God Loves the World

John 3:16 is perhaps one of the best known verses in the Bible ... even among non-Christians. It has been shown in football stadiums, plastered on billboards, and tattooed in conspicuous places. It is a warm message.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

God loves the world and that is undeniable. "God ... loved the world," it says. But does He love the world unilaterally and equally? It seems like it in that phrase, but there's that pesky "so." What is that there for? That "so" is not a reference to quantity -- "so much" -- but quality. In what way did God love the world? Just so. How? "He gave His only Son" Okay, that seems universal, equilateral. But there was a purpose -- "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Okay, now there's a shift. Now there's a qualification. Now there's a limitation. God loved the world -- everyone in it -- enough to send His Son for them, but it was ultimately aimed at "whoever believes." So it would appear from this beloved verse that, yes, God does love the world, but not everyone equally.

You can see this in Ephesians. After telling us that we were dead in sins, Paul writes,

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ ... (Eph 2:4-5)

That is good news indeed, but notice what it says about His love. He did this marvelous thing "because of the great love with which He loved us." Now, Paul didn't write this to the world; he wrote it to "the saints" (Eph 1:1). So it is not aimed at everyone because not everyone has been made alive together with Christ. God made "us" alive together with Him -- that same "us" who are the recipients of His "great love."

It is absolutely true that God loves the world. Or rather, those in the world. He gives them rain and sun. He gives them forbearance, withholding immediate judgment so that they might repent. He sent His Son. And more. All good things. But, believers and saints, remember that He loves His own with a "great love." He loves all, but He especially loves some. Become one of that "some." Believe in His Son.