The Love of God

God is love.  This may be the single most defining characteristic of our God.  But for most people today, when we speak of the love of God, we can have a wide range of meanings for exactly what it meant by His kind of love.  You see, God’s kind of love is not like our kind of love.  Our kind of love usually finds something attractive or good in the object of our love.  For instance, my wife has all kinds of qualities that make me love her.  I’ve always loved how gentle and kind she is.  I’ve always loved her eyes and her smile.  And I love that she loves me.  But when we talk about God’s kind of love, it’s not like that all.  God’s kind of love is not derived from what is lovable about us.  No, God’s love is intrinsic to who He is.  He loves because He is love.  It’s His nature to seek what is best for others because that is what love does.

We rarely love others that way.  We often love others expecting something in return.  But once again, God’s love is not like that.  So, the question for us today is this:  What is God’s love really like? And, If God is love, does He really love me?  And If God is love, is there a way I can truly experience His love? To answer these questions and more, let me encourage you to open your Bible to one of the more familiar passages of Scripture that spells out the good news of God’s love to us.  That passage is John 3:16-21.  For it is in these verses Jesus not only tells us what God’s love is like, but tells us how you or anyone can experience His love personally.

So, if you’ve found John 3:16-21, we’re going to dig into the first characteristic of God’s love from the first phrase of John 3:16, and that is

The Depth of God’s Love “For God so loved the world” Now, the first thing we need to note here is this little word “for.” That word “for” connects this truth about God’s love for the world to what Jesus has just taught Nicodemus about being born again. He taught Nicodemus that the way to be born again, the way to enter the kingdom of God, was to look to the remedy God provided. He said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

As we noted last week, the story behind the snake in the desert was well known.  It’s recorded in Numbers 21.  The Israelites were lost in the desert.  They had rebelled against God. So, God sent snakes into their midst to punish them for their rebellion. Many were bitten and were dying.  They became desperate. They could not save themselves. So, they cried out to God and God gave them a remedy – God gave them a way to be saved.  He told Moses to erect a pole upon which he was to attach a bronze snake.  Those bitten by the poisonous snakes could be saved if they looked upon the snake.  But to look upon the snake was an act of faith. This was God’s remedy.  They had to trust that by looking upon the snake, that God would heal them.  And those who believed and looked were saved.  Now, Jesus was telling Nicodemus that He himself is God’s remedy for sin.  That he must be lifted up on the cross, and that anyone who looks to Him in faith will be saved – will receive eternal life – that is, it is by faith in Jesus that a person is born again spiritually.

So now, as we come to John 3:16, Jesus uses this little word “for” to connect this act of Him being lifted up on the cross – to God’s love for the world. “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.” In other words, because God loved the world, He gave us a remedy for our sin.  He gave us Jesus.  And whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

But let’s take a minute to expand upon the depth of God’s love for us.  Because when Jesus talks about loving the world, he’s not talking about the world in its enormous scope – a world of 7 billion people, although this term does encompass all of humanity.  No, when Jesus speaks of the world, he is referring to who we are in all our badness, brokenness and chaos.  God loves this world mired in confusion – where countries and leaders grasp at straws to find solutions for the messes we are in.  God loves this world marred by ugliness– where injustice and violence appear to triumph.  God loves this world permeated with fear – where it seems everyone is working overtime to manipulate and control forces we cannot hope to conquer – the greatest of which is death. And God loves this world crying out to be loved – where every person longs to be known, accepted and embraced for the simple fact that we are human.  Our God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, has such a deep love within Himself, that no matter how bad we are, how confused we are, how fearful we are, or how broken we are, His love cannot be held back, it cannot remain neutral, it must be expressed, because God is love.  And so God’s love for the world moved Him to do something about our desperate plight.  God’s love for the world, for you, me and for every single person in this world moved Him to act on our behalf.  So out of His great love, He sent to us His One and only Son, so that now whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

That’s the depth of God’s love.  It’s a love not based upon something lovable about us.  It’s a love that moved Him to love us when we were unlovable.  It’s a love that moved Him to love you when you were are at your worst.  That’s what makes God’s love such good news to everyone. The depth of God’s love for you means that God’s love is greater than your greatest sin!  The good news of God’s love for you means that: There is nothing you can do to make God love you more, and there is nothing you have done that can make God love you any less.  His love for you is not dependent upon what you do or what you have done. His love for you has nothing to do with you but has everything to do with the love that is in Him.  And here’s where the grammar of this text proves this to be true:  The text does not say God loves us (present tense) now that we’ve been made His children.  No, it says God loved us (past tense) before we were saved, before we cleaned up our act, before there was anything in us to love. He loved us at our worst.  That’s the depth of God’s love.  When we didn’t deserve a thing from God, God loved us by giving us Jesus.  In fact, that’s the next characteristic of God’s love – it’s a gift.

The Gift of God’s Love “that He gave His one and only Son God’s love for you gave to you that which was most dear to Him. God gave to the world His most valuable treasure. This was no impersonal gift. He did not give us a get out of jail free card.  He did not give us something that could wear out or rust.  He did not give us something whose value would change over the passage of time.  No, God chose to give the world that which was of greatest value to Him – His One and only Son.

His Son who is innocent, His Son who is faithful, who is sinless, righteous and good.  God willingly gave us His Son who came and lived as one us, who then freely laid down His own innocent life to suffer a cruel and unjust death at the hands of wicked men – not just so we could be forgiven – but so we could experience eternal life with God.

That’s the beauty of God’s kind of love.  God’s love is not static or self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in.  Here God’s actions defined the pattern of true love, the basis for all love relationships – when you love someone, you are willing to sacrifice dearly for that person.  Sacrificial love expresses itself without assurance that the love will be returned in kind.  Sacrificial love is also practical in seeking ways to meet the needs of those who are loved.  In God’s case, His love for you was infinitely practical, since He set out to rescue you when you had no hope of rescuing yourself.  God paid dearly to save you; He gave His One and only Son, the highest price He could pay.

That’s good news.  That’s God’s grace. The good news is that since God gave us Jesus out of His great love, God doesn’t require us to pay anything to receive salvation.  God doesn’t require you to do anything to earn your salvation.  That’s the purpose of a gift.  God loved the world so much, He found a way to give us salvation, by giving us His Son.  And now, salvation is free, but it’s not cheap.  This gift of God cost us nothing, but it cost the Son of God His life.

And now the good news is this: He gives this gift to anyone who might believe in His Son, so that they might receive eternal life.  That’s The Offer of God’s Love “that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

God gave His Son so that we might experience eternal life.  But just what is eternal life you ask? Now, when we hear this term “eternal life” our first thoughts picture – an infinite duration of time – sometime in the future – after we die.  We think of the after life – of heaven.  And that is part of what eternal life means.  But its so much more than just an infinite duration of time.

In fact, Jesus himself gives the definition of eternal life in John 17:3, when he said, This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”  John 17:3   Eternal life then is at the heart of the gospel.  And at the heart of the gospel is relationship with the One who created you, who loves you, and who knows you.  And that means when you receive this eternal life that God offers you through faith in Jesus, is that you also get to know Him. So receiving eternal life means  experiencing a new kind of life RIGHT NOW – a life with God – a life of intimate relationship with the very One who created you to know Him and to be known by Him.

Eternal life means experiencing life the way God originally intended – to walk with God in the cool of the day.  To enjoy being with Him and Him enjoying life with us.  To experience total acceptance, approval and harmony with God.  And if this seems too radical for you – just look at marriage:  God gave us the marriage relationship to give us just a taste of what life could be with Him:  The number one reason I married Becky was so I could be with her and share my life with her.  It wasn’t until I said “I do” that I entered into a relationship where I experienced a reality that I can only explain by saying this:  When I married her I became whole.  Before marriage I was incomplete.  With marriage, something that was lacking was now filled.  Now I could share my heart, my desires and my life with her and her with me.  And if you have ever experienced the harmony of being one with your spouse, if you’ve ever experienced the joy of just being one with another in marriage, then you’ve had a small taste of what eternal life with God is meant to be. It’s a life of enjoying the One who by His very nature delights to sing over you with His love!

Now, the sad reality, is that God is rarely presented to us this way.  But Jesus wants you to know that eternal life at its core is: knowing this God who is so passionate about you, that He gave His all for you so you could be with Him.  And the good news wrapped up in His love for you, is that He offers this relationship of love to “whoever believes.”  “Whoever believes in Him shall not perish but HAVE eternal life!  This is the blessing of His love for you: To have God with you in the chaos and confusion of life.  To have God with you when you fail.  To have God with you when you’ve been wronged. To have God with you when you’re afraid.  But also, to have God with you as you go      through every aspect of life.  A life where you’re never alone, never judged, always encouraged, because your God is with you and for you every step of everyday.

This is why the love of God moved Him to give you Jesus: so you could experience life with God.  And now God offers this life with Him to anyone who trusts in Jesus.  This is the love of God… a love that’s now available to the whole world.

That’s why what comes next in this passage is The Mission of God’s Love  Jesus now expands on this mission for us, saying: For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s One and only Son.   John 3:17-18

I love this: The Son of God has come into the world to save the world.  That’s the mission of Jesus. Our world needed saving, and it still does!  You, me, everyone who has ever lived needs a Savior!  And the reason why the whole world needs a Savior is that whole world exists today under a pale of judgment.  God’s Word is very clear about this.  There are no exceptions. The whole world stands condemned.  The whole world is under judgment because all have sinned.   Isaiah says it this way:  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.”  Isaiah 53:6  Paul says it this way: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.  All have turned away, they have together become worthless; no one who does good, not even one.”  Romans 3:10-12

In other words, the whole world is in dire straights.  Everyone everywhere lives under this impending sense of judgment.  Sure, we can try to ignore it.  We can even try to convince ourselves that there’s no such thing as sin – that’ there’s no such thing as good or evil, or no such thing as personal guilt before a holy God.  But God’s Word is clear, no matter what you might think, no matter how many intelligent people try to convince you that God is irrelevant, the fact remains that every single person who’s  ever been born was born with a moral conscience – and we all have guilt because we all sin. Oh sure, you can try to suppress this reality.  You can try to say that everyone is basically good, or you can try to ignore the human condition – but God’s Word does not change. Our whole world stands condemned.  Our world needs a Savior.

That’s why whenever the name of Jesus is mentioned – people react.  Some react favorably because their judgment has been removed by His merciful offering. Others react antagonistically, because by the nature of Jesus coming to be one of us, that  means that there is such a reality as ‘impending judgment.’  That’s why people don’t like to hear the name Jesus, because it reminds them that they are sinners under judgment. They don’t like that.  They’d rather have a God of their own making who tolerates sin. They don’t like the concept of a God who judges sin.

But here’s where we see the mission of God’s love: Jesus did not come to judge anyone – but to take the judgment of the world upon himself.  Jesus came to save the world.  Jesus came to save you. That’s why He is called the Savior.  He’s the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  He came to take the judgment you deserve, so you would not perish in your sin.  That’s the mission of God’s love! And the good news of His mission is this:  Whoever believes in Jesus is no longer condemned. We are no longer guilty.  Our sin has been removed, and nothing can be held against us.  The good news is that Jesus did for us what we could not possibly do for ourselves.  We could stand before God and proclaim our innocence until blue in the face, but it wouldn’t matter.  We are not innocent… But the moment we place our faith in Jesus alone to save us, our sin and guilt is washed away forever, and we’re declared innocent in God’s sight. We’re not condemned and can no longer be condemned, for we no longer have to pay the penalty of our sin. Because Jesus paid it all.  That’s the mission of God’s love.

Which now leads Jesus to announce The Verdict of God’s Love  This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. John 3:19-21

Simply put, every person at some point must respond to the light God has given.  If you go on living your life apart from God – if you love the darkness of your sin more than the goodness of God’s light – your pride will keep you from coming into the light.  You will continue hiding in darkness – living in fear, running from God and rejecting the love He has for you. And I sincerely hope that is not anyone here today.

Rather, my hope is that what you have heard and seen today about God’s love rings true in your heart.  That it rings true to you that God loved you even when you had nothing about you that was lovable to Him.  That it rings true that God loved you when you wanted nothing to do with Him.  And that it rings true to you that He sent Jesus to save you when you couldn’t save yourself.  This is the light of the Gospel.  This is the verdict of God’s love:  Jesus paid it all so you could be saved.  And so, I have just one question for you this morning: Do you see the light of God’s great love for you?

If you do, if you can see these truths wrapped up in God’s love for you in Jesus Christ, then you can experience God’s love today – you can receive the gift of Jesus Christ who gives you salvation today – you can experience eternal life with God today. For Jesus promised this when He said: “For God so loved the world that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but HAVE eternal life!

God has proved His love for you by sending Jesus to die for you.  And the good news is that all you have to do to receive eternal life that God offers you: is to believe in the One He has sent.  Believe in God’s One and Only Son.  Trust in Jesus and you will have eternal life.  Believe in Jesus and you will be saved.  This is the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  This is the love of God!