John 3 v16 Greatest Passion
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" John 3 v16
2)The Greatest Passion ever displayed
Having considered the greatness of His person we are not surprised that in all His attributes He is superior and nowhere is this more evident than His love for human beings. The bible exults in the love of God which is greater than all loves. Paul wrote of "His great love wherewith He has loved us.."(Ephesians 2 v4). So we consider first the extent of God's love, " God so loved the world". There are a number of words for love in the Greek language, and apparently when the new testament was written, they had to invent another word(agape), that would set God's love apart from every other. Paul spoke of it in Romans 5 v8 as "God's own love", which sets it apart from the best of human loves. John spoke of "..what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us.."(1st John 3 v1). The same writer said that God is the source of all love in existence when he wrote "Love is of God"(1st John 4 v7). He goes further and says that not only is God the source of love He is in Himself the very essence of love, when in verse 8 he says "God is love"; that is, love is not only what God does, love is what God is! The German hymnwriter Frederick M Lehman wrote in 1917 these unforgettable words, of which we take an extract;
"The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell;
1t goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell...
Could we with ink the ocean fill, or were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above, would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky!"
So he wrote of the incomparable love of God that knows no limits. Paul wrote of it to the church at Ephesus(4 v18-19) "that ye may be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge...". He is using hyperbole language for the love of God cannot be computed in normal terms. We shall see the extent of this as we proceed, enough to know for now God's love is supreme and knows no bounds, and is beyond natural human love for He declares that God even loves His enemies.
There is another aspect of the love of God in this verse for the context is set against the incident of the "serpent on the pole" in Numbers chapter 21; "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up....for God so loved the world..."(John 3 v14-16). Notice the link of the words, "As Moses...even so must the Son of man...for God so loved...". Therefore in this we have not only the extent of God's love but the empathy of His love for the world. Israel were dying in the desert having been bitten by fiery serpents, and God moved with compassion to save them. The world as a whole is in danger, having been bitten by the serpent, and God has moved in compassion towards us. It was His pity for their wretched state, that moved Him, on a grander scale He has moved in compassion to the world.
Psalm 86 v15 "But thou O Lord art a God full of compassion, and gracious. Longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and truth".
2)The Greatest Passion ever displayed
Having considered the greatness of His person we are not surprised that in all His attributes He is superior and nowhere is this more evident than His love for human beings. The bible exults in the love of God which is greater than all loves. Paul wrote of "His great love wherewith He has loved us.."(Ephesians 2 v4). So we consider first the extent of God's love, " God so loved the world". There are a number of words for love in the Greek language, and apparently when the new testament was written, they had to invent another word(agape), that would set God's love apart from every other. Paul spoke of it in Romans 5 v8 as "God's own love", which sets it apart from the best of human loves. John spoke of "..what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us.."(1st John 3 v1). The same writer said that God is the source of all love in existence when he wrote "Love is of God"(1st John 4 v7). He goes further and says that not only is God the source of love He is in Himself the very essence of love, when in verse 8 he says "God is love"; that is, love is not only what God does, love is what God is! The German hymnwriter Frederick M Lehman wrote in 1917 these unforgettable words, of which we take an extract;
"The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell;
1t goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell...
Could we with ink the ocean fill, or were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above, would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky!"
So he wrote of the incomparable love of God that knows no limits. Paul wrote of it to the church at Ephesus(4 v18-19) "that ye may be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge...". He is using hyperbole language for the love of God cannot be computed in normal terms. We shall see the extent of this as we proceed, enough to know for now God's love is supreme and knows no bounds, and is beyond natural human love for He declares that God even loves His enemies.
There is another aspect of the love of God in this verse for the context is set against the incident of the "serpent on the pole" in Numbers chapter 21; "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up....for God so loved the world..."(John 3 v14-16). Notice the link of the words, "As Moses...even so must the Son of man...for God so loved...". Therefore in this we have not only the extent of God's love but the empathy of His love for the world. Israel were dying in the desert having been bitten by fiery serpents, and God moved with compassion to save them. The world as a whole is in danger, having been bitten by the serpent, and God has moved in compassion towards us. It was His pity for their wretched state, that moved Him, on a grander scale He has moved in compassion to the world.
Psalm 86 v15 "But thou O Lord art a God full of compassion, and gracious. Longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and truth".
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