|| Trinity Discipleship Fellowship ||

Trinity Discipleship
Fellowship

INCORPORATED IN NIGERIA
RC NUMBER: CAC/IT/NO 145940

Trinity Discipleship Fellowship is an evangelical Church in the Baptist and Reformed traditions, patterned like the Church of which we read in the New Testament

MOTTO:
Obeying the Great Commission
(Matt. 28:18-20)

~ Inspirational ~
~ August, 2023

JOHN 3:16 - JESUS DECLARES GOD'S LOVE FOR THE WORLD

INTRODUCTION Have you ever engaged in a conversation with someone concerning a spiritual issue that bothered you? This is exactly what led to Jesus' profound declaration of God's love for the world as we find in our passage: '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' (Jn. 3:16).

This is how it happened. We read that a Pharisee named Nicodemus went to Jesus in the night and started a spiritual conversation with Him (Jn. 3:1-3). As their conversation went on, Jesus made this profound declaration concerning God's love for the world, which forms the basis for our discussion this month. Obviously this is one of the clearest statements of God's love for the world in the Scripture. In consideration of it we shall endeavour to answer the following four questions namely, Whom does God love' What has God done to show His love' For what purpose does God show His love' How can one receive or enjoy God's love'

Let's turn to the first question. Whom does God love' This question is answered clearly in our passage: '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'. According to our passage, it is the world whom God loves. The word world here refers to the nations, the peoples, whom He made: 'From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him, though He is not far from each one of us' (Acts 17:26-27). It is of utmost importance to underscore this fact that God's love is really meant for all peoples. In fact, as far as God's love is concerned, there is indeed no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all (Col. 3:11). God's love is not meant for the Jews only, but for all the peoples, for as the Scripture says, God is not the God of Jews only, but of Gentiles too (Rom. 3:29). In the Scripture Gentiles refer to all non-Jews. Therefore, you and I are included in God's love regardless of where we come from, whether Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, or South America. God's love is yours too.

Now to the second question. What has God done to show His love to the world' The answer is also clearly seen in our passage: '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'. God gave, not a thing, but a person, His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. This is what is referred to in Romans 5:8: 'But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us'. Thus, this giving of God's Son means His propitiatory or atoning death: 'God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood'.' (Rom. 3:25). Therefore, in order to show His love to us God gave up His only beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to die an atoning death on our behalf. By doing so God gave us the best gift ever. He did not give us anyone or anything else, but His one and only Son. Consequently, by God's own design, Jesus Christ alone embodies His love and He alone can bring us into that love, for 'Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved'(Acts 4:12). So Jesus Christ is the only one whom God gave to the world in order to demonstrate His love. Wherever one lives on earth, Jesus Christ alone is the gift of God to bring him or her to His love. There is no one else to do so, as the Scripture says above.

This brings us to our third question. For what purpose does God show us His love' This question, like the preceding ones, is answered in our passage: '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'. According to the Scripture, God is love: 'And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in Him' (1 Jn. 4:16). Thus, as a loving Father, He does not want any one of His children to perish, as we see in Ezekiel 18:32: 'For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!'

This same fact is stated in 2 Peter 3:9: 'The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance'. Thus, rather than wanting anyone of His children to perish, He wants us to have eternal life. Perishing here refers to the eternal condemnation of unbelievers in hell: 'If anyone's name was not written in the book of life, He was thrown into the lake of fire' (Rev. 20:15). This is further stated in another passage: 'But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death'(Rev. 21:8). Eternal life refers to an everlasting life of peace and tranquility with God in heaven: 'There He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will pass away' (Rev. 21:4). Jesus Himself spoke about this life: 'In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am'(Jn. 14:2-3). In fact, this eternal life is most wonderful and beyond description and comparison. It is just as the Scripture says: 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him' (1 Cor. 2:9).

God does not want anyone of us to perish or spend our eternity away from Him. On the contrary, He wants us live forever with Him in His Kingdom. And He has given us His one and only Son for this purpose.

With this we come to our fourth and last question. This discussion would not be complete without it. How can one receive God's love' This question is also answered in our passage: 'For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM will not perish but have eternal life'. Unlike all other kinds of love, God's love is completely free. God has not asked for a payment of any kind from us in order to receive and enjoy His love. This is quite clear from our passage. No payment of any kind is named therein. This fact is also seen in Ephesians 2:8-9: 'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast'.

Therefore, God's love is freely available to anyone who believes in His only Son, as our passage says. To believe in Him means to receive Him as one's own: 'Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God' (Jn. 1:12). To put it in other words, to believe in Him is to accept Him for the purpose for which God gave Him to us. This is what happened when Peter told the people about Jesus while explaining what took place during Pentecost: 'Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day' (Acts 2:41). Thus, someone has to receive or accept Jesus Christ as the Saviour whom God gave in order to receive or enjoy God's love to the world. This is the same message that Paul and Silas gave to the Jailer when he asked them about how to be saved: 'He then brought them out and asked, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved''. They replied, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household' (Acts 16:30-31). As far as God is concerned, He has provided no other way to receive or enjoy His love than to believe in the Son whom He gave, Jesus Christ.

Consequently, it is not enough to hear or read about God's love. One must believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son whom He gave, in order to enjoy it. It is just as the Scripture says in Jn. 3:36: 'Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him'. Therefore, faith in Jesus Christ is indispensable to enjoy God's love.

CONCLUSION The love of God is not a mirage as many people like to think. It is quite real. Many have experienced it. I experienced it and can testify that it is true. And until you receive Jesus Christ whom God gave, God's love vis-à-vis eternal life with God in heaven, will never ever be yours. It is just like a wealthy estate that has been willed to a child by his deceased father. If the child accepts the estate, it is all his. But if he rejects it, he cannot inherit and enjoy it. This is what happens with regard to God's love. It is by receiving Jesus Christ, God's one and only Son, that we enjoy God's love and all its attendant blessings and privileges. But if we reject Him, sadly we reject that love and everything it entails.

To view a video presentation of this inspirational message, please copy and paste the link below into your browser:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4hKD40o0Bs

Compiled by Abia Friday Abia

CONTACT:
Phone: +2348033556851
Email: info@trinitydiscipleshipfellowship.org
admin@trinitydiscipleshipfellowship.org

Deaconess Helen Silvanus Umoh, Secretary
Rev. Abia Friday Abia, Chairman