Message

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Thank God that we have been praying and preparing for 2008 UBF ISBC at Purdue. The title is, “For God so loved the world” based on John 3:16. As our last preparation we want to study this precious word so that our hearts be prepared to attend this historical conference with great expectation: to know God’s love better and be filled with the love of God. There is Adam’s Bible, Genesis 2:16,17. It is written in a negative form, “…You must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die.” But John 3:16 can the Bible of the Bible and everyone’s Bible. It can be the concise summary of the whole Bible. It is written in a positive form. It says, “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.” Let’s think about three things, God’s loving the world, giving his one and only Son and believers’ having eternal life. First, God’s loving the world. When God made the world, it was good. How happy we are whenever we study Genesis chapters 1 and 2. But sin entered the world through one man and the world was under God’s curse. Men had to live in a cursed world as restless wanderers. The world soon became corrupt and full of violence at the time of Noah (Ge 6:12,13). The world was not beautiful anymore and became the object of God’s judgment. God was disappointed and grieved, and made the hard decision to destroy all the people and the earth. The flood judgment came and all mankind was wiped out except one man Noah. After the Flood, there was a new beginning. However, the world became corrupt again. To God’s eyes the world was not lovable at all. In the Old Testament even his chosen people went far away from God, rejecting his love and purpose and causing him much pain. Now in the New Testament we read the amazing words, “God so loved the world…” How could it be? The holy God loved the world. When it says that God so loved the world, it shows that God’s love is not to love the lovable, but the unlovable and unholy and undeserving who are in need of his love. In John’s gospel the world is referred to darkness. John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” And 1:9 says, “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.” Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” The world was in utter darkness and the power of death ruled all men. Also, according to John the world is like Bethesda pool where a great number of sick people were lying groaning in pain. God’s love for the world is God’s mercy and grace, and the whole world was so in need of God’s grace and mercy beyond people, race, nation and language. God did not abandon the world he had created. He did not abandon the sinful and dark world even once. God wanted to restore it in love. However, it was not an easy job at all, even to almighty God. God’s creation work was done in seven days. But the restoration could not be done in seven days, seven month, or seven years, but took much longer. God’s restoring and loving work is not one immediate action, but a long time of suffering patient process. God’s loving work has a long history with much pain and sorrow. In this part we learn that God’s love is loving the unlovely and undeserving, universal, long-suffering patience, and historical. Second, God’s giving his one and only Son. God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. There was a poor couple with six children. A good friend of theirs who was rich asked them to give him one of the children as an adopted child. On that day the couple, after letting their children go to bed, discussed about whom they would give. They thought of the first one. Then they said, “How can we give such a precious firstborn son? No way!” The second one was daughter. They said, “How can we give the firstborn daughter? We cannot.” The third child was weak. Their worry about the child’s poor health stopped them. The fourth resembled the husband’s mother-in-law, so the wife rejected it. The fifth was the exact copy of the father, so it was impossible. Now just a baby remained. At the moment the wife cried aloud, saying, “Our baby, so cute. We cannot give this youngie cute pie to others.” Though the couple had six children, they could not give their good friend one out of six. But God gave his one and only Son because of his love for the world. God loved the world with his best, not even with his second best. He loved the worst with his best by sending his one and only Son into this world. The implication of this kind of love is written in the Old Testament. God gave the most faithful, gentle, compassionate and patient husband to a woman named Gomer. She was an adulterous woman totally undeserving the best kind of husband named Hosea. However, God gave the man to her as her husband and the man remained faithful to her, though she was unfaithful again and again. God’s love is giving the best to the worst. It is to make the worthless the valuable and the worst the best. God did not send his Son to a resort, a beautiful vacation spot in the universe. He sent his son to a most ugly and dangerous place. All parents want to send their children to good day-care centres and prestigious schools. But God sent his Son into the place like POW camp. John described how the people of the world responded to God’s sending his Son into this world. John 1:10,11 says, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” The world responded to God’s Son very coldly as if he were totally a stranger to them. However, as a pearl shines brighter in the mud, because of the Son’s love some ordinary people began to respond to him with the right attitude. When God’s Son Jesus preached the message of the kingdom of God, they repented of their sins and accepted Jesus as Christ (Messiah) and Lord. They were born again into God’s family and could see the kingdom of God. Though they lived in the world, they were not under the rule of the prince of this world, but the divine rule of God. They were truly happy in Jesus’ saving grace with the hope of the kingdom of God. The grace of Jesus came to each of them personally. In the Old Testament, God’s grace came to God’s chosen nation Israel. God treated the whole nation sometimes favourably and some other time unfavourably. And God dealt with patriarchs and kings and prophets, although there were some ordinary people who had contact with God. In the New Testament God’s Son Jesus really met ordinary individuals and revealed God and his love to each one. This is a beauty of the gospel story we like. Even the disciples were not at all from special class of people. They were quite ordinary people who are familiar with us. We know each of their names. We also remember each individual who received the grace of Jesus: Nicodemus, a Samaritan woman, a 38 year invalid man, a woman caught in the act of adultery, a man born blind, Martha, Mary, Nazareth, etc. We will hear the story of some individuals at Purdue conference. It is truly amazing that the Creator of heaven and earth, the almighty eternal God reached ordinary people and had contact with the individuals personally. This is true with each of us. John wrote this amazing grace in this in 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…” The Son is God’s wonderful gift to us. He is not only our Savoiur and Lord, but also our shepherd and eternal friend. What a grace it is that God’s Son’s life was fully revealed to us: how he lived and what he did! Through him we can come to know God and in him we have abundant life. Truly giving his Son Jesus is God’s best blessing to us, for he is full of grace and truth. John 1:17 says, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Since God gave him to us, God wants us to come to him each day and deepen our fellowship with him through the written word of God and the Holy Spirit. The holy God gave his own Son to the point of sacrificing him to the cross as the Lamb of God. John 1:29 says, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” Jesus became the Lamb of God on the cross for the forgiveness of man’s sins. This sacrifice was an incredible act of God. It was a demonstration of God’s love, final and perfect proof that God is love. His love is true, deep and sacrificial. The cross of God’s Son Jesus became the symbol of God’s love and Christianity. In the cross of Jesus there is forgiveness of man’s sin and victory over man’s evilness. God’s love won a victory over sin and Satan’s hatred. We thank and praise God for his true and atoning sacrificial love through his Son Jesus Christ. May we enjoy God’s given gift his Son Jesus Christ and grow in his deep grace. Third, believers’ having eternal life. The last part of John 3:16 says, “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Here is a clear reason why God loved the world and gave his one and only Son. It is because all people of the world are perishing. It is a painful thing to recognize that people are perishing. All want to hear that human beings are ameliorated and improving in technological development and abundance of all kinds of food and materials. Yet, it is undeniable that people are perishing physically, mentally and spiritually. Then here is an extreme contrast: “…shall not perish but have eternal life.” Christians may hear about eternal life so many times that they can be numb to this unutterable grace. And to the people of the world eternal life is unthinkable. For them to die is common and natural. However, according to the Bible eternal life is true and real. When you read the Old Testament, the most blessed life can be to live a prosperous and long life. It is interesting to note that that the phrase “long life” is written 11 times in the Old Testament, while “eternal life” is none and “everlasting life” only one. For example, Deuteronomy 6:2 says, “…you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God, and you may enjoy long life.” (King David was fearful of his death; King Hezekiah’s life was extended by 15 years.) Then the phrase “eternal life” appears in the New Testament and is written 42 times, 24 times in the four gospels (8 times in the Synoptic gospels and 16 times in John’s gospel). It is written in conjunction with God’s Son Jesus. For example, John 3:15 says, “that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” And here in John 3:16, “…whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” And John 10:27,28 says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.” There is no eternal life apart from God’s Son Jesus. Until Jesus came into this world, eternal life was unthinkable and unreachable and unattainable. Through the coming of Jesus Christ eternal life has been bestowed upon mankind. This eternal life is the best quality of life in eternity. God’s love is so great that he gives eternal life to perishing mankind through his Son Jesus Christ. We thank God for his love: God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal.” May we enjoy God’s marvelous gift of his Son Jesus and participating the work of loving the world that each individual may have eternal life by believing in the Son Jesus.

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