The expression of God’s love! – John 3:16-21
By Pastor Lee Hemen
February 4, 2018
How do you express your love? Since February is the month when we celebrate love because of Valentine’s Day I thought it would be good for us to pause and reflect on what love truly means for the believer. And being able to express, know, and understand what love is supposed to be is extremely important. Far too many carry false notions and understanding of what love is all about therefore it is important for Christians to be able to help others truly know the expression of God’s love.
When I first meant my wife she was my best friend’s kid-sister who took perverse joy in teasing us. Being the “mature” High School freshman I was I was not impressed by a 13 year old Junior Higher. Now for 42 years I am very impressed and interested in my best friend’s kid sister. Of course it took a lot of time, effort, and commitment for me to express just how much I care about her. It still does and I still do! God did the same thing for us and his plan took thousands of years to express fully. Let’s take a look at the expression of God’s love…
READ: John 3:16-21
Valentine’s Day originally was celebrated to honor one of several martyred “saints”. One for marrying Roman soldiers against the Emperor’s will and another who imprisoned for his faith wrote his final letter to his wife and signed it, “From your Valentine”. The oldest known valentine in existence is a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. In this popular passage from John…
I. We see the expression of God’s love in how he gave us himself! (Vv. 16-18)
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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
1. The message contained within these verses is so profound and simple that it mystifies the spiritually blind and confounds the spiritually ignorant. Yet in a world that hungers for real love there is no greater expression of it than what we discover here in John’s Gospel. In the past the mythological creations of mankind were vain attempts to try to explain the angry world around us. We saw the wrath of gods in the weather, we experienced the inhumanity of mankind, and the march of death and tried to make sense of it all. It is only here in Scripture where we discover the profound truth that God does indeed exist, he created all things, has a plan in progress and that “God is love.” And here we discover that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son”! He did not bring forth a child like himself, he came himself as a child, grew to be a man, was tempted in every way we are, remained pure, and willingly died for us for the simple reason “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”! This is the key to knowing and experiencing God’s love for one’s self - you must believe in him! If you do you will never “perish but have eternal life”. That’s a pretty special love gift! In fact we cannot be forced, coerced, or pushed into belief. The choice is ours because “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” God’s final judgment will come later when he returns to gather his children to himself. Jesus, God in human flesh, related that “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” We condemn or free ourselves by the choice we make. What a marvelous thing to discover in this love message from God that we see the expression of God’s love in how he gave us himself!
EXAMPLE: “Never was so much owed by so many to so few” is a line from a wartime speech made by the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on August 20, 1940. I have to laugh because when I hear this I am reminded of my friend Andy from 1st grade. He was in “love” with a little blond girl in our classroom. I thought he was bonkers and in a sense he was. I found him one day out on the playground in tears. When I asked him what happened he related that he had offered the girl his cookies from his lunch. He wasn’t sad because she refused them he was dismayed because she had actually taken and eaten them! Andy now understood what sacrifice meant. We see the expression of God’s love in how he gave us himself!
The only time I truly like total darkness is when I want to go to sleep or when I want to see the stars. Sadly it is tough to see the stars clearly because of all the ambient light that shines into the night sky. There are those who try to proclaim another truth than the one Jesus did and the only way to see the difference is by shinning the full truth of the gospel against its darkness. John related that…
II. We see the expression of God’s love by its illumination! (Vv. 19-21)
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.
1. Recently I watched a diatribe by a young atheist on YouTube who vainly tried to refute the life of Jesus. She not only distorted historical facts but did not know the historicity and evidence of biblical facts. It was laughable. As we learned before, no one forces anyone to believe. That’s why it is called “faith”. However, Jesus taught that there are consequences both good and bad for making one’s own choice concerning God. “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” The sad but utter truth is that evil does not like exposure. Whether it is a political cause or a religious sect, neither wants folks to look to closely at the real truth hidden behind the veil of lies. Fanatical religions and myopic socialism has murdered hundreds of millions. Jesus’ teachings are the only truth that demands and asks one to take as close a personal look as possible. However be forewarned if you are trying to hide something, you will be exposed for what you are: “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” John later on in life would write, “We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. (1 John 4:13-15 NIV)” This is why atheists rail against Jesus and false religions try to hide the truth. Jesus taught “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32 NIV)” There is no fear of faith or of God for those who are willing to trust Jesus with their lives because “whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” How wondrous to know that we see the expression of God’s love by its illumination!
EXAMPLE: I remember reading the Bible before I came to Christ; I barely understood any of it. After accepting him as my savior and Lord my ignorance changed and I could not read it enough. It made sense and it fit! Kind of like when I first began my relationship with my wife. I had dated several girls and when I dated her things began to change. But the change wasn’t complete until I married her. I no longer see her as my “girlfriend” but rather as my wife and believe me that is a whole lot deeper relationship emotionally, physically, and spiritually. The same is true when we come to Christ. Before it’s only head knowledge, shallow, and kind of boring but after experiencing the power and presence of the Holy Spirit we see the expression of God’s love by its illumination!
Conclusion:
We see the expression of God’s love in how he gave us himself! We see the expression of God’s love by its illumination!
---
This article is copyrighted © 2018 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
February 4, 2018
How do you express your love? Since February is the month when we celebrate love because of Valentine’s Day I thought it would be good for us to pause and reflect on what love truly means for the believer. And being able to express, know, and understand what love is supposed to be is extremely important. Far too many carry false notions and understanding of what love is all about therefore it is important for Christians to be able to help others truly know the expression of God’s love.
When I first meant my wife she was my best friend’s kid-sister who took perverse joy in teasing us. Being the “mature” High School freshman I was I was not impressed by a 13 year old Junior Higher. Now for 42 years I am very impressed and interested in my best friend’s kid sister. Of course it took a lot of time, effort, and commitment for me to express just how much I care about her. It still does and I still do! God did the same thing for us and his plan took thousands of years to express fully. Let’s take a look at the expression of God’s love…
READ: John 3:16-21
Valentine’s Day originally was celebrated to honor one of several martyred “saints”. One for marrying Roman soldiers against the Emperor’s will and another who imprisoned for his faith wrote his final letter to his wife and signed it, “From your Valentine”. The oldest known valentine in existence is a poem written in 1415 by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. In this popular passage from John…
I. We see the expression of God’s love in how he gave us himself! (Vv. 16-18)
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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
1. The message contained within these verses is so profound and simple that it mystifies the spiritually blind and confounds the spiritually ignorant. Yet in a world that hungers for real love there is no greater expression of it than what we discover here in John’s Gospel. In the past the mythological creations of mankind were vain attempts to try to explain the angry world around us. We saw the wrath of gods in the weather, we experienced the inhumanity of mankind, and the march of death and tried to make sense of it all. It is only here in Scripture where we discover the profound truth that God does indeed exist, he created all things, has a plan in progress and that “God is love.” And here we discover that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son”! He did not bring forth a child like himself, he came himself as a child, grew to be a man, was tempted in every way we are, remained pure, and willingly died for us for the simple reason “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”! This is the key to knowing and experiencing God’s love for one’s self - you must believe in him! If you do you will never “perish but have eternal life”. That’s a pretty special love gift! In fact we cannot be forced, coerced, or pushed into belief. The choice is ours because “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” God’s final judgment will come later when he returns to gather his children to himself. Jesus, God in human flesh, related that “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” We condemn or free ourselves by the choice we make. What a marvelous thing to discover in this love message from God that we see the expression of God’s love in how he gave us himself!
EXAMPLE: “Never was so much owed by so many to so few” is a line from a wartime speech made by the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on August 20, 1940. I have to laugh because when I hear this I am reminded of my friend Andy from 1st grade. He was in “love” with a little blond girl in our classroom. I thought he was bonkers and in a sense he was. I found him one day out on the playground in tears. When I asked him what happened he related that he had offered the girl his cookies from his lunch. He wasn’t sad because she refused them he was dismayed because she had actually taken and eaten them! Andy now understood what sacrifice meant. We see the expression of God’s love in how he gave us himself!
The only time I truly like total darkness is when I want to go to sleep or when I want to see the stars. Sadly it is tough to see the stars clearly because of all the ambient light that shines into the night sky. There are those who try to proclaim another truth than the one Jesus did and the only way to see the difference is by shinning the full truth of the gospel against its darkness. John related that…
II. We see the expression of God’s love by its illumination! (Vv. 19-21)
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.
1. Recently I watched a diatribe by a young atheist on YouTube who vainly tried to refute the life of Jesus. She not only distorted historical facts but did not know the historicity and evidence of biblical facts. It was laughable. As we learned before, no one forces anyone to believe. That’s why it is called “faith”. However, Jesus taught that there are consequences both good and bad for making one’s own choice concerning God. “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” The sad but utter truth is that evil does not like exposure. Whether it is a political cause or a religious sect, neither wants folks to look to closely at the real truth hidden behind the veil of lies. Fanatical religions and myopic socialism has murdered hundreds of millions. Jesus’ teachings are the only truth that demands and asks one to take as close a personal look as possible. However be forewarned if you are trying to hide something, you will be exposed for what you are: “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” John later on in life would write, “We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. (1 John 4:13-15 NIV)” This is why atheists rail against Jesus and false religions try to hide the truth. Jesus taught “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32 NIV)” There is no fear of faith or of God for those who are willing to trust Jesus with their lives because “whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” How wondrous to know that we see the expression of God’s love by its illumination!
EXAMPLE: I remember reading the Bible before I came to Christ; I barely understood any of it. After accepting him as my savior and Lord my ignorance changed and I could not read it enough. It made sense and it fit! Kind of like when I first began my relationship with my wife. I had dated several girls and when I dated her things began to change. But the change wasn’t complete until I married her. I no longer see her as my “girlfriend” but rather as my wife and believe me that is a whole lot deeper relationship emotionally, physically, and spiritually. The same is true when we come to Christ. Before it’s only head knowledge, shallow, and kind of boring but after experiencing the power and presence of the Holy Spirit we see the expression of God’s love by its illumination!
Conclusion:
We see the expression of God’s love in how he gave us himself! We see the expression of God’s love by its illumination!
---
This article is copyrighted © 2018 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
Comments