John 3:16

John 3:16 is the gospel in a nutshell. When Jesus held His private interview with Nicodemus He spoke to him about the sinfulness of man, the need to be born again, the need for faith, and sums the gospel up this way: “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 (John 3:16).” That is the good news.

John 3:16 begins with, “For God so loved the world...” God loves the world even though He hates sin and His judgment is revealed from heaven against wickedness (Romans 1:18). God loves you, but hates your sin. He is just and must punish you with your sins. It is amazing that God loves you and me – in spite of the fact that, outside of Christ, we are in active rebellion against Him and hate God. God is light, but the sinner loves darkness. “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved (John 3:19-20).” Regardless of how sinful, rebellious, and hateful you are toward God, He loves you and is “...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).”

God loves the sinner and proves it, in that He “...gave his only begotten Son...” No one can say, “No one loves me,” because God loves you and sent His Son. He has demonstrated His love for you and me “...in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).” Jesus took the punishment that we deserved, dying in our place. Jesus died for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3). When someone rejects Jesus they reject the love of God and can only expect His wrath.

The love demonstrated by God and the grace that is available to you is by faith in Jesus. “...that whosoever believeth in him...” This is the good news. What shall I do to be saved? The answer is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. How am I to believe? Jesus gave this example of the type of faith that saves: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:14-15).” The reference is to an event in the wanderings of Israel to the Promised Land. They sinned and God judged them by sending poisonous serpents into the camp and many of the people were bitten. God instructed Moses to make a brazen serpent and put it up on a pole. Everyone that was bitten by serpents would be healed simply by looking upon the serpent on the pole. They simply believed in the promise and were saved. Jesus was crucified on the cross. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21).” Simply look to Jesus in faith that He will save you from your sins and you will be saved.

There are certain results of putting your faith in Jesus Christ. One of the benefits of trusting Jesus is that you “...will not perish...” This perishing is what makes the good news so good. All the world is under the condemnation of God, because of sin. You are perishing under God's judgment of your sins. On the cross Jesus took the punishment you deserved by dying in your place. All the wrath of God that you deserved Jesus carried to the cross.

Another result of putting our faith in Jesus is that we have “...everlasting life.” Jesus told Nicodemus that he “must be born again.” When you put your trust in Christ you have a new life. You are born again of the Spirit of God. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13).” You become a child of God and a possessor of everlasting life. “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness (Romans 8:10).”

How will you respond to the love of God revealed in John 3:16? God demonstrated His love to you when He gave His Son to die in your place. Jesus has taken your punishment. The only proper response is to repent of your sin and put your trust in Jesus Christ.