2000 Issue 3 - God's Amazing Love - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 2000 Issue 3 - God's Amazing Love - Counsel of Chalcedon

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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


3/6

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


4/6

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


5/6

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


6/6

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.

Documents

2000 Issue 3 - God's Amazing Love - Counsel of Chalcedon