“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
May 11, 2026
John 3:16 is “an ocean of thought in a drop of language” (August Van Ryn). Jesus’s conversation with a learned Jewish theologian reveals the answers to four questions. The little word “for” makes it known that there is a provision for sinners. Who does God love? His love is to be understood in five different ways in Scripture. His love here is that of His yearning, inviting, seeking, saving love.* God loves every individual in the world, past, present, and future, without exception and without distinction. Jesus is correcting Nicodemus. The Jews thought that God loved only Israel. The serpent that hung on the pole (Jn. 3:14) was for all to see and believe (Num. 21:4-9). There is also a choosing love, His selective love (Deut. 7:7-8; 10:15; Eph. 5:25).* God presents Himself in Scripture as the Creator of man, the sovereign ruler over the universe, the one who is transcendent (independent of the material universe) immanent (everywhere present in this world), the one who has acted on sinful, fallen man’s behalf. God’s love is great, infinite, and unchangeable. Rejoice in that, dear friend. Jonah in the belly of the great fish had to be taught that God loved the Assyrians, not just Israel. If you have never placed your faith in Jesus Christ, God’s love reaches out so that sinners will believe in Him and have eternal life.
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Reflections:
What are the consequences if God’s loving invitation is rejected?
- indicates Love in Hard Places by D.A. Carson. It is worth the read!