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John 3:16 - The Most Popular Verse In The Bible.

John 3:16 - The Most Popular Verse In The Bible.

John 3:16 (KJV)  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 (AMP)  For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the 
world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that 
whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not 
perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) 
life. 

CONTEXT: Jesus Teaches Nicodemus: John 3:1-21.

APPLICATION COMMENTARY With Emphasis On Verse 16.

INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS

John summed up Jesus' talk with Nicodemus in the most famous 
verse in the Bible: the "Gospel in a nutshell," John 3:16. [The 
365-Day Devotional Commentary] 

  The entire message of Scripture comes into focus with this one 
verse. Here Jesus explained to Nicodemus the depth of God's love for 
the people he created - God so loved that he gave. What he gave is 
beyond our imagination: He gave his Son to die. Why would he do such a 
thing? So that "everyone who believes in him will not perish but have 
eternal life." 
  How painful it must have been for the all-powerful God to 
witness the brutal torture and murder of his child when, with a breath, 
he could have stopped it! Yet he knew that the death and subsequent 
resurrection of Jesus would clear a path to heaven for all who would believe 
in him. 
  Some try to question God's love by asking how a loving God 
could allow evil and suffering. No matter what God's purpose is in 
allowing these things, it is important to remember that God, in his love, 
promises that for those who believe in Jesus, all evil and suffering will 
one day be banished forever. This is how much God loves you. [The 
One Year Bible for New Believers re John 3:16] 

THIS TEXT IS THE LIFE VERSE FOR MANY - HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES:

  I didn't grow up in a Christian home and had actually 
proclaimed myself an atheist at the ripe old age of twelve. I'd heard that 
God was dead, and I believed it. After several turbulent years of 
teen rebellion, searching, and hopelessness, I found God in a very 
big way. My life did a 180-degree turn, and I immediately began to 
read the Scriptures. Of course, I didn't know the first thing about 
the Bible and just sort of fumbled along. Then I found John 3:16, 
and I was so moved by it that I decided to memorize it. The next day 
I told a Christian friend (a guy who grew up in church) about how 
I'd actually memorized my very first Bible verse and how God gave it 
especially to me. But when I began reciting it, this guy kind of laughed 
and, like a show-off, recited it right along with me. It sort of took 
the wind out of my sails, but I didn't say anything. 
  After that I memorized lots and lots of verses, searching for 
one that was "more special," but I could never get away from John 
3:16. I felt as if God had inscribed it on my heart. Now, many years 
later, and after having written many books for teens, women, and kids, 
I am often asked about my favorite Scripture verse, and my honest 
response is John 3:16. I love it so much because it says it all. God 
loved everyone in this world so much that he gave everything (his only 
Son) so that everyone could believe in him and be saved. Does it get 
any better than that? In my thinking, this verse is so inclusive, so 
embracing of all humanity, so full of grace, that I want to claim it as my 
own, and I want to live my life like that. 
  Melody Carlson is an award-winning author of more than 150 
books for readers of all ages, including Diary of a Teenage Girl, On 
This Day, True Colors, and Looking for Cassandra Jane. [The One Year 
Bible Live Verse Devotional] 

  I grew up going to church. Our family moved when I was in the 
sixth grade. When it came time to join a new church, we walked to the 
front of the sanctuary as the service concluded. The pastor wrapped 
his arms around us and asked, "Do you believe that Jesus is the Son 
of God? that he died and rose for the sins of the world?" He 
recited John 3:16, a verse I'd known most of my young life. 
  We answered yes, but I remember thinking, What an odd 
question. Of course, I believe that. Doesn't everyone? 
  Twenty years later at a women's luncheon, a speaker talked 
about her relationship with Jesus. Her intensity was electric. It 
seemed that the Jesus she spoke of was personal to her--not just the 
Savior of the world but also her companion. Standing before the crowd, 
she implored us to recite the well-known verse, but instead of 
saying "the world," she told us to shout our names. 
  Not one for shouting, I shifted in my seat, but complied: "God 
loved Stephanie so much that he gave his one and only Son." 
  A smile crept across my face. I always knew that Jesus had 
died for the world, for all of humanity, but I'd never felt his 
overwhelming love until I realized that he gave up his own life 
intentionally, personally, and specifically for me. 
  Stephanie Welcher Thompson, wife and stay-at-home mom, is also 
a writer and speaker. [The One Year Bible Live Verse Devotional] 

  When I was in the seventh grade, I was quite curious about my 
pastor's confidence that he would one day be asking Jesus questions 
about life, clarifying theological principles, and marveling at the 
glories he saw. How could he be so sure? I reasoned that even if he was 
a preacher, he was still only a man. 
  I asked my Sunday school teacher about our pastor's apparently 
overconfident expectations of glory. She answered by referring me to one of 
the memory verses we had previously mastered: John 3:16. As I looked 
at it anew and applied it to my life, it was suddenly as if a light 
had come on. The verse referred to a belief I already had! There it 
was, in clear text in John's Gospel. Even I--a nobody--could have the 
same confidence as my pastor. 
  The next day, overjoyed with this new assurance, I told my 
best friend. He was so much smarter than I was. (I was in remedial 
reading. He got A's.) When I told him of my newfound assurance of heaven, 
he dismissed the idea and made light of me and my faith. So I shut 
up and didn't mention it again for four years. By the time I 
reached high school, I was gaining a bit more confidence, so I tried 
again, inviting him to my Sunday school class. This time he 
responded--to me and ultimately to Jesus. Later, after telling his aunt about 
his newfound faith (she was the odd one in the family who had 
"religion"), she responded, "I've been praying for you since before you were 
born." 
  Ronald Barfield taught elementary school for more than forty 
years. [The One Year Bible Live Verse Devotional] 

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

  What God did makes sense.  It makes sense that Jesus would be 
our sacrifice because a sacrifice was needed to justify man's 
presence before God.  It makes sense that God would use the Old Law to 
tutor Israel on their need for grace.  It makes sense that Jesus would 
be our High Priest.  What God did makes sense.  It can be taught, 
charted, and put in books on systematic theology. 
  However, why God did it is absolutely absurd.  When one leaves 
the method and examines the motive, the carefully stacked blocks of 
logic begin to tumble.  That type of love isn't logical; it can't be 
nearly outlined in a sermon or explained in a term paper.... 
  Even after generations of people had spit in his face, he 
still loved them.  After a nation of chosen ones had stripped him 
naked and ripped his incarnated flesh, he still died for them.  And 
even today, after billions have chosen to prostitute themselves 
before pimps of power, fame, and wealth, he still waits for them. 
  It is inexplicable.  It doesn't have a drop of logic nor a 
thread of rationality..... 
  Bloodstained royalty.  A God with tears.  A creator with a 
heart.  God became earth's mockery to save his children.  
  How absurd to think that such nobility would go to such 
poverty to share such a treasure with such thankless souls. 
  But he did.
  In fact, the only thing more absurd than the gift is our 
stubborn unwillingness to receive it. Max Lucado [Time with God SB] 

Oh, to think what Christ is, what He did, and whom He did it 
for, and then not to believe Him, not to trust Him!  There is no 
wickedness like the wickedness of unbelief! Charles Spurgeon 

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