Throughout the Bible God tells us that He loves us. When we read John 3:16, Jesus in His own words actually tells us just how much God does love us. “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.”
Have you given any thought to what this scripture really means? Let’s break it down a little more.
For God! God is our heavenly Father who created everything, who sees and knows all. The very God to whom we owe our very being gave. Have you given any thought to the word “given”? Have you ever been given anything? Of course you have. Have you out of love given to others? We love our families and friends very much. That is why we give to them—not because we have to, but because we want to.
God so loved us that He gave His only begotten Son. God gave us Jesus to die upon the cross so that we would not have to pay the penalty of sin. Not one of us would give our son to die for a lost and sinful world, but that is exactly what God did for us. Why would God offer His Son to die in our place? It is simple to understand. God destroyed the world once before, and it must have pained Him to do it. That is why He said that He would never do that again.
We overlook the word “perish.” What does it mean? In Scripture, it means to die in one’s own sin without the saving grace of the shed blood of Jesus. Without the shed blood of Jesus we were all headed to Hell, but God saw a way for us to escape this fate by sending us His only begotten Son. When you begin to piece this scripture together a little at a time, it makes better sense.
Another key word is “believeth.” What is it that you believe in? Do you believe in Jesus? Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose again on the third day? If we believe in Him and accept Him, we will not perish. Perish is a harsh word, so if we believe we will not perish.
The next words are, “but have everlasting life.” There are several meanings to this phrase. We will spend eternity somewhere. God gives us a free will to do as we please. If He had not given us a free will and had instead imposed His will upon us, then He would be a dictator. The choice of where we will spend eternity is ours to make—either with the Lord in Heaven or in Hell with the devil and his cohorts.
Ask yourself this question: Do you really believe in Him? If your answer is no, why not? God has given us His Son. What more can He do to convince you to believe? John 3:16 is very simple to understand, and is straightforward in its meaning. God loves us, He gave His Son, that whosoever (which means anyone that believes) should not perish, and have everlasting life with the Lord.
Verse 17 states: “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Are you saved? Do you want to be saved? Do you want the assurance that when you die you will spend eternity with the Lord? Would you consider giving your life to Christ? God has made the way. Now it is up to us to either accept or reject Jesus as Savior. I would encourage you not to wait before it is too late, because tomorrow may be too late.
Read John 3:16–18 and ask Christ into your life. “For God so loved the world that HE gave. …”