The Gospel summarized

John 3:16 (NIV)

"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” 

John 3:16, according to the website, BibleGateway.com, is the most popular (most read and most cited) verse in the entire Bible.  Indeed, this verse is considered the summary verse of Christianity.  For example, the letters of the word  “GOSPEL” are contained in order in this verse (God--only-Son—perish—eternal—life).  John 3:16 is probably the most widely used Scripture used on signs at sporting events.  There are many other tidbits of trivia about John 3:16 with my favorite being the fact that the In-N-Out Burger chain prints John 3:16 on the inside of the bottom rim of their paper cups and french fry containers. 

John 3:16 is part of Jesus’ answer to Nicodemus’ question in v 9 related to being born again.  Being born again relates to entering the kingdom of God and having eternal life.  The key to all this is God’s initiative toward His creation and such initiative is based on love.  There’s no other motivation God had and has. 

This verse is also the key verse to explain how can sinful man relate and be accepted by a holy God.  The connection is God’s only begotten (the word means “unique”) Son.  When you think of the chasm that sin established between holy God and rebellious man, the only way that chasm can be connected is through the cross of Christ. 

This verse also emphasizes the role of faith.  Whoever “believes in Him” demonstrates faith in the love of God to save sinful man from being destroyed forever (perish) and instead will enjoy eternal life. 

A good exercise to try in your quiet time is to meditate on the meaning of the key words of this one verse:  God………loved…….world……gave….one and only…. Son…… believes in Him……perish…..eternal life.  Just meditating on each of these words will bring you into the presence of God and give you even deeper appreciation and awesomeness at what He did to save you from the consequences of your sinful nature. 

God so loves you no matter what you have done.  I don’t know who gets credit for originally writing this wonderful illustration:  You can take a $100 bill, crumple it, drop it to the ground and stomp on it, make it as dirty as possible, yet if you offered that bill to someone else, that someone would take it.  No matter what you did to that bill it is still worth $100, it never decreases in value.  So it is with your life in the eyes of God.  You can be dropped, crumpled, ground into the dirt, stomped on by decisions you make and circumstances that happen.  You can feel worthless and hopeless.  Yet no matter what happens, you never lose your value in God’s eyes.

Steven Curtis Chapman recorded a song entitled “Speechless” and also wrote a book with his pastor, Scotty Smith, entitled “Speechless: Living in Awe of God’s Disruptive Grace (Zondervan, 1999).  One of the quotes from his book, to me, describes John 3:16:  “In the gospel, we discover we are far worse off than we thought, and far more loved that we ever dreamed.”  Here are some of the words of his song; give pause to reflect on these words and personalize them in your prayer today to the Lord: 
And I am speechless

I'm astonished and amazed
I am silenced by your wondrous grace
You have saved me
You have raised me from the grave
And I am speechless in your presence now
I'm astounded as I consider how
You have shown us
A love that leaves us speechless

So what kind of love could this be
That would trade heaven's throne for a cross
And to think you still celebrate
Over finding just one who was lost
And to know you rejoice over us
The God of this whole universe
It's a story that's too great for words

Oh how great is the love
The father has lavished upon us
That we should be called
The sons and the daughters of God