A universal solution to a universal predicament, John 3:16

In this chapter, the author John the apostle has presented a universal predicament.  A universal problem.  And that is, that no man can ascend to God.  That no man can be right with God through his own merits.  The very best of mankind, the most religious, the most zealous person is still light years away from God.  There is nothing we can do to leap across this great chasm that exists between God and man. 

Last week John introduced to us Nicodemus, the teacher of the Jews, a leader of the ruling religious body of the Jews.  He was a Pharisee, a person who prided himself on keeping the law to the nth degree, who knew the scriptures backwards and forwards, who worshipped in the temple every day and kept all the religious holidays.  He was an exceptional man.  He was the quintessential man.  If anyone could have appealed to God on the basis of their goodness, Nicodemus was the guy. 

And yet Jesus basically said that Nicodemus wasn’t even of the right species to get into heaven.  The Jews thought that of all the people on the earth they were the chosen people of God, they had the temple, the scriptures, the holy of holies, the prophets and the law.   They believed God dwelled in the temple in Jerusalem.  And this guy was the supreme teacher of the Jews and he was the leader of the temple priests.  If anybody should have been a shoe in for the kingdom of God it should have been Nicodemus.  But Jesus said, no, you would actually have to be born all over again to enter the kingdom of God.  Nothing he had done would count.  He had to be born as an entirely new person.

Now that was bad news for Nicodemus.  Earth shattering news.  But it’s bad news for us as well.  Because Nicodemus was representative of the best of men.  Jesus said later in Matt. 5:20,  “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”  So that is a universal predicament.  No one is going to be able to ascend into heaven.

Jesus went on to say that unless you are born again of the Spirit you cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  God is a Spirit, and His kingdom is spiritual. 1Cor. 15:50 says “that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”  That’s what Jesus meant when He said that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Man must be born again of the Spirit if he is to be spiritual.  And if not, if he is but flesh, then he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.  Pretty simple, but a catastrophic situation for mankind.  A hopeless condition, because man cannot make himself born of the Spirit of God, that has to be an act of God.  So that is the universal predicament.  All men are lost.  All men are condemned to death.  All men are descendents of Adam, and as such all have inherited the sin nature of Adam. Rom. 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.”

God is holy.  We fail to fathom the breadth of the holiness of God.  For God to be holy He must be just.  He must enact justice.  And God’s judgment of sin is His justice carried out upon all men, for all have sinned.  But God if God is holy, then He is not only just, but good.  And the goodness of God is expressed in His mercy.  James 2:13 says mercy triumphs over judgment.  So though the just God required punishment for sin, the goodness of God provided mercy.

So the penalty of death is a universal predicament, but the Lord is God of the universe.  And so He had a universal solution.  A universal solution starts with a universal love.  John 3:16, “For God so loved the world….” Let’s stop there.  We could spend an entire message on just that phrase.  For God so loved the world.  The word world is from the Greek kosmos. That should sound familiar, it’s the word we get cosmos from.  But though cosmos speaks to us of the universe,  kosmos in the Greek speaks of the universal human race.   So poor old Nicodemus is probably blinking his eyes right about now.  God loves everybody?  Not just Jews, not just Pharisees, not just Americans, not just Republicans?  Nicodemus was undoubtedly stunned that a Jew would say that God loved anyone but Jews.  But here is Jesus saying God loved the world.  The entire spectrum of the human race.

And Jesus is going to make that even more specific later on. Luke 5:32  "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."  And Paul would later make that even more clear in Romans 5:8 saying, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  So let’s put this in a modern translation;  “For God so loved sinners….”  That is what is meant by the world.  Not all the good people in the world, that’s not who God loved.  But all the bad people in the world, all the sinners, even His enemies, even those who rebelled against Him, even those who spit upon Him, even those who nailed Him to the cross.   God loves sinners.  He loves humans of every race, every creed, every nation, every gender, every size and every color.  God so loved the world.

Much has been made of that little word “so.” So loved.  Why is there a “so” there?  Well, this little word indicates the size of God’s love.  It makes us ask how much?  And the size of God’s love is universal.  This time let’s use universal to indicate size, as in the size of the universe.  It’s infinite.  It has no beginning and no end.  It keeps on going from galaxy to galaxy.  That’s the so in God’s love.  He so loved the world that He gave a universal sized gift.  It’s really a universal sized remedy.  He gave His only begotten Son. 

Remember chapter one, the Word was with God and the Word was God?  That Word is the Son of God.  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.  God gave the infinite, eternal, second person of the triune God, the One who chapter one said “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” And “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him.”  So the expression of God’s universal love is through giving the creator of the universe Himself.

Spurgeon said it like this: : "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son. It was his only-begotten Son—his beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased. None of us had ever such a son to give. Ours are the sons of men; his was the Son of God. The Father gave his other self, one with himself. When the great God gave his Son he gave God himself, for Jesus is not in his eternal nature less than God. When God gave God for us he gave himself. What more could he give? God gave his all: he gave himself. Who can measure this love?”

That is what defines the love of God.  It is a sacrificial love.  The Greek word for love used there is agape love, the highest, most noble expression of love that can be made.  Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”  So then by extension, God gave the greatest gift of love that ever could be given, in that He laid down His life for His enemies.  The Creator laid down His life for His creatures. Christ died in the place of sinners. What kind of love is this?

And then let’s look at the universal invitation of God’s love.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him…” Let’s stop there.  The universal invitation is to whosoever.  Whosoever includes everyone.  No matter how sinful you are.  No matter how religious you might be.  No matter what horrible crimes against God or humanity you might have committed, whosoever includes you.

If you are familiar with the doctrines of Calvinism then you might know that irresistible grace and limited atonement are two Calvinistic doctrines that are often given in regards to salvation.  That the call of God only comes to some people, and that Christ only died for those people, so that they who are called will be saved, but salvation is only available to those who are called.  I would like to say that while I believe that the Bible teaches predestination, such a doctrine is beyond our pay grade to comprehend.  It is the purview of God to know how He knows what He knows.  But let me tell you what I do know.  And what I do know is what Jesus has to say about who may come to salvation.  He says “whosoever”. In fact, just in case you missed it the first time, He says it twice.  Whosoever in vs. 15  and whosoever in vs.16.  Who does whosoever refer to?  Who so ever believes in Him.  There is no other way to define it.

But just in case you are the type to explain away the obvious, Jesus gives us an illustration of whosoever might be saved.  And that is found in vs.14 and 15.  The Israelites have sinned against God in the wilderness.  They have rebelled against the plan of God and are pining away for the delicacies they enjoyed in Egypt when they were in slavery.  They are complaining and murmuring against God and Moses.  And so God sends poisonous vipers into the camp.  You can read about it in Numbers 21.  And when they bit the people they began to be sick and die.  And the people came to Moses and repented of their sin against God.  So God told Moses what to do to provide an antidote for the viper’s sting. God said, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. 

Now that is the illustration that Jesus gives as an example of salvation.  And listen how Jesus presents it in vs.14: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whosoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”  The analogy is clear.  We have all been bitten by the sting of death brought about by the great serpent who deceived Adam and Eve, that is the devil. God said whoever shall eat of the tree shall surely die.  And in Adam, all have died spiritually because we have all inherited the same sinful nature as Adam. Rom 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”

So all of the world lies under the penalty of death.  We have all been stung by the viper of sin.  But when Moses lifted up the serpent on the standard, all who turned and looked upon it were saved from death and lived.  So it is with Christ, all who turn and look to Him as remedy for death shall not die but live.  It is available for all.  It is not limited to just some people, or to just good people, but it is limited only to those who are dying.  And we already have established that all of the world is dying.  The scriptures say that it is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment.

So just as death is universal in it’s predicament, so is salvation universal in it’s invitation. Because all have sinned, salvation is offered to all without reservation.  This is the scope of God’s grace.  The grace of God is not limited.  2Peter 3:9 says the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

So then, God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Let’s look finally then at the individual application of God’s love. It’s a universal predicament, a universal solution, a universal invitation, but an individual application.  Whosoever believes brings it down to that individual who believes the gospel and applies it to themselves.  It is not a universal salvation, that everyone is automatically saved.  But it’s an individual application as one believes and receives Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Now then what does this great gift of God’s love produce? Individual salvation. Salvation from the penalty of death.  And  in explaining it Jesus says it both negatively and positively.  It has a negative application and a positive application.  But the gospel is such good news that even the negative is positive.  So first the negative.  Whosoever believes on Him, that is Jesus, the Son of God, the propitiation for the sins of the world, whoever believes on Him shall not perish.  That’s the negative.  Which is actually a positive.  You will not die.

Jesus said to Martha in John 11:25, ““I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”

How is that possible?  How can Jesus say that by believing in Him we will never die, and yet all of his disciples died, all of our forefathers in the faith have died and passed from this life.  Well the answer is of course is that which is flesh is of sin, and Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death.  Romans 5:12 said that death is passed upon all men.  So that which is of the flesh  shall pass away, but that which is spiritual shall live. So though we are dead in the flesh, we are made alive in the spirit, and as such we shall not die but live.

Jesus gave additional assurance in John 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”  And again in John 10:28 “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” 

Then the positive side of that equation is as Jesus said, “eternal life”, or “everlasting life.”  It’s the same thing.  But it’s not just the length of life that Jesus is referring to.  Eternal life certainly incorporates the infinite, no doubt about that.  But there is also more to eternal life than simply an infinite life span.  It also refers to the quality of life.  It is the life of God.  Christ as the source of light and life as it said in chapter one.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 

Jesus said it like this in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”   Abundant life starts now.  Eternal life starts at the new birth, being born again.  Abundant life is found in knowing the source of life and light.  It’s found in fellowship and communion with the God of the universe, the Creator of all life.  Abundant life is found in doing the deeds of God.  It’s found in having the righteousness of Christ, it’s found in having the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within us to lead us and guide us and comfort us and help us. It’s found in intimacy and relationship and peace with God.  Yes, eternal life is everlasting, infinite life.  But it’s also full life, the zest of true life, a fulfilled life, a life lived for it’s true purpose.

I’m going to give you one other verse, which is really like a teaser for the next message.  But it’s hard to look at these verses without considering the context around them.  Because verse 17 reminds us really of the grand design of John 3:16 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” 

The world was already lying under the judgment of sin and death.  Humanity was hopeless, helpless to bridge the chasm between mankind and God.  So since man could not ascend to God, God descended to man, sending the exact representation of God in human flesh to dwell among us, to be rejected by man, to be sacrificed in our place on the cross as an offering for the sins of the world, so that the world might be saved through Him and receive eternal life. 

You know, it would be easy to think of the holy God as viewing humanity in the condition of it’s sin, rebellion, disobedience,  and hating God and exacting vengeance on the world. It would be easy to imagine if Scripture said, “God looked at the world and He said, ‘I’ll destroy them, I’ll punish them. I’ll put the pressure on them of divine judgment until they come to Me.’” But it wasn’t God’s anger that sent Christ. Christ didn’t come into the world to judge the world. He came into the world to save the world because what motivated the Father was not His anger, but His love.  So we notice in verse 17, “God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”  Saved through Jesus. God loved the world so God sent Jesus to save the world. Jesus came to save sinners. That is sinners from all over the world. He sent His Son because of His infinite love of sinners. He sent His Son to display His grace and mercy, to save them from judgment.

Some time ago I read a story about a young man who had rebelled against his father which resulted in an argument, and consequently he ended up running away from home. He continued to keep in touch with his mother over the coming months, and by Christmas time he wanted very much to come home, but he was afraid his father would not allow him. His mother wrote to him and urged him to come home, but he did not feel he could until he knew his father had forgiven him. Finally, there was no time for any more letters. His mother wrote and said she would talk with the father, and if he had forgiven him, she would tie a white rag on the tree which grew right alongside the railroad tracks near their home, which he could see before the train reached the station. If there was no rag, it would be better if he went on.

So the young man caught a train and started the journey home. As the train drew near his home he was so nervous he said to his friend who was traveling with him, "I can't bear to look. Sit in my place and look out the window. I'll tell you what the tree looks like and you tell me whether there is a rag on it or not." So his friend changed places with him and looked out the window. After a bit the friend said, "Oh yes, I see the tree." The son asked, "Is there a white rag tied to it?" For a moment the friend did not say anything. Then he turned, and in a kind of awed voice said, "There is a white rag tied to every limb of that tree!" That, in a sense, is what God is saving in John 3:16 and 17. God has removed the condemnation and made it possible to be forgiven and come home to him.

This is the greatest love, that God gave Jesus  to save sinners, even His enemies by offering Himself as a substitute for our death, so that we might be with God.  I hope that if you are here today and have not trusted in Christ as your personal Savior, that today will be the appointed day of your salvation.  Whosoever believes on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.