SATURDAY 25th
John 3:16-21
NIV (v16) ‘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.’
ESV (v16) ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.’
I have already used this verse in the devotion on July 7th but want to include it again. It is one of the most well-known and well used verses of Scripture that clearly reminds us of God’s love for humanity, God’s sacrifice for humanity and God’s offer of life for humanity, his one and only plan of redemption which comes through his one and only Son, or for those who prefer the KJV, ‘. . . his only begotten Son.’
What we see from this verse regarding redemption is:
ai) The Underlying force for the gospel – the love of God
aii) The underlying need for the gospel – man’s sin
bi) The Universal reach of the gospel – the world
bii) The Universal reach of sin – all have sinned
c) The Uniqueness of the message of the gospel – whoever believes IN HIM
d) The Ultimate aim of the gospel – to have eternal life
e) The Unequivocal consequences of not believing the gospel – perish
We will consider the thoughts briefly over the next couple of days.
ai) The Underlying force for the gospel – the love of God – 1 John 4:10 ‘In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’
aii) The underlying need for the gospel – man’s sin – Isaiah 64:6 ‘We have all
become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a
polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind,
take us away.’
bi) The Universal reach of the gospel – the world – Romans 8:32 ‘He who did not
spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?’
bii) The Universal reach of sin – all have sinned – Romans 3:23 ‘for all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ Romans 5:12 ‘Therefore, just
as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so
death spread to all men because all sinned . . .’
The first four words of John 3:16 is a declaration that humanity does not deserve to hear because of its rebellion against God, ‘For God so loved’. The underlying need for the gospel is the depravity of humanity, his sinfulness, transgression and rebellion against God, and yet despite it all God still loves mankind, and his love for man whom he had created is such that it drives God to do something, to put a plan into action to deal with the sin, to save the sinner and reconcile him back into full relationship with himself again. Sometimes when you try to write something down in regard to these things it is difficult to put into words what you want to say, and even now as I consider the love of God toward the sinner, toward me, who deserves anything but his love, it is hard to comprehend, the lines of a couple of songs come to mind, ‘How deep the father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure, that he should give his only Son, to make a wretch his treasure’ and ‘Here is love vast as the ocean, loving kindness as the flood.’ The first mentioned song goes on to say, ‘It was my sin that held him there’, my sin, his love, thank God that love won. And as a result, the sin that had separated us from God is gone!
Spend a few moments contemplating God’s love toward you, an ‘ex-wretch who he has made into a precious treasure.’ – 1 Peter 2:9 ‘But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.’