January, 2002

“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.” John 3:16

This is a very familiar verse that most Christians memorize. “John 3:16” has become a Christian Icon. But this famous verse (probably the most famous) of the Bible is deep in its theology. Bible commentators are divided as to whether this passage (vv.16-21) is an extension of the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus or just a comment of John, the author on Jesus’ word. In either case, it expresses the most important message of the Gospel. It is obvious that God’s motivation toward people is pure love. This verse starts with a “cause and effect” clause: “For God so loved the world . . .” The cause is God so loved the world; the effect is He gave up His Son. Though God loves all that He created, yet the emphasis here is on the prime creation of all—mankind. This word “the world” also allows us to see that God’s love is not limited to a few or to one group of people, but His gift is for the whole world.

God’s love was expressed in the giving of His most precious gift—His One and only Son. The Greek word referring to the Son is monogene, which means, “only begotten” or “only born-one”. Other version translated it as “unique”. Our concept of “born” or “begotten” is by natural birth, but it is a wrong understanding of the deity of Christ. This is a case of lacking human language to explain a divine action. We may understand Christ as the only unique One who came out from God. No one is like Him and no one will ever be like Him because He is God (last month’s Scripture of the Month—John 1:1-18).

It is one thing for God to love the world so much so that He gave His unique Son; it is quite another thing for the world to believe Him. On man’s side, the precious gift of God is simply to be received, not earned. Believing consists of accepting something, not doing something. A person is saved by believing, by trusting in Christ! The question many people asked is, “What are we being saved from?” This verse tells us that we are saved from “Perishing.” Perish doesn’t mean annihilation but rather a final destiny of “ruin” apart from God, who is life, truth, and joy. For those who believe in Him, they are promised with “Eternal Life.” It is more than duration, but also a new quality of life God gives, which a believer now has as a present possession and will possess forever as contrasted with futility in this life and painful alienation from God in eternity. One very important note is that positive believe in Christ is necessary; all that one has to do to perish is nothing.