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.”

In this one verse, Jesus give the core of the entire gospel.  That is why you see this verse at football games, probably these days at the Olympics.  The length of the verse is deceptively short.  Is he realy going to talk for 20 minutes about a verse with 26 words?  To really understand this verse requires more than 20 minutes.  But may we each learn something new as we meditate upon this verse.  Especially, may those who do not believe, come to understand the imeasurable love of God to give his own Son for them.

Part 1.  For God so loved the world

How can we describe the love of God?  Paul says that it is beyond measure.  In fact, 1John 4:8 proclaims “God is Love.”   It does not say that God has love, but that He is love.  He is the author of love and filled with love.  God so loves this world.   That includes you.  How do we know that God loves us?  We can see his love everywhere, in us- the blessings and talents that we have.  In nature- the rain in season, the pretty moon and stars, the colorful Autumn leaves.  All of these attest to a God who has made a very good environment for us to live in, because he loves us.

In fact the world was once even more beautiful, in the garden of Eden.  God so loved Adam that he put him in paradise.  He made him a wife.  He looked after Adam and Eve as a loving father might watch his children.  This is the love of  God.

But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they were cutoff from God.  Not because he stopped loving them, but because their sin became a wall seperating man from God.  But God still loved fallen Adam.  He called out to him, and made clothes for him.  Are you familiar with Michelangelo’s painting in the Cistene Chapel?  He depicts this event - the first sin.  In his painting, Adam is shown helpless, his hand drooping.  God is depicted as reaching out to grasp Adam’s limp hand.  It is a fact that sinful man does not reach out to God, but that God reaches out to sinful man, because of his love. Yet in the painting, God’s outstretched hand does not quite reach to Adam.  There is a seperation - sin.  Because God is Holy.  Holiness is the antithesis of sin, if God permits sin in his presence, then he cannot be Holy.  Likewise, if a sinner is brought into the holiness of God, he will be destroyed; that is why the Jews believed that if they saw the face of God, they would die.

We might expect that a Holy God would just destroy mankind.  But because of his love, God instead reaches out to sinners.  The Bible is filled with one account after another of God reaching out to different people.  God reached out to Abraham, Moses, David.  But before God can be reconciled to man, he must remove the sin barrier.  Therefore God reached out to man by sending his own Son into the world.  Jesus ministry was reaching out to sinners.  He was once accused because he ate with sinners, but Jesus answered that the sick are the ones who need a doctor, and so Jesus came to call sinners.

We can talk for a long time about the love of God.  If you look in a complete concordance of the Bible, the entry for love goes on for page after page.  Instead, let’s consider a few examples, to understand the love of God.

There was one woman who was despised by the townspeople because of her sinful life.  She had been married 5 times, and was now living with a man.  But when Jesus saw her, he did not condemn her, he had compassion.  He understood her misery.  Why had she had so many husbands and now a live-in boyfriend?  It was because she was thirsty for love.  She looked for love in men, but each time that she thought that she had found true love, she was dissapointed.  She tried again and again, but divorced again and again.  Now she was living with a man- she had given up on finding permanent love, and so just sought to please her flesh.  Jesus knew that the true love that she thirsted for could only be satisfied when she came to know the love of God for her.  God’s love was the true love that she had been searching for in men.  When she learned that God so loved her, she could be happy, and could leave her sinful lifestyle and be free.

Many young men and women, as they studied the Bible, have found that they were like this woman, looking for love in all the wrong places,  putting unreasonable expectations on the love of people, because they are looking for someone to really love, and who can really love them.  This desire is natural to all people, but it is often misunderstood as a physical need to be met by a boyfriend or girlfriend, rather than as what it really is, a spiritual need, to have restored relationship of love with God.

On another occassion, Jesus reached out to a despised man named Levi.  He collected taxes for the Romans.  Therefore, he was considered a traitor by the Jews.  More than that, he charged the people more tax than was fair.  With the extra money, he bought himself fine imported clothes.  When the people saw him living in luxury, they knew that their money, which he had squeezed out of them, had bough these things.  So they spit at him and considered him one of the worst sinners.  But when Jesus saw him, he did not despise him, he had compassion on him.  So Jesus demonstrated the love of God for even the worst of sinners.  Jesus could understand the misery of Levi’s heart.  When he was young, Levi was determined to be a success.  He wanted to be rich.  He calculated and found that the best way to fulfill his dream was to become a tax collector.  Sure, his friends would complain, but what would that matter?  When he was rich, he could buy knew friends.  However, once he fulfilled his dream, he found that money could not make him happy.  No, he was miserable, and hated being an outcast, and couldn’t buy one true friend with all of his money.  In his ambition to be a success, he had become a miserable failure.  When Jesus saw him he said just 2 words: “Follow me.”  Levi immediately got up and followed Jesus.  He had no hesitation to leave his crumby job and begin an uncertain future.  Rather he was filled with joy that Jesus took notice of him when everyone else ignored him.  So he found that success is not measured in money, but that a successful man is one who restores his love relationship with God.  Levi’s name was changed to Matthew, he would later write one of the four gospels.  What a change it made in his life, to know the love of God!

America is filled with the ideology that money equals success.  People will step all over each other to get that promotion or contract.  Many college students have one goal in life: to be a success.  Among them was me.  When I was a freshman, I did not know that God so loved me that he sent his one and only Son.  I thought that the meaning of life was to be a success.  So I dreamed about one day being a famous scientist like Albert Einstien.  And of one day being rich like Bill Gates.  But I despaired when I realized that I was no smarter than the other students.  So, I reduced my dream to making a 6 figure income.  But God so loved me that he very patiently used Bible study for several years to teach me that I could not love money but I could only love God.

God is demonstrating his love in many peoples’ lives.  We will hear testimonies from Belsie and Shannon, today.  I didn’t hear the testimonies yet, But I think we will hear God’s love for them. I can see the hand of a loving God upon Shannon.

Part 2 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son.

How do you know that someone loves you?  Is it because they say that they love you?  If that were so, some Fraternity students would love someone new every week.  Rather, we know that someone loves us by their actions.   True love is not just words or even just an emotion.  True love moves a person to act.  If God so loves the world, he will not just stand by while it decays and dies.  He will act to save it out of his love.  All of the examples that we have considered describe actions of God, such as his searching out lost and forgotten people like Levi and the Samaritan woman.   But what is the greatest evidence of God’s love for us?    Let’s read today’s verse together and see.  OK.  Let’s Go.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.  Jesus is saying that the one action of God which prove how so very much he loves the world is when God gave his Son.  What does Jesus mean by “gave” his Son?  This does not mean just sent his Son into the world, but that God gave his one and only Son for the world.  If we look at the context of this verse, we see in verses 14 and 15, that Jesus alludes to his Crucifixion.  He then begins verse 16 with the word “For”.  Therefore, when Jesus says God gave his Son, he is proclaiming that God’s love for this world was so great that he was willing to cause his own Son to suffer and die for the sins of the world.

How sacrificial is God’s love! Some people are so selfish that they do not want to share even a pencil, although they have two.  Most other people will share a pencil if they have two of them, but if they have just one, then they will say “No, I can’t give you my one and only pencil.”  But God showed his selfless love by giving his one and only Son for us.  Who can understand this kind of selfless love?  What is more difficult to part with than your son?

Missionary Luke Kim has a 5 month old son, Luke Jr.  I wonder if he would be willing to give him up for you or me?  No way!  Take anything before his son.  Take his own life before his son! Right?  Now Shepherd David Brogi just had a new baby boy.  Since he already has 4 other children, maybe he would be willing to give up just one?  No, his son is too precious!  But God demonstrates his love for us very practically, by giving up his only son for us.  God’s love is not theoretical, but he practically shows us his love, by giving up his Son.

I remember when as a new student, I heard that God came as a man and died for my sins, I thought what is this?  It doesn’t make sense.  Why would God save people in this way?  It was years later that I could understand the wisdom and love of  God in these verses.

I heard this story:  There was a man whose wife was Christian.  He always mocked her, “How could God come as a man? Ridiculous!”  One Christmas, she went to Church as usual, while he stayed home as usual.  It was cold and snowy.  Suddenly, a flock of geese landed in his yard.  They had not been quick enough in flying south.  Now they were overcome by the cold and could hardly move.  As he looked out his window at these dying geese, he had compassion on them.  So he went outside and opened his barn door to let them in.  But no matter how much gesturing and pointing he did, the did not understand and would not go into the barn where it was warm.  Nor could he carry them, for they were afraid of him.  As he thought of these stupid geese, it occured to him that if he were to become a goose, they would not be afraid of him, and then they might follow him into the saftey of the barn.  Then he could understand why God would humble himself to inhabit the body of a man.  It was the merciful love of God who wanted to save men.  Then this man became Christian.

But more than just sending his Son into the world, God gave his Son for the world.  One thing that I could not understand when I was younger was why Jesus had to die.  But when we understand about God, we can understand why it had to be so.  God is Love.  But God is also Holy.  God is Righteous.  God is Just.  Can a just God simply sweep sin under a rug and pretend it never happened?  No, that would not be fair, so it would not be in the character of God.  God is Love and also God is a just judge.  How can he be both?  I met one student who loved to proclaim that God is love.  But what she meant was that, since God is love, he won’t condemn anyone.  She forgot that God is also judge.   How can a loving God condemn anyone?  And yet how can a holy, righteous and just God not punish sin?  It seams that there is no way for God to be true to both of his good natures.  However, in his wisdom, God found the only possible way to satisfy his righteous requirements and still save men in his love.  The only possible solution is for God to take the punishment of our sins upon himself.  He could not ask any person to fill this role, out of his lovefor them, and because none qualified.  But in crucifying Jesus,  our sins were atoned for.  Jesus was beaten with a whip that had been meant for us.  He was mocked with insults that should have been for us.  He was nailed to a cross. And hung him naked of shame and agony that should have been for us.  In this way, God so love the world as to give his one and only Son to take our place.  So God’s righteousness is satisfied.  Sin did not go unpunished.  And at the same God found a way to save men.

Can there be greater love than this?  No.  This act is the ultimate picture of true, sacrificial love.  Listen to the Bible’s definition of love, in 1 John 4:10,  “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” And Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

What amazing love! This not what we deserve.  This is not fair.  This is grace that we do not deserve.  This is beyond fair!  That our sins could be atoned for and we can be declared righteous by faith.

Part 3  Believe and live

Look at our verse again.  “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.”  Here we see the final element of the gospel.  The gift of atonement and eternal life is only for those who believe.  As Mark 16:15-16 says, “...Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”  The gospel is absolute; there is no other way to eternal life, except through believing the atoning blood of Jesus for our sins.  And as Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way the truth and the life.  No one comes to the father except through me.”  There is no other way.  If there were another way, would not God have chosen it over giving his Son?

What does it mean to believe?  It means to believe that the gospel is true, that Jesus was the Son of God, who died as an atonement for my sins and who rose from the dead, giving me also victory over death.  Belief is also linked with repentance.  The context of John 3:16 supports this.  Verse 21 indicates that belief is coupled with a changed life, where we live in truth.  Also Luke 7:29 and 30 shows that those who had repented accepted what Jesus said, but those who had not repented would also not believe.

But one might ask, But if God, so loves the whole world, then why doesn’t he just save the whole world?  How can such a loving God only save some people?  Actually, we already have the answer.   God is equally as just as he is loving.  He cannot ignore sin that is not atoned for.  If we do not accept Jesus forgiveness of our sins, then our sins are still on us, and we must pay for them.

Well then why doesn’t God make everyone believe?  But God gives man the right to choose.  He does not force people to save themselves if they don’t want to.  Yet God never denies access those who come to him.  God’s will is for all people to believe. 2Peter 3:9 says, ”He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentence”

Next, some question “Why does God condemn me to perish in hell, just because, I don’t believe in Jesus?”
But nothing could be more wrong.  Let’s read verse John 3 verses 17 and 18 together.  Let’s go “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him.  Whoever beleives in him is not condemned, but whoever does not beleive stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”

This can be compared to a group of people who abandon a sinking ship.  As they are floating in the ocean, a rescue ship arrives.   Some people joyful climb into the boat.  But some others said “its that rescue boat’s fault.  We were fine before it came, but now we are going to drown.”  Who could say this? It makes no sense.

Likewise, no one is condemned because they reject Jesus.  Rather people are saved from condemnation through accepting Jesus.  On the judgment day, no one will be denied access for rejecting Jesus, for Jesus did not come to condemn.  Generally, people who ask this question either feel themselves to be pretty good people who deserve eternal life.  But no one is good enough to be declared righteous.  Our only righteousnes is our faith to believe in Jesus.  Romans 3:22-23 says, “This righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Those who believe receive eternal life.  Everyone wants eternal life.  Many people are health conscious, so as to add a few years to their lives.  The gospel message is quite simple, if you believe, you will receive eternal life.  Then how to believe?  Some people immediately believe the gospel when they hear it.  Others, like me, take years to come to believe.  But if you will repent and sincerely ask God in prayer for his mercy, and seek the truth, then you will receive his mercy and will find the truth.  It’s not hard, but it must be sincere.  I pray that all of us may learn one new thing as we examine this passage today.  May all who are not Christian seek to find whether this verse is true.
Let’s read the key verse and pray.