A
Message by Pastor Michael Palmer
Given
to
June
13, 2010
FOR GOD SO LOVED . . .
John 3:16
Today in our study of the
book of John, we come to one of the most well known verses in all the Bible. Let’s
read verses 14-17 to give it some context.
This verse points to the awesome, amazing, and redeeming
love of God for all mankind. Verses 14
and 15 illustrate for us the plight of every person—we have all been bitten by
sin, resulting in the curse and death.
We need Someone to take our curse away. We need a God who will love us, not condemn
us (like we deserve!). We need
mercy. And that love and mercy will come
to us at great cost!
Transcendent, Glorious, Infinite
God is love. Thank God He is! It says here God “so loved.” In light of the fact of our rebellious hearts
and what had to be done to make the way for forgiveness and redemption
from bondage . . . in light of all that, John says that God SO LOVED!
‘o Theos – the infinite, all powerful, all knowing, all present Yahweh God –
the Great “I Am.” He is the God of
creation—He created heaven and the earth, and He created man.
3. ITS OBJECT
kosmos – the world
“The giving of His Son was for the
entire human race. H. Sasse concludes that the cosmos epitomizes unredeemed
creation, the universe of which Jesus is the light (Jn. 8:12) and to which he
comes. Any attempt to restrict the word
‘kosmos’ to the elect ignores the clear use of the
term throughout the New Testament. God
gave His Son for the deliverance of all humanity.” (Robert H. Moonce, Expositors Bible Commentary, vol. 10, Luke – Acts,
p. 400.) This would “stretch” the
mind and belief system of the average Jew during the time of Christ.
Mankind—though sin-laden, exposed
to God’s judgment, under the curse, and in need of salvation—is still the
object of His care!
This is all mankind—from every
tribe and nation—not just Jews, but Gentiles.
This is the missional aspect of the heart of
God. His “heart” is for the nations. And if we are touched by the Lord and His
grace, we too will have His heart for the nations.
1) There is no person exempt from
God’s love.
2) There is no sinner who has sinned
too much for God to love!
3) There is no “station in life” too
good or too bad for God.
“that His
Son, the only begotten, He gave”
monogenes – Jesus is the one and only Son. This does not refer to His earthly birth, but
to His nature and His place from all eternity.
This verse does not imply that Jesus was created at a point in time by
the Father. The only way Jesus could be
both God and man was to have all the attributes of God and man. This means He is co-existent into eternity.
God
GAVE His Son to be mankind’s representative on the cross; He is our sin bearer
and the recipient of the wrath meant for us!
When this verse reads, “He gave” we must understand it in the sense of a
giving unto death for our sin (see 1 John 3:16; 1 John 4:10; Romans 8:32).
“in order
that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”
Those who receive Him with abiding
trust and confidence may have everlasting life.
God’s desire is that mankind might believe or have faith in Jesus.
·
Faith
involves repentance (a turning away from sin to Christ).
·
Faith
involves a yielding to Jesus personally.
·
Faith
involves acknowledgement of who Jesus is—a belief that He is the unique
God/Man.
·
Faith
involves an awareness of and a release to the fact that Jesus is Lord over you
life.
·
Faith
involves a desire to continue to follow Jesus.
·
SHOULD
NOT PERISH
There is a perishing for all those
that do not accept God’s gracious GIFT!
To a certain extent, we are born with an innate sense that we are
“perishing.” The adversary has worked
very hard to inculcate our minds with half-truths and lies . . . getting people
to accept the lie so they will eventually perish. But this is not God’s desire; His desire is
that none should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
·
EVERLASTING
– ETERNAL LIFE
My friends, this is the wonderful
assurance Jesus alone can give us. That
we will live forever with Him—have eternal life. What a hope, what a joy. Death—that final foe—has
been DEFEATED and in Christ we have the victory.
And since we have this Hope, and
since we have believed, we continue to have fellowship with the Father and He
gives us life day by day! Our character
is made more like Jesus. Our agenda in
life is radically changed, because we now have REAL LIFE. We are not reliant on the world nor the things of this world. We have a different, NEW, VIBRANT,
PURPOSEFUL, AND CLEAN LIFE!
II. GOD TOOK THE INITIATIVE TO SAVE YOU BY
GIVING THE GREATEST GIFT
1.
JESUS CHRIST IS THE GREATEST OF GOD’S GIFTS BECAUSE HE IS THE BEST GOD
HAD TO GIVE
2.
JESUS IS GOD’S GREATEST GIFT BECAUSE GOD PLANNED TO GIVE HIM BEFORE
THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD
3.
JESUS IS GOD’S GREATEST GIFT BECAUSE JESUS ALONE MEETS ALL THE REAL
NEEDS OF MANKIND
·
Man
needs a knowledge of God. Jesus alone brings that knowledge.
·
Man
needs a Savior.
·
All
the practical needs in life are met by knowing and following Jesus and applying
His Word.
III. IF YOU RECEIVE JESUS, YOU WILL WANT TO
LIVE ALL OF YOUR LIFE TO HELP “THE WORLD” HEAR AND UNDERSTAND THIS GOOD NEWS
(THE GOSPEL)
In light of this great love, we must prune the extraneous
stuff out of our lives and go tell—love people with a contagious sacrificial
love and give them Jesus!
CONCLUSION
This verse is the gospel or “good news” in one verse. The question is whether we are living our
lives in such a way to tell this truth? Most of us know John 3:16. But how important is this wonderful truth to
us? My friends, I submit to you that
this familiar verse ought to break us afresh today. Put your name in the place of the word
“world” and let that verse speak to you today.
For God so loved ________ . May we be so humbled and touched by the love
of God that we are willing to give our lives in love for God and others. People need the Lord. The only way they will ever know Him is if we
love like God does toward us. We must
GIVE of ourselves to others that they may know the love of God. I challenge you today, if you know this verse
and claim to be a recipient of God’s love (you are a born again believer), then
what are you doing with that knowledge?
How can one be a recipient of God’s love and not be overwhelmed by that
love to the point where we are willing to go
in love to others, serve them, and tell of God’s great love for them? God loved me, a wretched, blind, sinner. I
did not have a clue, did you?! And yet
God loved even me. I am overwhelmed by
that fact; I am overwhelmed by His love for me even right now. I am totally unworthy. And because I know that it makes God’s love
even more amazing.
Have you really believed in Jesus? You can trust Jesus right now through prayer
(listen to Pastor Michael).
If you prayed that prayer, come now and tell a
pastor. We will help you take the next
steps. If you would like to serve the
Lord here at Green Ridge, come now as we sing the invitational song.