A Love that Saves: A Bible Journal Study on the Book of John

“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.” - John 3:16 KJV

The magnificence of God’s love is something that we cannot measure, it is a treasure that never ends. The ‘world’ that is spoken of in this verse is the rebellious world of people made in the image of God. 

God loves rebels, he loves fools and idolaters so much that He gave His only begotten Son. He gave Jesus to save us and to take us from darkness into light. There is no greater love than this. 

For the writer of this verse, John, everlasting life is a quality of life before it is a quantity of life. The Bible defines eternal life as “Knowing God and His Son (John 17:3). It is a sharing of life and the love of the Godhead. It is life in abundance here on Earth and it is forever blessed life that is to come at the end of the age. Which is the age of the Messiah Jesus. When we become believers we are reborn and ushered into the initial stages of Kingdom citizenship which means we are new creations and that our old nature died and now we have a new identity as adopted heirs into the Kingdom of God. 

It is a conversion from a condemned sinner to a perfectly justified and righteous believer. 

So many of us go about our days not realizing that we are loved. In this verse, John tells us that God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. Being a parent you can quickly come to the reality of how hard that must be, your children are your everything and you would do anything to protect them. 

This verse reminds me of another place in scripture in the book of Genesis where Abraham was commanded to go up to a hill to sacrifice his son Isaac to God. Abraham was so obedient and he loved God so much that he was willing to do it regardless of how it would make him feel. But God stopped him and provided a different sacrifice, a ram in the thicket. 

The reason this sacrifice needed to take place in the first place is because of our sin. We can only be atoned for with a blood sacrifice and the truth is, it was meant to be our lives on that cross, we are responsible for our sins and it was you and me who should have died. 

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” - Romans 6:23 KJV

The wages of sin is death and we had to pay it but God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son. You see, Jesus already paid the price. But to receive the gift of eternal life, we need to believe in His name. 

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

- Romans 10:9 KJV

Those who believe in their heart and confess it to be the truth will be saved. How amazing is that? That you and I have the opportunity to live forever in His presence. 

To understand John 3:16 you need to understand the weight of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. You need to truly understand what He has done for you. 

Are you truly a believer? If not, maybe it is time you truly give some thought to the truth of who He is and what He had to do for you and me. Don’t let one-second slip by before you do.