¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John 3:16 is not about forgiveness of sins, no matter the guy with rainbow hair in the end zone who's holding up that sign. John 3:16 is about life now.
– Dallas Willard
Thoughts
- God Gives over His One and Only Son to Give Us Life (16): The “world” (kosmos \= all people) was already condemned from the moment of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Eph 2:4,5 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.* The Son's rescue mission is the outpouring of God’s love (agapaō) for us.
- The Word is a Two-Edged Sword (17,18): Heb 4:13: Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
— Q .What do I have to do to end up in hell? — A. Absolutely nothing. You just keep being you.
The Son does not come into a sort of neutral world to pick and choose—to save some, and then to condemn others. Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Rather than sitting high above us all in judgment, God’s love compels him to send the Son into history on a rescue mission to a lost world. Joh 1:12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God..
- Hiding in the Dark \= Hiding in Plain Sight before God (19,20): Psa 14:1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good—which Paul quotes in Rom 3:10. Hiding in the darkness of denial doesn’t take away our intrinsic sense of shame, nor does it somehow help us to escape our guilt. Psa 139:11,12 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
- Coming in from the Cold (21): Jesus invites us to come in from the cold shadows of deception, and into his marvelous warmth—like coming in from a snowy night to a blazing hearth. Since he already knows who all of who we really are—top to bottom, dark to light—we would do well to stop pretending that we are able to stand on our own terms. When we live in the love of Christ, we enter into the glorious glow of Kingdom life. Mat 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. When we allow Christ to work in us we find fullness of life—true meaning, and true purpose. Eph 2:10 For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Reflections
- Who needs to see the light of Christ shine through you this week? Where is a 'dark' area you're hiding? Where do you need to ‘come in from the cold’?
