2000 Issue 3 - God's Amazing Love - Counsel of Chalcedon
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Transcript of 2000 Issue 3 - God's Amazing Love - Counsel of Chalcedon
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8/12/2019 2000 Issue 3 - God's Amazing Love - Counsel of Chalcedon
1/6
God s Amazing
Love
Jol1
l
3:16,17
Chris Steevel
Int roduct ion
More
people have
been
led
to eternal
life through John 3:16 than perhaps any
other
verse in
Scripture. It
is a
familiar,
moving, and powerful declaration
of
the
greatness of
God's
love for sinners and
the saving provision he has made for
them
through his Son
Jesus
Christ.
Nevertheless,
the
power
of this
verse
is
generally weakened by two popular
treatments
.
.one weakens
its
force
by
universalizing its message to apply to
all men without
exception,
while the
other weakens it by
restricting
the
di
vine
love to
the elect. t will
be
seen
that John 3:16
does
not
directly
touch
upon
the
issues
that divide
Arminianism
from Reformed
and Bibli
cal
Christianity.
The
great
theme of
John 3:16, that which must govern our
interpretation
. Iud application
of
the.
verse
to
our
lives
,
evangelism,
and our
overall theology,
is
the
amazing
nature
of
God s
love
for a world that
lay
in
rebellion against
him,
t
is
this that
must
capture our
imagination,
even
as
it did John's, i f we are to avoid the
following two errors and properly
conceive
of
the
love of God
our Savior.
Two
Popular
Errors
A
Misplaced mphasis
.on
the
Size
. . of
the
World
Many Christians, likely because of
a
desire
to do
justice to the
emphaSis
upon the love
of God
for the
world that
is
stressed in the verse, begin their
interpretation
by
thinking
of
the
vast
ness
of the
world.
They
consider the
multitude of men and women
who have
lived, are
living,
and
will
live
in
subse
quent generations. They think of all
these immortal
human
souls
and how
great must
be
the love of God that i t
extends to each and
everyone of these
individuals. From there, they
draw
the
conclusion
that as the gift
of
God's
Son
is
God's remedy
for
sin,
Jesus was sent
to
die
for
each
of these
men
and
women,
and
that it is
truly God's will
to
show
o v ~ to
them
all. While this
is
the popu
lar mterpretation of John 3:16 in our
era
of church history, there
are
two
insur
mountable
problems
with it
1) John's emphasis
is
not
upon the
vastness
or
greatness of
the world that
is the object of
God
s love but rather
upon
the glory of divine love.
Taken in
their individual worth or even in their
cumulative
number,
i t is not
the
size
of
the
world
or the
value of its individual
components that boggles John's mind,
but
the
fact
that
God
loves the world at
all. In other words, iUs not the amount
of
God's
love
that is emphasized in
the
verse but
the kin
of love
that
would
le
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God's
love
as
extending universally
to
all
men,
then
i t
is a love
that does not
actually save any man. t
is rather a
love
that
makes
salvation possible for
For if
there is
one thing that is
emphasized in the
text, it is that
God's love will lead
to
a saved
world.
God's love does not merely
open up
the
possibility
of
salvation, it actually
saves those whom it embraces.
all men. On this interpretation, God's
love
is
so great
that t opens
the oppor
tunity for
all to
be saved.
The
theologi
cal
implications
of such
a
hypothesis
deny fundamental biblical
doctrines:
either God's
love
can
be
frustrated by
man, or
it is
not
a love that
actually
saves. This,
however,
is far,
far
from
John's presentation.
For if
there
is
one
thing
that is
emphasized
in
the
text, it
is
that God's love
will
lead
to
a
saved
world.
God's
love
does not merely
open
up the possibility of salvation,
it
actually saves those whom it embraces.
Therefore,
this interpretation actually
belittles
God's
love
by denying
its
efficacy. We
should observe here that
any view
of
God
that makes the
accom
plishment
of his
will dependent upon
the
choices and actions
of
men is con
trary to the declarations of Scripture
respecting
the
sovereignty of God and
the
spiritual
deadness
of man. f
this
is
the correct interpretation of John
3:16,
then it would
entail the
salvation
of
no
one
Therefore, the
view
that
world equals
each
and
every individual
is
clearly
shown to be
false, for
it
misunderstands
why God's love is
so great, and i t re
duces God's love to a
mere willingness
for all
to
be
saved.
This
view of
God
would make
him like
a human
father
who
warns his
children not to play with
matches but leaves
it
up to their judg
ment whether
or
not they will obey.
This is a very twisted view of
God's
love.
God does
not
love the world so
much that
he announces
an opportunity
to
enjoy
salvation
yet
allows it to go to
hell
despite
his
love. At the root of this
view
is
the unwillingness to see the
specific
and saving power of God's love
for
the
world,
while
endeavoring to
preserve
a
faulty view of man's
freedom
and right
of self-determination.
God ' s
love
is not
great because he
leaves
it up
to the individual to take advantage of
the
opportunity
of salvation. This
is not
love at
all.
God knows the rebellion
and
hardness
of the human
heart,
and
that if he leaves
man to his
own re
sources
and
abilities,
he will
never
take
advantage
of that
love.
A Misplaced
Emphasis
on
the
Sovereignty of God s Love
These
problems
have led
some to
view
world
as indicating
God's
elect,
those whom
we know from
the
rest
of
Scripture
that it is
God's
intention
to
save. This
interpretation
defines
world from
the
text, i.e., all who
believe.
Since
those who believe
are
ordained
by
God to eternal life
(Acts
13:48),
the
world
must
be synony
mous with God's
elect.
This
interpreta
tion is
consistent
with the analogy
of
Scripture,
and it also does justice to the
great fact that
God
' s
love
actually
saves
men.
It
does
not make salvation
a
pos
sibility for
those who will choose to
make
t
actual in their personal lives.
Since we
know,
m o r o v l ~ that God
does
not
love every single man
in
the same
way
without
exception, for he certainly
hated Esau and hates the
wicked
(cf.
Rom. 9:13; Ps. 5:6; 7:11; 10:3), world
here
should
be limited
in
scope to those
whom God chose
and
loved in Christ
before
the foundation
of
the world.
While
this
interpretation
is
to be
April/May, 2000 - THE COUNSEL ofChalcedon - 2
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8/12/2019 2000 Issue 3 - God's Amazing Love - Counsel of Chalcedon
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approved over
the
first, it too is
deti-
consider, who live to praise his name .
cient.
,
This view
of God's love,
while and do
his bidding.
t
is
this God
who
consistent with
the Scripture's teaching
loves. Thatthought
in
itself,
considered
on the sovereignty and
efficacy of God' s
even
independently from
the sinfulness
love,dn.twduces a restriction into :our
of
the
world
j.n its
rebellion
agairisthim,
text
th.atdoes not seem to lie plahlly on captures
John's
imagination. Why'
the,surface; / 'All who believe" and should' this God love, especially,
why
'
world
,
indicate
that
John
is
not
prima-
should
he
love
the
world?
"
t
is
the
great
rily thinking of
the issues
of election fact
of
God's
love
for
the
world
that will
a1l;dreprobation, though
these certainly ever frustrate
philosophers
who
will
not
cQnt'rol.
his
theology,
inspired as it
was allow that an absolute God who is in
by
:
the Holy
Spirit. John's
primary
need
of nothing should reach out
be-
emphasis is not
the
number and nature . yond himself to view with affection
of
the objects of God's love but the those whom he does
not
need. ' Never-
glieatrtess. of God's. love for
sinners.
theless, the Bible does not present God
Thereciore,
while
belief in
the
biblical
as void
of emotions and affections.
He
doctrj.ne of election will safeguard us fervently loves. Indeed,
i t
is his nature
from
heretic ~ l x : : s p Q w ~ r f : u l a n d marv,eIOtIs to
This is the
foclls
of
John
.1:
I (,: not
the
worth or
nllmber
of rhose
whom
God
loves
but I he
amazing fact thar
Cod loves slich wre:ched
and
condem ned
creatures.
him. Such a God.is
worthy ofthe w o ~
ship,
contemplation,
and obedience
.of.
all
his
creatu,res. .
The .Grossness of. Hutnfln S.
in
.
The glory of God's love
is
fUrther
magnified 'by a conSideration of who
he
loves: the world. We have already
noted that i t is inappropriate to. equate
world either with ,"all
rnen With01,it
.
22 - THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon - AprillMay,
2000
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8/12/2019 2000 Issue 3 - God's Amazing Love - Counsel of Chalcedon
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exception
or the elect. World
clearly has reference to
the world of
men, for God's saving intentions are
primarily
with
respect to men rather
than plants and animals (though they .
also are included in the cosmic effects
of Christ's redeeming
work).
We should
understand
world
as John frequently
utilizes the term
mankind
in
rebellion
against God d. 1:10,29; 7:7; 12:31;
14;17;27,30; 15:18,19; 16:8,11,20; 17:9,14-
16). Jolm
does
not want
us to
think of
the
term
world distributively
but rather
ethically What makes God's
love so
amazing, so worthy of our contempla
tion, is not that he loves
so
many
people,
but
that
he loves sinful
people.
God
created
man good and
upright,
to
do his bidding;
and
to enjoy unbroken
fellowship
with
him.
Man rebelled
against God,
sought out
his own
thoughts
and
ways,
and turned from the
purpose 6f his creation .
His
every
thought is only evil continually. God
could have and would have been just
to
consign the mass of fallen humanity
to
everlasting destruction under his fiery
judgrnent
. However, he
loved
the
world, He loved those who were
in
rebellion
against him. He who needs
nothing, whose every
thought
is
pure,
holy; a'nq 'righteous;saw fit tclove '
tIlose whos'e every motion
was
contrary,
to
his purilyof nature . This is the
focus
NJohn3:16: not the worth or number of
tho$ewhom God loves
but
theama:Z;iitg
fact that God loves such wretched and
condemned creatures. The world
is
unworthy of the love of God. t de
serves
only his disapprobation and
justice: Yet
in
boundless mercy,
he did
not
leave the
world in
its
corrupt
c n d i ~
tion, but
he loved ,and made gracious
provision
for
the worl
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nity to
be saved
if
they
.choose.' For
John stresses that God's
love
will
save
alHhose
who 'believe in Christ. Here it
is helpful to introduce
another
theme '
which we
regularly encounter
in
John's
gospel,
. and
indeed one
that
was
espe"
cially relevant to Nicodemus ,
Judaism
in the
:
centuries immediately preceding
'
the
first advent
of Jesus
Christ,
and
Pharisaism specifically, entertained
nat'itmalistic
conceptions of the Messiah
and his work.
They viewed
his coming
afhnvolving the salvation and
restora
tion
of Jewish people
as
well
as
the
judgment
of the
Gentiles. John
stresses
that God's saving love and
purposes
are
not restricted
to
the Jewish people. All
who believe
may participate
in this
gre
'at salvation. The work of the Mes
siah
and
the
'
intention
of
God's
love
is
not ,exhausted upon
the Jewish nation.
The kingdom
of
God embraces
all
those
who believe in
JesuS Christ,
together
with their
children.
This thought as
tounded Nicodemus, ignorant
as
he was
of
the Old
Testament
Scriptures and '
steepeo.
in the
nationalistic
hopes of
IsraeL Nevertheless,
God
loves the
world'. . e s l l s ~ a s n o t s e n t to judge the
wo:i:id,
th#gli his ~ o m i i i g
certafnly .
entails
'
t h ~
judgment
of
those who
reject
his '
light. What
'l: e must
emphasize
. ,
here; however,
is
God's lov
.e ,
will
result .
- . ' .-- -
,_
t _ -
in
the
-
salvation
of
those who
believe in
c h f i ~ f
Noticealso
in
the
latter
h
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Hte knowledge
of
the
glory of
the
Lord
as the waters cover the seas (Isa.11:9).
Indeed Jesus
.
pra
y
ed in
John
17
that
"
the
world may
know
that the
Father has
sent me. The love
of the Father will
result
in
the
conversion of
the entire
world, a countless number
of men
and
women from every kindred,
tribe
,
and
nation. We might even
say
that
John
3:16 is a declaration of
God's intention
to make the
world
a Chris
Han
planet.
This
is
a process
that
began 2,000
years
ago
and
will continue until the nations
are discipled to
Christ.
What the gospel
has done thus far, we have every assur
ance of
Scripture
that
it
will
do in the
future with
even
greater impact.
Conclusion
to John
3:16
The Place
of
John 3:16
in the
'".
. .
Christian Faith
-
-
. Johj:t3:16 dese:rves the 'placeit has
bel' n .given.