John 3:14-21
14And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. 21But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
For God so loved the world that God gave God’s only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
John 3:16 is by far one of the most referenced and highly
revered verses in all of scripture. I honestly can not recall a time in
my life when I was void of the phrase “John 3:16.” I can picture roadside billboards when taking
road trips as a kid. I can see countless windshield flyers, door hangers,
and handouts that plastered John 3:16!
I remember sidewalk chalk plastered all over campus at least once a week
at college that said John 3:16! I have a vivid memory of watching a
football game and seeing a well-known quarterback with black stickers under his
eyes advertising John 3:16. Tattoos,
t-shirts, bumper stickers, coasters….I even discovered an entire apparel line
this week dedicated to John 3:16. I suspect you all have had your own
interactions, experiences, and encounters with John 3:16.
Some might say that there is no greater verse in all of
scripture than this...That God so loved the world...To be clear, the content of
John 3:16 is a significant proclamation of the Christian faith, and a crucial
understanding of God’s desire for the world. It’s a crux for which most
of Christianity stands on. Even the
dedicated website for John 3:16 describes it as “The gospel in a
nutshell.”
I have no issue with the branding and promotion of John
3:16...no issue with its prevalence in today’s world. Certainly there are
much worse things we could broadcast. My
only fear is how easy it is to hide behind John 3:16 as a brand, to proclaim
the citation only, without every cracking the nutshell to hear, embrace, and
embody the message of the verses. Or more terrifyingly...to be changed by
the words of the gospel nutshell, to feel affected, convicted, or empowered by
its proclamation. To be covered by the
light of God and know that God loves the world so much that God would enter a
world that has become partial to sin, not only to rid the world of sin and
offer a better way, but to experience all the sin the world had to offer.
To experience pain. To embody
grief and sorry. To embrace
suffering. To experience death. It is more than a statement of faith, it’s a
call to action.
For God so loved the world. My fear is that we are not
always ready to embrace who John 3:16 empowers us to be. Does John 3:16
change you? Does it change how we view,
interact, live in the world that God so loves?
One of the traps of reading John 3:16 is that we ONLY read John
3:16. We read, hear, and proclaim that God so loved the world that God gave
Jesus so all who believe in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
Full stop. If our affection for
John 3:16 stops here then we risk conveying a message that says salvation is
given by God through Jesus Christ purely out of God’s love for us, and
therefore there is no need, no concern, no motivation, no purpose for our
actions...word or deed. No need to consider what kind of person we
are, how we interact with others. We
risk conveying that the relationship between faith and salvation is simply to
believe in the proclamation of John 3:16.
I doubt many of us wrestle with the truthful proclamation of
John 3:16 that God loved the world so much that God would conceive an
incredibly generous and humble way to eternal life for all people. But the
greater and scarier truth is that John 3:16 is only the beginning of faith and
faithful living. God’s gracious and
merciful act in Jesus Christ not only warrants, but demands a response. A life-giving, and light-shining response -
dare I say, good works.
Here we can turn to our Ephesians text for some clarity. As John
3:16 is to Christianity, we might say Ephesians 2:8 is for Lutheranism.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own
doing; it is the gift of God - not the result of works, so that no one my
boast. Grace...not works...is one of Paul’s primary theological
arguments, and it serves Luther as well during the reformation. But the significance of this statement, for both
Paul and Luther goes well beyond a discussion of grace over works.
Paul writes to the church in Ephesus beginning with an extensive
salutation claiming that God destined us for adoption as children through Jesus
Christ and elaborates on the promise granted to God’s children in the death and
resurrection of Jesus. He then prays, not so subtly, for the
community of Ephesus. He prays that God
give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation….that their hearts be
enlightened….and that they may know God’s immeasurable greatness for those who
believe.
Now Paul reiterates that they were dead in their trspasses an
sin. They once lived according to the rulers and powers of the world,
following the desires of the flesh. But GOd...God who is rich in mercy,
out of the great love with which God loved us even when we were dead through
our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been
saved. For God so loved the world, even when you were dead in sin,
that God gave God’s only son, and saved us by grace through faith, so that all
who believe may have eternal life, and this is not your own doing; it is the
gift of God.
For the Ephesians this would be there bumper-sticker, mouse-pad,
T-shirt moment. Ephesians 2:8, Saved by grace through faith. The breath of fresh air as they are reminded
that God saved God’s people, God saved the world freely..and you don’t have to
do anything to earn that.
That’s all good and well if Paul stopped there, but Paul never
shies away from cracking open the nutshell. He then says, “For we are
what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” Created in Christ Jesus for
good works, that is to be our way of life.
Truly I tell you that good works are not a prerequisite for God’s
salvation in Christ Jesus. Good works rather are an expression of
God’s salvation through Christ.
What Paul is truly expressing and will go on to explain is a way
of life. A behavior. A change in
our very being as a result of God’s salvation.
God’s gracious and merciful act in Jesus Christ not only warrants, but
demands a response. A life-giving, and light-shining response. God’s salvation changes everything.
While John 3:16 indicates that no thing or no one is beyond the
grasp of God’s salvation and promise to eternal life, The rest of John’s
statement reminds us that God’s salvation does not permit us to simply stand
idly by, comfortable and content. For John, the message of God saving the
world demands a reaction. An active and
willing choice to participate in God’s salvation in the world.
Active participation in a world that is partial to the darkness.
A world overwhelmed by temptations of the flesh...a world ravaged by
self-interest and greed. A world lost in the darkness of sin.
And the truth is friends that God so loved the world. Not
just you. Not just me, but all of
creation. The object of God’s love is
the world. And we, the believing body of Christ, are fruits of God’s
salvation. Active and willing
participants in God’s salvific plan for the world. This means shining a
light in a dark world through word and deed.
It means working to end hate and violence. It means speaking out against injustice and
oppression. It means acting with compassion and love. It means pushing
against the current to challenge oppressive systems of power and tear down the
walls and barriers of life.
Make no mistake, For God so loved the world that God gave God’s only Son, not so
those who believe may rest in comfort and complacency, turning a blind eye to
the pervasiveness of sin in. Apathy and indifference towards God’s
salvation for the world only enhances the problem.
Rather, God so loved the world, so that all who believe may have
eternal life. The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness
rather than light because their deeds were evil. 20For all who do
evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not
be exposed. 21But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may
be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”
John 3:16 is a proclamation of hope and promise for that world,
the first step in a faithful response. We are called to embrace and
embody the confession of John 3:16 and that means being changed. Changed from people of darkness to people of
light. Empowered by God to choose good in this world. To stand as witness in a world desperate for
good news.
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