For God so loved!
Opening song 100 - great is thy faithfulness
Closing song 198 - And
can it be
Scripture reading: John 3:16-17
I
have chosen to study a verse of scripture that is loosely referenced but the
message behind the verse is vaguely comprehended. I will not attempt to explain it in its
entirety here, nor will I tell you that I fully understand it. However, this
much I will do, I can share with you what has been revealed to me.
Let
us turn to our text of study, john 3:16-17 which will be the starting text for
the series that I will be sharing with you for the next couple of days.
Before
we begin to dig in let us ask the Holy Spirit to attend us so that we can be
led into all truth.
Let us Pray
John 3:16-17
3:16 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.
3:17
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that
the world through him might be saved.
Alternate
beginnings
As
you consider the verse of scripture, I want you to think of some alternate
beginnings for this verse. Couldn’t the verse have said:
- The world was loved so God’s son was sent
- The only begotten was sent into the world to save
it
- In order that the world would not perish…
…and
I know you could probably think of a few alternate beginnings yourself.
But
notice how the verse begins….
For God so loved…..
Please
note this is not a coincidental beginning.
I
stand here today to tell you that this beginning suggests there was/is intent
here.
The
way in which the verse begins highlights a special who/person. A who/being that
must be highlighted first, for He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the
end. So it just makes plain sense that He be acknowledged first.
The
way in which the verse is written singles out,
- this special Who/Being as the one doing the loving,
and
- consequently the magnitude of the love being
expressed.
The
two things we will be looking at for this discourse.
Let
us pause for a moment as we dig into these two things a little deeper.
So who is this special
who that is mentioned in this verse?
The
text is clear, it is God. But who is God?
To
answer this question let us go to the beginning of beginnings. Turn with me to
Genesis 1:1
God
is aptly described here in this verse. God is the creator of all.
This
must be an all-important title if the bible opens with this introduction.
Notice
that the bible does not start with an apologetic for God. It simply states that
He is and that he was the creator/father of all?
Now
you should be thinking that the world is big, and if some being made the world
then that being must be bigger than the world right!?
To
that I say a resounding yes.
No doubt God is big
In
order to have created the heaven and the earth, surely the being that did all
this, was/is bigger than them all.
Indulge
me for a few seconds while I try to explain how big our God is. Please focus on
the screen.
Illustration
Florida
United
States
Earth
To
bring this into scope a little we shall imagine that the earth has the diameter
of a gulf ball (1.68 inches)
If
the earth were the size of a gulf ball, then the sun would be 15ft in diameter.
In other words, we could fit 960, 000 earths inside the sun.
But
is the sun the biggest thing out there?
Video. Then slide
As
we consider the size of things we have found in space, we seem Microscopic when
compared.
And
to think that all this was breathed on the 4th day.
Psalm 33:6
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the
host of them by the breath of his mouth.
Turn with me to Ex 20:11 as I amplify this point
Ex20:11
11 For in
six days the Lord made
heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
wherefore the Lord blessed
the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Your
understanding of this verse is only skewered by what your understanding may be
of heaven….but that is another study for another time.
Coming
back to our study
When
the verse says God loves, you should be thinking the big God loves.
AND…
If
the big God loves, then this suggests that this is a huge love.
Let
me try to make this clear.
Think
of something big,
then
add to that something large,
then
add to that something immense,
then
add to that something gigantic,
then
add to that something enormous,
then
add to that something massive
Multiply
that by 1 million
and
even then, you would not have scratched the surface of the type of love we are
talking about.
Our
God loves us with a love that is beyond our understanding.
You should have said Praise the Lord here!
But
this is not the end.
God
is also Powerful
Indeed Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament
sheweth his handywork.
Just
think of the immense power needed not only to create the massive bodies that
there are in space, but imagine how much more power it must take to hold it all
together.
It’s
one thing to build the universe, but it is an entirely different thing to
sustain it. Yet this is exactly what our God does.
We
just looked at the different stars that we found, and the smallest one that we
looked at, our sun, has the potential of yielding 23,000 Terra watts yearly. What
is a terra watt you ask, well it is 1 trillion watts.
How much is a
trillion?
It
is 1000, billion. In other words the sun is emitting 23 quadrillion watts. (15
zeros)
What could we do
with a terra watt?
Put
it this way, the total energy needed to power the entire earth for a year is 16
TW. So the Sun is emitting 22,984 TW in excess of what the entire Earth uses.
If
this doesn’t wow you…let me explain it another way.
Think
of this amount, as a yearly Salary. In other words if you get paid
approximately $23,000 annually and for the entire year to meet all your needs
and wants you spend $16, you would have
$22,984 left over from your pay check.
But
then the following year would roll around and you get paid another $23,000. But
if you only need $16 to fill all your needs you continually have an excess at
the end of the year.
I’m
appealing to my math students now.
Will
I ever be able to spend all the money I’m getting?
How
long do you suppose it would take me to spend my first paycheck of $23,000.
It
would take me 1,438 years just to spend my first year’s salary.
Let’s
assume I could live that long (for the Earth is older than that) I would have
accumulated over accumulated $33 million dollars in saving, and I won’t do the
math for how long it would take me to spend that. I would simply not be able to
spend all the wealth I would have accumulated.
It
is needful for me to emphasize that this is the smallest star. Just imagine the
power that the others have.
This
tells me that the God that maintains these power houses, must himself be at the
very least a power house too.
So
get it right….the
love that this powerful being expresses must also be a powerful kind of love;
i.e.
it is something so strong,
so
unbreakable,
so
durable,
so
full of power…
Are
you getting the picture? And get this ….
This
love thus will effect the change needed in the soul that will receive it, because
it is so powerful.
So does the big, Powerful God need our help in directing the
life He gave you?
But
get this God is not just the creator of heaven and Earth, he is the source of everything.
I
Cor 8:6
But to us there is but one God, the
Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
God is the source
of all
When
he gives you something, it is not borrowed.
It
is not sourced from anywhere else.
It
is not second hand.
It
is directly from Him because He is the source of all.
To
that I will say Amen!!
Thus
the love that God give is not a second hand type of love. This love is brand
new, it is kind that is self-renewing and never dies.
God is the
originator/the instigator…the moving force behind life itself
It
is important to know that God is the originator of the love that he has for
you.
In
other words, God does not love you because of anything that you have done, or did
not do, nor does He love you because of what you can or will do.
God
loves you because He can, but more importantly He love you because He chooses
to do so.
His
love is in no way shape or form dependent upon you.
He
just loves you. Will you accept His love?
God is love
One
writer says that because God is love, He can do nothing else but love.
Now
love is a verb, a doing word. We will look at his more deeply in another study,
but no doubt love acts.
In our
study text the act of love was giving.
It
is so good that there is no limit to what God can give, i.e. because He is
limitless.
In
other words God has no limitations.
God has no
limitations…
Why
is it important to recognize that it is a being without limitations that is
offering His love?
Going
back to the Universe, scientists say they still have not found the end of yet.
In
other words, they cannot mark a spot that they can definitely say this is he
end.
This
is a marvelous thought since the furthest galaxy that they have found The
galaxy MACS0647-JD is reportedly 13.3 billion light-years from Earth.
So that we can wrap our minds around this
distance let me try to break this one down.
The Speed of Light is 127, 000 miles/sec and it would take
a little over 8 minutes for light to travel 93,000,000 miles from the sun.
Scientists
play with this one all the time, by saying that the light you think you are receiving
from the sun right now is actually 8 minutes old.
Well
it would take light 13.3 billion years to travel to or from the galaxy I just
mentioned. How far is that?
Any
mathematicians in the audience want to take a swing at the numbers generated in
converting 13.3 billion light years into miles? Be my guess. I am not doing it.
When
we say without limitations, we are saying there are no restrictions, we are
saying that there is nothing that our God cannot do.
Think
of the hardest thing, the impossible if you may…God can do abundantly above
even more than what we could ever think.
So
whether deep or wide, He and His love for us, is without limits.
God
is infinite/eternal
I
am a mathematician so I think of this in terms of the concept of infinity
What is infinity
The value which describes the numerically quantity
which is larger than any preassigned finite number
…….
So even
if I were to give you one term, I still have an infinite amount left and you have
plenty, plenty, plenty.
God’s
love is something like that, it is the type of love that keeps on giving, and
cannot be exhausted.
Nothing
the ordinary calculator can compute.
God
has no beginning or and He has no end, because He is the beginning and the end.
There was nothing before Him and there is nothing after Him. He is the beginning
the end and everything in between.
Why
is it important to know that it is an infinite being that is doing the loving?
His
love cannot run out, because it has no end. It just keeps on going and going
and going and going…get the point?
God’s
love is something like that. It not only
keeps on going and going, but it began way before there was even time itself.
It was there before us and it will be there long after us, simply because the
love of God persists.
This
is simply a perfect thought, but what less should we expect from a perfect God.
God
is perfect
Since
God is perfect the love that is being given is also perfect. His love is
impartial/unconditional.
There
is nothing you can do to earn His love. It is given to you as gift.
It
is not of a selfish nature; i.e. it isn’t a love seeking selfish gains.
God
does not love us, because there is something in it for Him.
His
love is perfect and not tainted at all with any traces of selfishness.
Matt 5:43-48
43 Ye
have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate
thine enemy.
44 But
I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be
the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise
on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love
them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye
salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the
publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect.
Can
I get your attention to the screen again….
God declares from
heaven
I
love you ….with all that I have I love you.
I
did not have to love you but I do.
If
I had chosen to do otherwise there is no power in Heaven or Earth higher than
me which could force me to love you; but I do.
I
really, do really love you.
Despite
this declaration of love God meekly asks “Will you love me in return?”
Alternative ending
God
could have chosen to recreate the world after man sinned.
A
limitless God could have quickly destroyed Adam and Eve as the law demanded,
and start over.
But
He loved Adam and Eve so much He did not
destroy them.
Turn
with me to.
Isaiah 43:1-4
But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that
formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee
by thy name; thou art mine.
2 When thou passest through the waters, I will
be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou
walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame
kindle upon thee.
3 For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour:
I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
4 Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou
hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for
thee, and people for thy life.
As
we know Israel…us…usually go astray, but
rather than execute punishment look at the torment that is in His heart.
Hosea 11:8
How shall I give
thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as
Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my
repentings are kindled together.
Explanation
Can
you see the conflict? God loves us so much and He does not take any pleasure in
the destruction of any one of His children.
Rephrase
Let
us now zero in just a little bit more on our verse.
So loved
Although
we have added some context to the Being that is giving the love, we still cannot
boast that we understand because…..
1 Cor 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen,
nor ear heard,neither have entered into the heart of man,…. the
things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
The
love of God is quite incomprehensible….This love is without boundary.
And
since God is infinite, we can better understand why the scripture would use the
non-definitive adverb of ‘so’ to complement the word love.
The
verse seems to use the word “so” as an adjective. It seems to be in some way defining
the amount of loved being used.
“So”
is one of those words that while it expresses amount, it is not specific
without action.
I
can say…
….I
want so much…(squeezing fingers together) representing a small amount.
Or
I can say…I want so much (spreading my arms
apart) representing a large amount.
Consequently,
this is why the ‘so’ used in this context is an adverb….
And
according to Google dictionary an adverb…
Definition adverb:
a
word or phrase that modifies or qualifies an adjective, verb, or other adverb
or a word group, expressing a relation of place, time, circumstance, manner,
cause, degree, etc. (e.g., gently, quite, then, there ).
It
does qualify love, but we don’t begin to unlock whether this is a small thing
or a grand thing until we read the very next part of the verse.
For God so loved that
He gave His only begotten son….
By
looking at the etymology of the word “so” we glean the very same idea. The word
“so” can be replaced with the following phrases:
"in
this way,"
"to
that extent;”
“consequently”
“therefore,"
“purely
intensive;”
Hence a few of the ways
in which we could have rephrased our verse of study would be as follows…
For God [so] loved “in this way”
that He gave His only begotten son
For God [so] loved “to the extent”
that He gave His only begotten son
For God [so] loved “consequently”
He gave His only begotten son
For God [so] loved “therefore” He
gave His only begotten son
For God [so] loved “purely”
that He gave His only begotten son
For God [so] loved “intensively”
that He gave His only begotten son
Now
you would think that for the expression of such a:
Big,
Powerful
Limitless,
Eternal/infinite,
Deep,
Wide
and
Perfect
love, the object that is being loved must be so loveable. Right!?
Closing
But….Who are we…who
is the world that God so loved?
Contrary
to what you may think, we are the very opposite of loveable beings. To the
point that Job and David having considered God’s love for man declared…
Job 7:17
What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou
shouldest set thine heart upon him?
Psalm8:4
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son
of man, that thou visitest him?
We
do not have any righteousness of our own. Objectively looking at man, some
would say that He is not worth saving. But the Love that God has for us, will
not allow Him to let us go that easily.
In
spite of the fact that it might have been easier to just destroy Adam and Eve
and start over, the Lord thinks that they (you and I) are worth the trouble of saving.
To
that I just say…praise the Lord.
Repeat after me
God
loves me and that is why I am worth saving.
Last
text.
Turn
with me now to my closing text.
1 john3:1-3
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that
we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not,
because it knew him not.
2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it
doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear,
we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
3 And every man that hath this hope in him
purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Song:
If that isn’t love (you thought I was worth saving)
…………
Conclusion
Having
therefore begun to understand the love of the father, I ask the question, “Is
He an arbitrary God who seeks the destruction of His people?”
Isn’t He a God who is to be loved and adored
and respected?
The
next time you entertain the thought that you might not be worthy, or you may
not be pure enough, just remember 1 john3:3
…… And every man that hath this hope in
him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
If you look to yourself…you will ask “How
can I be saved”
But
If Look to Jesus, then you will ask “How
can I be lost?”
Is there anyone here who would like to
say, I want to open my heart to the love of God, so that it will accomplish in
me that which God wants it to accomplish.
Let us pray!
