s provision. All this includes the acceptance of his estimate and standards. So conversion should mark the beginning of a walk in the light—a concept which John develops in his first epistle.
Note It is not certain whether 3:16-21 are a continuation of the words of Jesus (RSV margin, NEB) or a comment by the evangelist (RSV). As punctuation marks were not used in the New Testament manuscripts, it is a matter of individual interpretation according to the context. A similar problem is found concerning 3:31-36.