Trending
"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
We are moving on in our study of John 3:16; we are going to consider the words, 'that He.' The word 'that' is kind of a connecting word between two thoughts. "For God so loved the world," shows the extent of the Creator's love for His creation. The world is referring to His vast creation, the total sum of all things created. The word 'that' connects those thoughts with the ones that are coming, "He gave His only begotten Son."
But who is the He speaking of? It refers back to God in the earlier part of the verse, and also to His which is to come. It is speaking of the Eternal God, but it is referring specifically to the Father, "He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." In Matthew 3:17 it says, "And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, this is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Now why was God the Father pleased with the Son? We can know for certain that obedience played a big part; the Son was obedient to the Father. Philippians 2:8 confirms what I am saying, "He (Christ) humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." Although the Son had known the presence, fellowship, and glory of the Godhead from eternity past, He "made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men," verse 7.
As we consider the obedience of Christ, here is what John 6:38-39 says, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of the Father Who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
A little side note here, the book of John is full of the sovereignty of God in the salvation of men. Just this one book of the New Testament should be enough to convince anyone that God chose a people for Himself from before the foundation of the world, see also Ephesians 1:4-5. John 6:44 says, "No man can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws Him."
We want to look at one more verse that shows the obedience of the Son. In John 5:30 it says, "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of Him who sent Me." Wouldn't it be something if we could love God, and know His word, to the extent that we put His will and purpose ahead of our own. God would be glorified, the church would grow, people would be born again from above and experience new life in Christ. The world would be a better place for all of us to live. Contact the author at: thoughtsonword@gmail.com if you have any comments or questions.
•••
Lyndon Stimeling, of Richfield, has been writing about faith and family for many years. He has self-published three books, Common Thoughts on The Word in 2016 and Eye of a Needle in 2017 and Common Thoughts on The Word II in 2019. He has also had articles published in The Coming Home Journal and local newspapers and has written a children's book.