First John 3:16

John 3: 16 is one of the most famous bible verses. If you ask any Christian, they probably have memorized it! 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. A lot of people remember this bible verse because it has been repeatedly cited and said. Furthermore, it is said to be the ultimate summary of the central theme of Christianity.

Let us examine phrase by phrase the meaning of this verse, to remember the meaning and significance of it.

For God so loved the world. God loves every creation especially, us, humans whom he made so that we could enjoy life and witness His goodness. He loves us so much that even if we were his foe, he still chose to save us.

He gave his one and only Son. God sacrificed Jesus Christ for humanity. He gave his sinless son to bring us, sinful ones, to Him. 

That whoever believes in Him. Salvation is a gift from God. We are saved because of his grace – not because we deserve it but because He is merciful and good. We are saved as we profess our faith – that God has resurrected Jesus from the dead and sin has been defeated.

Shall not perish but have eternal life. God never intends us to end on earth. God has planted eternity in our hearts. He desires to share eternity with us – enjoying His glory, a life full of abundance.

All parts of the verse are significant however most of the time, the sacrificial act God has done is always emphasized. Not only that, this bible verse has always given a shed of light and also meditated with. It is good, however, there is a bible verse that is as important of it – 1 John 3:16.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

While John 3:16 solely talked about Jesus’s ransoming us from death and sin, 1 John 3:16 talks about what should we do as we have known what love is. Jesus exemplified the act of loving by putting himself aside for the people who needed to be saved. We do not necessarily need to be crucified or to die or to dodge a bullet or to save the whole of humanity to show the love we have received from Jesus. We only need to put ourselves and our interests aside too. We are to share our possessions with those who are in need even when we are in short of finances. We are to answer those who ask even when we are busy. We give, forgive, lend, listen, and do acts best for other’s interest because that is the love we have received. For this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Because it is said, the one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. 

God loved us so much he gave his one and only son and that is how we learn to love others – as God has loved us first.

Article by Chlarissa Mae

---