The Love of God

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This sermon takes a look at the most familiar text in the Bible, John 3:16 and attempts to provide important facts about God’s love based on the text.

Written Excerpts:

John 3:16 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.

Introduction:

John 3:16 is considered the most well-known verse in the Bible and probably the most quoted verse. I have quoted this verse dozens of times in sermons and referred to it repeatedly for the description of love we find in it. However, it has occurred to me that I have never actually used it as a sermon text and preached a message based on this verse.

Back in the month of January I attended a pastor’s seminar with my brother in South Carolina. The guest speaker for that gathering was a seminary professor by the name of Dr. Joseph R. Dongell. His topic for the two days was the topic of “love.” He presented a thorough study on the ministry of John Wesley in 18^th century England and how it emphasized the principle of love for God and love for our fellowman. 

On the first day he shared several insights and principles from John 3:16 that I would like to use as the basis for the message today. I want to begin by telling you a brief story.

Many of you have probably heard of a well-known evangelist and preacher in the 1800’s by the name of Dwight L. Moody. Moody was one of the most successful evangelists in American history. Dwight Moody was already very successful in winning people to Christ and building Sunday schools in the city of Chicago. In 1867 he took a trip to Great Britain to learn how Christian ministry was conducted in that country. He was given several opportunities to speak as well. During this trip he heard messages that challenged his heart to seek a deeper knowledge of Christ. Then after returning back to Chicago, he had the opportunity to have an English preacher by the name of Henry Moorhouse come to preach at his church in Chicago.

[One biographer reported this description.] For seven nights Moorhouse preached from John 3:16…. Moody's heart was melted within him as he listened to the young preacher describing the love of God for lost mankind. It gave him such a vision of the love of God as he had never seen before, and from that time forward Moody's preaching was of a more deeply spiritual character. (http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/biomoody4.html)

There were undoubtedly other significant influences in the life of the great evangelist, but listening to a week of messages on John 3:16 apparently was one of the prominent inspirations in the life of D. L. Moody.

Let’s take a look at this inspiring message from the Apostle John.

I.      The Identity of the Lover

God is identified as the one who has such infinite love for the world.

May not be aware, but among some Christians and some churches their teaching implies a division in the Trinity. That is, the idea that God (the God of the OT) is a God of justice, judgment and wrath, but the God revealed in the NT, especially in the person of Jesus Christ, is a God of love, grace and mercy.

Deut. 6:4 tells us that “The Lord is one…” There is complete and perfect unity in the Trinity.

OT verses that emphasize the love of God:

Lev. 19:18 – “… you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” These are the words of God. Yes, they were quoted by Jesus in the NT as part of the “greatest commandments” but He’s just repeating what God revealed to Moses in the OT.

Remember, just last Sunday I spoke from the book of Jonah and related how that Jonah was upset because God didn’t destroy Nineveh.

Jonah 4:2 ^(NKJV) … I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.

Exodus 34:6-7 ^(NKJV) And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, ⁷ keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation."

The Hebrew word that is translated as “goodness” in this passage is the word “hesed.”

The word “hesed” appears 248 times in the OT and is most frequently translated by the word “mercy” (149 times) and then by the words, “kindness,”  “lovingkindness,” “goodness” and a few others.

 (Dr. John Oswalt) [God] always does hesed (there is no cognate [equivalent] for this word in other Semitic languages). No single word can adequately translate this word. It is the passionate, undying devotion of a superior to an inferior, especially when undeserved. (Exodus 34:6-7) the most quoted passage of the OT in the NT.

Other sources indicate that the word often implies some sort of relationship such as a covenant, but it is also exercised with freedom (i.e. it is not given purely out of obligation). (See entry # 698 in Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament)

Deuteronomy 10:17-19 ^(NKJV) For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Psalm 36:7 ^(NKJV) How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.

Psalm 86:15 ^(NKJV) But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

All these OT verses reinforce what we read in 1 John 4:16 … God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

God the Father is clearly the identity of the one who loves the world so much. Oh, how grateful I am for the love of God!

II.    The Identity of the World

World – all people, including enemies.

Romans 5:8 ^(NKJV) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Dongell – In John’s theology, the world is not just “all people” but it is all those in opposition or hostile toward God. (cf. Rom. 5:10 where Paul says when we were enemies we were reconciled by the death of His Son.)

Jesus also puts the “target” in terms we can relate to when he quotes OT text: “Love your neighbor…”

I constantly need to remind myself that any person that seems so repulsive and unworthy of affection is a person who is still the object of God’s love.

III.   The Nature of the Sacrifice.

God gave His “only begotten” Son.

Tyndale Commentary states that this phrase in its original language gives the idea of “His one and only Son.” The Greek word used indicates “uniqueness” not “begotten-ness” or relationship.

Dr. Dongell stressed it like this, “God only has one Son. God is impoverished when it comes to sons.” That is, God didn’t send ONE of His sons into the world, but He sent the ONLY Son He had.

Psalm 50:10-11 ^(NKJV) For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine.

Whether you talk about animals, precious metals, or any other commodity, God is infinitely wealthy. But God only has one Son. And, that is who He sent into this world to be the sacrifice for you and for me.

“He gave” – (Dongell) The Son was not sent into the world on a “temporary mission trip.” He was sent on a mission to permanently identify with humanity. In fact, Jesus did not surrender His humanity when He ascended back to the father. He ascended as he lived here – fully God and fully human.

“For” God so loved… The nature of the sacrifice is also indicated in the very first word in the verse.

This conjunction connects v. 16 with vv. 14&15 and it makes a logical connection to the "lifting up of the serpent” analogy. Moses lifted up the serpent and God “lifted up” His Son.

(Tyndale Commentaries) The verb ‘to lift up’ (hypsoō) is used five times in the Fourth Gospel (3:14 [2x]; 8:28; 12:32, 34), and in every case it is used as an allusion to Jesus’ crucifixion. As the lifting up of the snake in the desert was God’s provision for salvation from physical death for rebellious Israelites, so too the lifting up of the Son of Man (his crucifixion) will be God’s provision for salvation from eternal death for people from all nations…

IV.   The Nature of the Belief

The nature of the belief is indicated in the tense of the verb “believeth.” The tense of the verb is a present participle, indicating an ongoing action. What does it mean? It means that Jesus is talking about an ongoing pervasive way of life rather than a moment of faith at some point in time.

He is not saying, “whoever believes that…” but, “whoever is trusting in.”

I’ve talked to a number of people who indicate by their words that they think they’re in a relationship with God simply because there was a point in their life many years ago when they believed the gospel and therefore, they have eternal life. The question is, are you continually trusting in Christ and demonstrating that trust by your conduct?

V.    The Nature of the Life

“eternal life” (everlasting life) – not simply unending life, although that is included. The souls who end up in hell also have unending life, but not “eternal” life. Eternal life means life with heavenly quality.

John 10:10 – I am come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly. (Not mere existence but the quality of heaven included.) No matter how abundant life is down here, it will never compare with the life “up there.”

Romans 8:18 ^(NKJV) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

However, I’m thankful that we don’t have to wait until we get to heaven in order to experience heavenly life in our souls. It truly is a blessing to have the abiding presence of God’s Spirit in our lives so that no matter how difficult things may be at times, we can occasionally feel the heavenly touch of God’s Spirit and sense His presence in ways we cannot describe.

Eternal life also means the opposite of “perish.”

Conclusion:

In light of God’s love for us and what His love provided, the only adequate response we can give is to love Him supremely, i.e. above everything / everyone else.

Let’s end the service today by singing the hymn: More Love to Thee