SPEAKER_00: So when I was young, our church had a program for kids called Iwana.
SPEAKER_00: Anybody familiar with Iwana?
SPEAKER_00: Participate anybody participate in Iwana?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, some of you?
SPEAKER_00: Cool.
SPEAKER_00: Awana was pretty awesome.
SPEAKER_00: Uh I loved it.
SPEAKER_00: I started when I was in kindergarten, maybe first grade.
SPEAKER_00: And if you don't know about it, it's basically like kind of feels like Cub Scouts or Boy Scouts, but it's a faith-based kind of organization that they have these kids that gather together, and what they do is there are songs, there are games and activities, like it's a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_00: But also part of the program includes things that will be part of spiritual formation.
SPEAKER_00: So kids learn memory verses, or they'll do certain acts of service and generosity or love toward other people, and they can learn that they can earn like awards or badges or things like that.
SPEAKER_00: Pretty cool program.
SPEAKER_00: Um I was what was called a Sparky when I started.
SPEAKER_00: So that's like for the littler kids, Sparky.
SPEAKER_00: And if you were part of the Sparks program, you got a red vest, and you could put your pins and your awards on it.
SPEAKER_00: I have my Sparky vest at home somewhere.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know where.
SPEAKER_00: All my children have seen it, so I know it's still around somewhere, but you know how it goes, parents.
SPEAKER_00: I couldn't find it this week.
SPEAKER_00: I did have somebody who graciously let me borrow their Sparky vest.
SPEAKER_00: It's almost exactly like mine.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, this is it.
SPEAKER_00: This is the Sparky vest.
SPEAKER_00: See it?
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I know, cute, right?
SPEAKER_00: So, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I heard someone say put it on.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, well, there's a problem with that.
SPEAKER_00: Uh you know, I'm now six foot two, 200 pounds, so I will split this at the seams if I try to put it on.
SPEAKER_00: But there was a day where I wore a vest like this, and I recited verses and did all that, and it was awesome.
SPEAKER_00: And I have a very particular memory, it's still very vivid in my mind, of a time where I had a key verse that I had to recite in front of the class, and that was John 3.16.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you were a Sparky, John 3.16 was like one of those verses that was like really foundational for you to be a sparky.
SPEAKER_00: You had to learn that.
SPEAKER_00: And so we learned it, I learned it in the King James Version, and so I can still recite it today.
SPEAKER_00: So, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him, and it's got the believeth, right?
SPEAKER_00: That's kind of fun.
SPEAKER_00: KJV right there, believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
SPEAKER_00: Now that's the verse that I learned when I was really young, and I still remember it, and Lord willing, I'll never forget it.
SPEAKER_00: And uh perhaps you have learned that verse as well, or verses similar, and there are many verses that are really key, foundational verses that if you grew up in the church, that were sent things that you memorized when you were young.
SPEAKER_00: Now, here's the thing with verses like that.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, it's probably one of the most popular verses in the Bible, but sometimes when verses like that become really familiar, they also become really common.
SPEAKER_00: What I mean by that is we know the words, but we really stop thinking about the meaning if we know them too well.
SPEAKER_00: There are times where we recite the verse, but we stop marveling at the truths that it contains.
SPEAKER_00: And so that's exactly why over the course of the next several weeks here at Frankie Mouth Bible Church, we're taking time to be digging deep into some of your favorite, most beloved Bible verses so that way we can take a fresh look at something that maybe has been very familiar to you over the course of your life.
SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes the truths we need to hear the most are the ones that we already know about.
SPEAKER_00: And so today uh we'll dig deep.
SPEAKER_00: If you would like to join me in our text today, I want to encourage you to open your Bibles to John 3.16.
SPEAKER_00: So the Gospel of John is where we're gonna be at today.
SPEAKER_00: That's the verse we're looking at.
SPEAKER_00: And uh just a heads up: if you came here today and you brought a Bible, awesome.
SPEAKER_00: We open our Bible every Sunday, and so that's great.
SPEAKER_00: If you didn't, we've got you covered.
SPEAKER_00: There's a Bible in front of you.
SPEAKER_00: You're welcome to use that.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, if you don't own a Bible, take that Bible home.
SPEAKER_00: If you're looking for the book of John, the Gospel of John, it's in the New Testament.
SPEAKER_00: So three-quarters of the way in, we say that almost every Sunday when we're preaching through texts like this, but three-quarters of the way in, Matthew, Mark, Luke, then John, if you hit Acts, go backward.
SPEAKER_00: And if you were searching on your own and you happen to go at the end of your Bible and found first, second, or third John, those are not the right book.
SPEAKER_00: That's the epistle of John.
SPEAKER_00: We're in the Gospel of John.
SPEAKER_00: So John 3 is where we're at today.
SPEAKER_00: And uh, as you're turning there, I'm excited about this series, excited about this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Can I just say for you, I hope this summer you prioritize doing some really fun things.
SPEAKER_00: I hope it's an enjoyable summer, a restful summer, a relaxing summer.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you can take time with family or friends to get some rest and some leisure and enjoy time outside doing fun things.
SPEAKER_00: I hope you prioritize that.
SPEAKER_00: But I also will say, if you're around here, I hope that you prioritize gathering with God's people.
SPEAKER_00: I really have a conviction that when the people of God are gathered together and worshiping together and hearing God's word together, that's a pretty awesome thing that we should prioritize.
SPEAKER_00: So I hope that if you're around, you make time to be with us.
SPEAKER_00: It's a great way to spend your summer, a wise investment of your time.
SPEAKER_00: So we're in John 3, we're gonna jump in.
SPEAKER_00: I mentioned that I learned this in the KJV, the King James Version, which is a much older translation of the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna look at this today in the ESV, the English Standard Version of the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: Um, I want to just mention, if you're wondering all about these versions of the Bible, so we have English Bibles.
SPEAKER_00: Those are all translations.
SPEAKER_00: The original text in the New Testament would have been what's called Koine Greek.
SPEAKER_00: It's first century Greek.
SPEAKER_00: And so any English translation that's solid today would be ultimately derived from the Greek text.
SPEAKER_00: And so maybe your favorite translation is different than the ESV.
SPEAKER_00: That's fine.
SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of really good translations out there.
SPEAKER_00: The ESV is really solid, and so that's why we've chosen it here at FBC.
SPEAKER_00: That's what I'll preach through.
SPEAKER_00: Here is John 3.16 in the English Standard Version.
SPEAKER_00: It says, For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is the short verse where we're gonna camp out today, but for the next, I don't know, 30 plus minutes, we're gonna mine a lot of stuff from this.
SPEAKER_00: I will take a little time to get a few details outside of this verse, but the bulk of our time today is just gonna focus in on the verse itself.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna break it into four sections.
SPEAKER_00: And what we're gonna do is we're gonna start our first section by just looking at some things related to the very first word in our verse.
SPEAKER_00: I want to stop and look at the word for for a moment.
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: So some of you, if you're really good with English, you might know that the word for is a conjunction, okay?
SPEAKER_00: And if we go back in the recesses of your mind, some of you maybe remember Schoolhouse Rock or some of the video, right?
SPEAKER_00: The song conjunction junction.
SPEAKER_00: Do you remember that song?
SPEAKER_00: And what's the question they ask, right?
SPEAKER_00: Conjunction junction?
SPEAKER_00: What's your function?
SPEAKER_00: So if we're to look at this conjunction and we're to ask, well, what's the function of this conjunction?
SPEAKER_00: The function would be this marks a cause or reason.
SPEAKER_00: So the point is the word for, it grounds everything it's about to say in what was said before.
SPEAKER_00: All the stuff that was said before is foundational, and so it's a connecting word that connects what was said before to what it's about to say.
SPEAKER_00: So the point with all that is if we're gonna understand John 3.16 well, it begins with the word for, we should know what the for is for.
SPEAKER_00: And in order to do that, we're gonna go back just a little bit in our Bible and we're gonna look at the text, we'll look at the context, and unpack a few things for you just so that way we know where we're at.
SPEAKER_00: We're oriented to this verse.
SPEAKER_00: And so if you look at what comes before John 3.16, you'll see there are some names in the chapter.
SPEAKER_00: Two prominent names in there are Jesus, he's a very prominent name throughout the Gospel of John, but there's another character who kind of pops up out of nowhere.
SPEAKER_00: His name is Nicodemus.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Nicodemus is a guy who asks a lot of questions of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He's a curious fellow, and so he's trying to understand the things of God.
SPEAKER_00: And so, in light of that, the first section is what I'm just going to simply call, number one, the hunger for truth, the hunger for truth.
SPEAKER_00: So notice how the passage opens.
SPEAKER_00: If you look at the chapter, the very first verse of the chapter says this.
SPEAKER_00: Now, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
SPEAKER_00: This man came to Jesus by night.
SPEAKER_00: Now, remember, by and large, uh the Pharisees were a group of religious people who were very zealous about the law of God.
SPEAKER_00: There were the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and there were a few other groups, but the Pharisees were people who were prominent, who were well respected, who had power and authority.
SPEAKER_00: And in particular, this guy Nicodemus, he's not only listed as just a Pharisee, he's a ruler of the Jews.
SPEAKER_00: It calls that out specifically.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this group of people, by and large, were people who were opposed to Jesus and his ministry and his mission.
SPEAKER_00: And the reason for that is because the established religious leaders of the day were threatened by Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: They found what he taught and what he did, it posed a threat to their whole system.
SPEAKER_00: And so as a result, it was the Pharisees, the religious leaders, who were the ones that ultimately betrayed Jesus and had him crucified.
SPEAKER_00: And so, for the most part, you'll find that when you encounter Pharisees and religious leaders in the New Testament, normally they're enemies of Jesus, but this guy's a little different.
SPEAKER_00: You see, here we have a man named Nicodemus who is coming to Jesus and he's exploring things, but he's not doing what many of the other religious leaders do.
SPEAKER_00: They often try to trap Jesus publicly.
SPEAKER_00: No, we see Nicodemus comes to Jesus privately and he's curious.
SPEAKER_00: Notice how John tells us specifically that he comes to Jesus by night.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is not an ancillary detail.
SPEAKER_00: When you come across things like this in the New Testament, there's not just random information.
SPEAKER_00: John is sharing this for an intended purpose.
SPEAKER_00: What's the purpose?
SPEAKER_00: Well, there could be a few different views here.
SPEAKER_00: One, very common view, is that Nicodemus, being a Pharisee, did not want the other contemporary Pharisees and religious leaders to see him.
SPEAKER_00: And so under the cloak of night, he came to Jesus when nobody else was around so he could avoid detection and ask his curious questions.
SPEAKER_00: It's possible that's the case.
SPEAKER_00: However, it's also possible in John's gospel that this is meaning something far deeper.
SPEAKER_00: What I mean by that is John often speaks in ways where what he's describing is actually something far deeper and more spiritual.
SPEAKER_00: And so maybe this is describing the fact that Nicodemus was somebody who spiritually was in the dark.
SPEAKER_00: Spiritually, he's somebody who doesn't fully understand all that Jesus is doing and hasn't embraced him yet.
SPEAKER_00: The Gospel of John is filled with those double meanings.
SPEAKER_00: It's a double entendre, and John uses it all the time.
SPEAKER_00: And so, really, John will say things that really mean stuff on two different levels.
SPEAKER_00: I think that's the case here with Nicodemus.
SPEAKER_00: We look through this passage, it becomes pretty clear that he's not somebody who embraces Jesus yet.
SPEAKER_00: That Jesus is explicit and says that he hasn't embraced his teaching yet or his testimony.
SPEAKER_00: And so Nicodemus is not a disciple, he's not a believer, he's not a follower of Jesus yet.
SPEAKER_00: Now I say yet, because if you read through the Gospel of John, it's the only place where Nicodemus is mentioned.
SPEAKER_00: You'll find moments where he's woven back into the story, and it feels like progressively he's being drawn more closely to Jesus throughout the narrative.
SPEAKER_00: So for example, in John 7, there's a moment where people are arguing and they're talking about Jesus, and Nicodemus kind of puts himself out there and he almost defends Jesus a little bit.
SPEAKER_00: So we see that in chapter 7.
SPEAKER_00: In chapter 19, this is at the crucifixion account.
SPEAKER_00: Guess who's there at the crucifixion?
SPEAKER_00: Well, Nicodemus is there.
SPEAKER_00: And he has brought spices to anoint the body of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, the text tells us that Joseph of Arimathea, who took the body of Jesus off the cross and put him in his tomb, well, he was helped by Nicodemus.
SPEAKER_00: Nicodemus helped him take the body down and bury Jesus, put him in the tomb.
SPEAKER_00: So to me, if you're going to go and put yourself out there in that way, it tells me that Nicodemus is somebody who, by the end of the story, I think he found the light.
SPEAKER_00: I think he's somebody who became a disciple of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: But at this point in the story, he is still spiritually in the dark.
SPEAKER_00: And so Nicodemus is somebody who's searching and seeking.
SPEAKER_00: He's trying to know more about Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He's trying to explore more about what Christ has done.
SPEAKER_00: He's seen some of the signs and he's curious and he's asking questions.
SPEAKER_00: And I just want to say today, there may be some of you who are in the same boat.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're somebody who's here today.
SPEAKER_00: You would say that I'm not a believer or a Christian or a follower of Christ, but I'm curious.
SPEAKER_00: I want to know more about what you guys believe and what Jesus did and who he was.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm interested.
SPEAKER_00: I kind of want to seek and search out what this is all about.
SPEAKER_00: If you're somebody today who's seeking and searching, I just want to say I'm so glad you're here.
SPEAKER_00: It's a great place to be.
SPEAKER_00: This is a wonderful place to come and to investigate the Christian faith and come with questions.
SPEAKER_00: Talk to me after.
SPEAKER_00: I love questions.
SPEAKER_00: We we're not afraid of questions here.
SPEAKER_00: We want you to ask good questions and to search and to seek to try to find the truth.
SPEAKER_00: And I have this conviction that those who truly seek the truth, they will find him.
SPEAKER_00: That's what I believe.
SPEAKER_00: And so for you today, if that's where you're at, I'm glad you're here.
SPEAKER_00: And hopefully you keep searching and keep seeking.
SPEAKER_00: That's where Nicodemus was at.
SPEAKER_00: And so he begins to ask these questions of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He's wondering who Jesus is.
SPEAKER_00: And so what Jesus does, I'll just summarize this part.
SPEAKER_00: He begins to unpack various truths about he and about salvation.
SPEAKER_00: So first of all, Jesus says, Hey, Nicodemus, if you're not born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when Jesus says this, if you're not born again, Nicodemus is like, wait, I don't know what you're talking about, Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: How can a person be born again?
SPEAKER_00: I understand when people are born, but how how can you be born a second time?
SPEAKER_00: And Nicodemus is clearly thinking in physical terms, and he's thinking about natural birth.
SPEAKER_00: He's not thinking through the spiritual reality of what Jesus is saying.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus begins to clarify, hey, I'm not talking about physical birth.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not talking about natural birth.
SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about a spiritual birth.
SPEAKER_00: I'm talking about a supernatural birth.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus begins to describe what it means to be born again.
SPEAKER_00: And the technical term for this is regeneration.
SPEAKER_00: So regeneration simply means it's the supernatural work of God where he takes a spiritually dead sinner and he makes them spiritually alive through the power of the Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: That's regeneration.
SPEAKER_00: If you are a Christian today, if you're a follower of Jesus today, you have been born again.
SPEAKER_00: I understand that there are connotations with that terminology that goes back to some things in history, but biblically speaking, if you're a Christian, you're a born-again person.
SPEAKER_00: You have new spiritual life.
SPEAKER_00: God has taken you and he's given you new spiritual life.
SPEAKER_00: He took your heart of stone and he replaced it with the heart of flesh.
SPEAKER_00: That's what it means to be born again.
SPEAKER_00: We are people who are regenerated.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus starts to explain this.
SPEAKER_00: But Nicodemus is still lost.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus continues to reveal more truth and more information.
SPEAKER_00: And we see as the text goes on, he begins talking about the fact that he is the Son of Man.
SPEAKER_00: Now, the Son of Man, that comes from Daniel 7.
SPEAKER_00: That's a term that just means human one.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is the one who's the Son of Man who descended from heaven, right?
SPEAKER_00: He came down and he took on flesh.
SPEAKER_00: He became human.
SPEAKER_00: And then in verse 14, what Jesus starts talking about is he begins drawing from a story in the Old Testament.
SPEAKER_00: Now, what's cool about this is Nicodemus is somebody who would know the Old Testament, right?
SPEAKER_00: He was a Pharisee.
SPEAKER_00: He was very strict in his adherence to the Jewish law and he would know the scriptures well.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus started talking about a familiar story from Numbers chapter 21.
SPEAKER_00: Let me just summarize it real quick.
SPEAKER_00: In Numbers 21, the people of Israel are marching around the wilderness.
SPEAKER_00: They did this for a really long time.
SPEAKER_00: And often they were prone to grumbling and complaining.
SPEAKER_00: And after a while, they would do it over and over and over again.
SPEAKER_00: And every once in a while, God would judge the people, and he judged rightly.
SPEAKER_00: And this is a moment in Numbers 21 where the people are marching, they're grumbling, they're complaining, they're rebelling against God.
SPEAKER_00: And so God sends snakes, fiery snakes, in to the camp, and they begin to bite people, and people begin dropping like flies.
SPEAKER_00: And so Moses is like, oh boy, this is going to be bad.
SPEAKER_00: He prays to the Lord and he asks for the Lord to provide some means of salvation, and God is gracious and loving and merciful, and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
SPEAKER_00: And out of the abundance of his grace and mercy, God makes a provision for his people, even though they deserve judgment.
SPEAKER_00: He tells Moses, Moses, fashion a bronze serpent, put it on a pole, hold it in the air, and all those who trust in me will look to that pole.
SPEAKER_00: You tell them to look to the pole, and when they do so, if they're bit, they will live, they will survive.
SPEAKER_00: And so Moses does that.
SPEAKER_00: Well, in this story, Jesus begins to unpack that, and then notice what he says in verses 14 and 15.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of Man be lifted up.
SPEAKER_00: So must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: You see, Jesus here is now unveiling this incredible news to Nicodemus, that Jesus is the one who came to save his people from their sins.
SPEAKER_00: And so the text tells us that the Son of Man is to be lifted up.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is another interesting example of what I talked about before.
SPEAKER_00: To lift someone up means to exalt them.
SPEAKER_00: That's a thing that you do that that makes much of someone.
SPEAKER_00: And yet Jesus is exalted.
SPEAKER_00: He is the exalted one, but also the lifting up of Jesus is also a reference to the cross.
SPEAKER_00: We know that in humility and shame, Jesus was crucified so that all might see him suffer and die.
SPEAKER_00: And so once again, John is using this double meaning here.
SPEAKER_00: The Son of Man is the one who is lifted up.
SPEAKER_00: And those who look to Jesus by faith, they experience God's salvation.
SPEAKER_00: They will be saved, just as those who looked at the serpent.
SPEAKER_00: And so Jesus begins to unpack all this for Nicodemus.
SPEAKER_00: He explains that.
SPEAKER_00: And that's why we get to the point of the beginning of our verse.
SPEAKER_00: We look at the word for.
SPEAKER_00: In light of all that he just said, he now wants to unpack and distill this amazing truth in John 3.16.
SPEAKER_00: So now that we have that opening section, now that we saw number one, the hunger for truth, Nicodemus is searching for answers, and Jesus begins to give them.
SPEAKER_00: Now let's dive into our text itself.
SPEAKER_00: And let's look at number two, the heart of God.
SPEAKER_00: The heart of God.
SPEAKER_00: So as we press into this verse, notice that first line what it says.
SPEAKER_00: Our verse continues and it says this for God so loved the world.
SPEAKER_00: For God so loved the world.
SPEAKER_00: Now let me just mention something real quick.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you may have a red letter edition of the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: If you have a red letter edition of the Bible right here, raise your hand if you got one.
SPEAKER_00: A couple of you haven't?
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: So if you don't know what that is, a red letter edition of the Bible, it's where the words of Jesus are in red.
SPEAKER_00: Now, fun fact about John 3.16, there's a little bit of a debate about who said the words in John 3.16.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you're like, hey, my red letter Bible is really clear, it's Jesus, let me just throw this out there.
SPEAKER_00: In Koine Greek, first century Greek, there are no quotation marks.
SPEAKER_00: So the way that you discern, like if there's narrative and there's, or if there's dialogue, I mean, the way you discern who's talking is by context, because there's no quotation marks.
SPEAKER_00: And so you have to make judgment calls as a translator to discern who is speaking at various points.
SPEAKER_00: Some commentators would say that Jesus ends his statement in verse 15 and John fills in all the gaps as it follows.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if your red letter Bible goes all the way through verse 21, they've made a judgment call that Jesus is speaking.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm not trying to like, you know, completely just disorient you.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, oh my goodness, I've been lied to you my whole life.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not trying to say that.
SPEAKER_00: I'm just throwing it out there that there's a little bit of a debate here.
SPEAKER_00: And if we're gonna dig deep, let's dig deep all the way, right?
SPEAKER_00: Let's just talk about these things.
SPEAKER_00: So there's some debate.
SPEAKER_00: Here's my thing.
SPEAKER_00: Whether Jesus says it or John says it doesn't really matter because God says it.
SPEAKER_00: This is God brief.
SPEAKER_00: This is scripture, and so it's authoritative and true.
SPEAKER_00: And if you're like, man, I really hope that Jesus said John 3.16, then you can just embrace that.
SPEAKER_00: That's wonderful.
SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
SPEAKER_00: Either way, it doesn't make a uh a difference here.
SPEAKER_00: But either but we see here in the text, this is the verse, it begins, for God so loved the world.
SPEAKER_00: This is what we read in John.
SPEAKER_00: For God so loved the world.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I want to have the word so fade out for a moment.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna come back to that word in a second.
SPEAKER_00: I want to first just talk about the fact that God loved the world.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this seems pretty simple and intuitive, but can I clarify when it says God loved the world, it's specifically referring to the people of the world.
SPEAKER_00: God loves all the people of the world.
SPEAKER_00: Now, we see in the previous verse that whoever believes is the one who is saved, who has eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: And so that kind of opens the door wide.
SPEAKER_00: And now we read that God loves the world.
SPEAKER_00: That's not significant maybe to us, it's very significant to Nicodemus.
SPEAKER_00: Remember, Nicodemus was a Jew.
SPEAKER_00: God made the covenant promises with the Jews.
SPEAKER_00: They had a very special relationship with God, and for them, for the Jewish community, they in many respects felt as if their relationship was exclusive.
SPEAKER_00: And it was in a sense.
SPEAKER_00: However, God's intention for Israel was never to exclude other nations.
SPEAKER_00: It was always his relationship with Israel was intended to include the nations around them.
SPEAKER_00: This is why Israel is commanded to be a light as unto the nations.
SPEAKER_00: It's also why when God makes the promise to Abraham, he specifically says that through you, through your offspring, all the nations of the world will be blessed.
SPEAKER_00: And Abraham's name is changed from exalted father to an exalted father of a multitude.
SPEAKER_00: Abraham is an exalted father of a multitude.
SPEAKER_00: And so the whole point there is all nations are meant to be included through what God did to Israel.
SPEAKER_00: And so the fact that God loves all the people of the world, that's significant for Nicodemus.
SPEAKER_00: And I hope it's something that's significant for us.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, God loves you.
SPEAKER_00: God loves all people.
SPEAKER_00: Amen?
SPEAKER_00: We have a loving God.
SPEAKER_00: It's the very nature of who he is.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, John in his epistle defines God as such.
SPEAKER_00: He says, God is love.
SPEAKER_00: We have a loving God.
SPEAKER_00: This is significant.
SPEAKER_00: God loves all the people of the world.
SPEAKER_00: God loved the world.
SPEAKER_00: But more than that, God so loved the world.
SPEAKER_00: Now, why am I wanted to highlight this word so?
SPEAKER_00: Well, it's actually interesting.
SPEAKER_00: If it's cool with you guys, we're digging deep.
SPEAKER_00: Can we be nerdy?
SPEAKER_00: I love to be nerdy, and some of you love it.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you are like, oh dang it.
SPEAKER_00: But it's okay.
SPEAKER_00: Can we be nerdy for a moment?
SPEAKER_00: All right.
SPEAKER_00: We got the word so here.
SPEAKER_00: This word so in Greek is this word hutos.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's the Greek word.
SPEAKER_00: God so loved the world.
SPEAKER_00: Hutos is the word.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this word can be translated in some different ways.
SPEAKER_00: It can be used to describe the degree of something.
SPEAKER_00: So the way we could say it is God loved the world so much.
SPEAKER_00: That's the word hutos.
SPEAKER_00: God loved the world so very much.
SPEAKER_00: That's the way it's translated in the ESV, right?
SPEAKER_00: God so loved the world.
SPEAKER_00: Or in the King James Version, it's emphasizing something.
SPEAKER_00: It's describing that God's love is vast, it's immense, it's beyond measure.
SPEAKER_00: And so we could translate it that way.
SPEAKER_00: Or we could also translate hutos in a different way.
SPEAKER_00: It can also mean this, that God loved the world in this way.
SPEAKER_00: And then it describes the manner in which God loves the world.
SPEAKER_00: So that word can mean the manner of something.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, more often in Scripture, hutos is used this way.
SPEAKER_00: Now that's interesting when we think about it.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, let me even just kind of throw another thing your way.
SPEAKER_00: If you have a Bible in front of you, notice if there's a little number in the text of that verse where there's a footnote, then follow the footnote to the bottom of your Bible, and it will tell you another way you could translate this.
SPEAKER_00: And if you have the seatback Bibles, it says that you could translate this or for this is how God loves the world.
SPEAKER_00: Isn't that interesting?
SPEAKER_00: So this word hutos can mean two different things.
SPEAKER_00: Again, it can be translated, God loved the world so much.
SPEAKER_00: Or it could be translated, God loved the world in this way, and then it explains it.
SPEAKER_00: So which one is it?
SPEAKER_00: Is it for God loved the world so much?
SPEAKER_00: Or is it God loved the world in this way?
SPEAKER_00: My answer is yes.
SPEAKER_00: Once again, remember how John operates.
SPEAKER_00: He uses these double entendres, right?
SPEAKER_00: He uses double meanings.
SPEAKER_00: I think this can be used in two different ways.
SPEAKER_00: It's used on two different levels.
SPEAKER_00: They both work together.
SPEAKER_00: God loves the world immensely.
SPEAKER_00: He loves the world so much, and God demonstrates that immense love in a very specific way.
SPEAKER_00: What is that way?
SPEAKER_00: Well, to see it, we have to keep moving through the text.
SPEAKER_00: So now that we've seen number one, the hunger for God.
SPEAKER_00: It sets up the whole verse by saying Nicodemus, his zeal for knowing more truth.
SPEAKER_00: And then we begin to look at the verse and we saw the heart of God, that God loves the world.
SPEAKER_00: He loves the world so much.
SPEAKER_00: But there's also a way specifically he demonstrates his love.
SPEAKER_00: And what is that?
SPEAKER_00: Well, now, number three, we'll see it.
SPEAKER_00: It's the hero who saves.
SPEAKER_00: The hero who saves.
SPEAKER_00: Notice how this verse continues.
SPEAKER_00: It says this For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is where we begin to see really the heart of the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: First of all, let me just say, Jesus is eternal.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus has always existed.
SPEAKER_00: However, at a fixed point in history, Jesus took on flesh and God sent him to the world, right?
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus has always existed, but Jesus came to this earth and he clothed himself in humanity.
SPEAKER_00: He took on human flesh.
SPEAKER_00: He took on human flesh, not only so he could live the perfect life we could never live, but he took on human flesh to die the death that we deserve.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus had to become fully man in order to save us, God's people, in order to be our substitute.
SPEAKER_00: So God gave Jesus in that he sent him to this world and ultimately sent him to die.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus is God's gift to the world.
SPEAKER_00: Can I remind you of something?
SPEAKER_00: You don't earn gifts.
SPEAKER_00: The very definition of a gift is it's something that's given freely.
SPEAKER_00: That's part of my beef with Santa Claus.
SPEAKER_00: Can I just go on a soapbox for a moment?
SPEAKER_00: Santa Claus, what does he do?
SPEAKER_00: He looks to see if people are naughty or nice, and then depending on if they're naughty or nice, he decides whether he's gonna give the gift or not, right?
SPEAKER_00: That's not a gift, that's a wage.
SPEAKER_00: You've earned that.
SPEAKER_00: If you've got to work for it, it ceases to be a gift.
SPEAKER_00: So Bra does not give gifts, right?
SPEAKER_00: God does, though, and he gives good gifts, the greatest gift ever.
SPEAKER_00: He gave the gift of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is a gift that we do not earn.
SPEAKER_00: We do not deserve.
SPEAKER_00: We don't merit that.
SPEAKER_00: God freely gave Jesus to us by grace.
SPEAKER_00: And so if you want to see the extent of God's love and the demonstration of God's love, look no further than Jesus, look no further than the cross.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is the gift.
SPEAKER_00: And notice how it says that God gave his only son.
SPEAKER_00: Now I want to pause here for a moment.
SPEAKER_00: I mentioned that I learned this verse in the King James Version.
SPEAKER_00: The way the King James Version works is it says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
SPEAKER_00: Well, here it just says only son.
SPEAKER_00: Now that's a little interesting.
SPEAKER_00: Only begotten is what many of the older translations of the Bible use, uh, very commonly used.
SPEAKER_00: The Greek word that's used here is actually the word monogones.
SPEAKER_00: Now the word monogones, it's composed of two different parts.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm just going to break it apart for a minute.
SPEAKER_00: We'll talk about it.
SPEAKER_00: So the prefix mono, we're probably familiar with this, means one or only.
SPEAKER_00: So we we probably know that from language we have in English.
SPEAKER_00: We often use that prefix mono.
SPEAKER_00: And so this means one or only.
SPEAKER_00: The suffix, many people think this is derived from a Greek word which is gna'o.
SPEAKER_00: This specific Greek word ganao is a word that means to beget, right?
SPEAKER_00: So it's to uh father children, to give birth to or to have children.
SPEAKER_00: That's the word uh gna'o, um, which is beget.
SPEAKER_00: And so the idea of only begotten makes perfect sense if you're going to translate it that way, if this is gna'o.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the thing though.
SPEAKER_00: Many people believe that this suffix here actually comes from a different Greek word.
SPEAKER_00: It's the Greek word genos, which means type or kind.
SPEAKER_00: And so we could translate it only begotten if it's only and then begat, or we could translate it one of a kind.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: Monogenos would be one of a kind, one of a certain type or class.
SPEAKER_00: Now, how do we understand this?
SPEAKER_00: How do we interpret this?
SPEAKER_00: Well, one of the ways when we study words is we try to use, uh see how they're used in context, and we also compare it at times to where these words are used elsewhere.
SPEAKER_00: So the word monogenes is actually used in Hebrews, Hebrews 11, verse 7.
SPEAKER_00: There's a moment where it's used to describe Isaac, Abraham's son.
SPEAKER_00: He is the monogenais of Abraham.
SPEAKER_00: Now, what does that mean?
SPEAKER_00: Think about it.
SPEAKER_00: Do you remember the Abraham story?
SPEAKER_00: God makes a promise to Abraham.
SPEAKER_00: He's old, he has no children, his wife is barren.
SPEAKER_00: God says to Abraham, Abraham, I'm going to bless the world through you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to give you a child, and through that child the world will be blessed.
SPEAKER_00: And so Abraham says, That's unbelievable.
SPEAKER_00: I can't believe it.
SPEAKER_00: And he starts waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting, and nothing happens.
SPEAKER_00: So finally, he takes matters into his own hands, and he takes his maidservant Hagar, and he has a child with her, and that child is named Ishmael.
SPEAKER_00: And when God sees Ishmael, he says, That's not my chosen one.
SPEAKER_00: I told you I was going to make a promise.
SPEAKER_00: I was going to do something incredible and supernatural.
SPEAKER_00: And so what God ultimately does is he opens Sarah's womb.
SPEAKER_00: She was barren, he opens her womb, and she gives birth to a child.
SPEAKER_00: His name is Isaac.
SPEAKER_00: He is the promised one.
SPEAKER_00: Well, then after that, later on, Sarah dies, and Abraham actually has six more sons with Keturah.
SPEAKER_00: So if you think about that, Isaac, is he Abraham's only begotten son?
SPEAKER_00: Think about it for a moment.
SPEAKER_00: Well, he also had Ishmael.
SPEAKER_00: Yes, he had Isaac, and then he had six other sons.
SPEAKER_00: He's not his only begotten.
SPEAKER_00: He's not the only one that Abraham begot.
SPEAKER_00: So what's up with that?
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think what's happening there is that he is the one of a kind son.
SPEAKER_00: There's something particular special about Isaac, and what is it?
SPEAKER_00: Well, he is the one that God promised.
SPEAKER_00: He was the son of promise.
SPEAKER_00: He was the chosen one, and he was the one that God miraculously sent to fulfill the covenant promise.
SPEAKER_00: And in the same way, Jesus is the monogenais.
SPEAKER_00: He is the one who is promised, who was sent, the chosen one who miraculously fulfills God's covenant promises for the new covenant.
SPEAKER_00: And if you think about it even further, you think about the fact that, well, by faith we become children of God.
SPEAKER_00: Scripture tells us that we receive adoption as sons.
SPEAKER_00: And so God has many sons, if you think about it that way, but there's one of a kind son, isn't there?
SPEAKER_00: A unique son.
SPEAKER_00: His name is Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He is the promised one who God sent into the world.
SPEAKER_00: He is the gift, the chosen one who suffered and died for our sins.
SPEAKER_00: None of us can do that.
SPEAKER_00: He's the one of a kind son who suffered and died for our sins.
SPEAKER_00: He was raised for our salvation, and he is the greatest gift imaginable.
SPEAKER_00: He is the hero.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is the unique son, the one of a kind son, the one who came to save us.
SPEAKER_00: And how do we receive that salvation?
SPEAKER_00: Well, that leads us now to our last point.
SPEAKER_00: So now that we've seen number one, the first point, this hunger for truth, Nicodemus is asking questions, and then we go into the verse and we see number two, the heart of God, that God loves the world so much.
SPEAKER_00: And there is a way in which God demonstrates that love.
SPEAKER_00: That leads to point three, that there is a hero who saves.
SPEAKER_00: God sent his one-of-a-kind son, his unique son to the world.
SPEAKER_00: And how do we receive the gift of salvation?
SPEAKER_00: Well, finally, number four, it's the hope of mankind, the hope for mankind.
SPEAKER_00: Notice how the verse ends.
SPEAKER_00: John 3.16 says this: For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: You see, God loves you and he loves me.
SPEAKER_00: He loves everybody so much.
SPEAKER_00: And the way he demonstrates that vast love is that he sent his one-of-a-kind son, who came, suffered, died, rose from the dead.
SPEAKER_00: That whoever believes.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when John uses this word believe, he's talking about more than just mental ascent.
SPEAKER_00: He's talking about embracing this with your heart.
SPEAKER_00: It's trust, it's reliance, it's placing your faith and committing yourself to Jesus alone.
SPEAKER_00: John repeatedly talks about the importance of believing.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, his whole gospel, he says at the very end, he wrote it so that you might believe, and by believing you might have life in his name.
SPEAKER_00: So belief is the whole point here.
SPEAKER_00: And we receive the gift of salvation through belief.
SPEAKER_00: Belief.
SPEAKER_00: And those who truly trust in Jesus and believe on him and believe in what he's done for them.
SPEAKER_00: John says they should not perish.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this word perish means die.
SPEAKER_00: So is what John's saying right here is if you're a follower of Jesus, you're never going to experience death.
SPEAKER_00: Is that what he's saying?
SPEAKER_00: Well, that sounds kind of funny, right?
SPEAKER_00: Because I know a lot of people who've died who are followers of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, I was thinking about it this week.
SPEAKER_00: A couple months ago, my grandmother passed away, was my last surviving grandparent, and from a really young age, she was a strong follower of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And throughout the course of her life, she's one of those classic examples of somebody who didn't diminish in her faith or her walk with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: It just increased and grew and grew and grew.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, she got to a point in her life where her body became very frail, but her faith was just more fervent than ever.
SPEAKER_00: She became a prayer warrior.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, uh I at times would talk with her about things at the church.
SPEAKER_00: And if there's a big situation in someone's life, I might share that situation, and she would write down the name of somebody and pray for them daily.
SPEAKER_00: There's people in this room right now, today, and I know for a fact that she prayed for you daily.
SPEAKER_00: Like, most incredible woman, firm faith, awesome.
SPEAKER_00: To the bitter end, she trusted in Jesus, but then she died.
SPEAKER_00: But here's the thing her death was not final, nor was it permanent.
SPEAKER_00: It's a temporary thing.
SPEAKER_00: Her body may have been separated from her soul in death, but it's not an ultimate death.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, right now, she is in the presence of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I believe that firmly.
SPEAKER_00: And Paul says when you're in the presence of the Lord, it's better by far.
SPEAKER_00: So how you're doing today and how I'm doing that pales in comparison to how my grandma's doing.
SPEAKER_00: She's doing awesome.
SPEAKER_00: She's with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And that's not the end of the story for her body, because on the last day she shall be raised up.
SPEAKER_00: She'll be resurrected just like Jesus, and she'll spend eternity with him.
SPEAKER_00: So she may have died physically, but she didn't die ultimately.
SPEAKER_00: It's a temporary thing.
SPEAKER_00: And those who trust in Jesus do not experience ultimate death because they're given this gift of eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: It's abundant life both now and for all eternity.
SPEAKER_00: This is life to the end of the age.
SPEAKER_00: It's life everlasting.
SPEAKER_00: That's what we're given.
SPEAKER_00: I learned that good news a long time ago.
SPEAKER_00: I learned the good news of John 3.16 a long time ago.
SPEAKER_00: And if I search around my house, no doubt I'll have the vest to prove it.
SPEAKER_00: I'll use this one for now, though.
SPEAKER_00: I know that truth.
SPEAKER_00: I learned it many years ago.
SPEAKER_00: I memorized it.
SPEAKER_00: 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.
SPEAKER_00: That verse is burned in my brain.
SPEAKER_00: And I want you to know this morning, I may have outgrown the vest.
SPEAKER_00: But may we never be people who outgrow that truth.
SPEAKER_00: May we be people who live and embrace that truth all our days.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, the big idea I want to bring you this morning is very simply this: never outgrow the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel is never old news.
SPEAKER_00: It is always good news and it's always fresh.
SPEAKER_00: If we're honest.
SPEAKER_00: It's news we always need to hear, never outgrow the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: It is good news that never grows old.
SPEAKER_00: It's the news that we need to remind ourselves about over and over and over again.
SPEAKER_00: We should preach the gospel to ourselves regularly and often.
SPEAKER_00: We should remind ourselves of who God is.
SPEAKER_00: He is a God who loves so much.
SPEAKER_00: We should remind ourselves of what God has done.
SPEAKER_00: He loves so much.
SPEAKER_00: And the way he expresses it is that he sent his one and only Son.
SPEAKER_00: We should remind ourselves about who we are.
SPEAKER_00: We are people who required the death of God's son.
SPEAKER_00: But if we believe, whoever believes will not ultimately die, we'll have everlasting life, eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: That is good news.
SPEAKER_00: That's good news we should preach to ourselves over and over and over again.
SPEAKER_00: May we never outgrow that.
SPEAKER_00: There are some of you in the room, as I said, who are probably searching today.
SPEAKER_00: You're looking for truth, looking for answers.
SPEAKER_00: I hope that today would be the day where you would come to the end of your search.
SPEAKER_00: That you would realize that you're a sinner, and that no matter how hard you try, you can never climb your way up to God.
SPEAKER_00: You cannot earn your own salvation.
SPEAKER_00: None of us can.
SPEAKER_00: We're insufficient to do those things.
SPEAKER_00: You don't need to work your way up to God.
SPEAKER_00: God came down to you in the person of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He lived that perfect life in your place.
SPEAKER_00: He died that death you deserved.
SPEAKER_00: And by grace and through faith in Jesus, we can be reconciled to a holy God and brought into this relationship.
SPEAKER_00: I hope that you've come to the end of your search and you've realized that you found him, the truth, the way, the truth, and the life is Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I hope that you've come to that realization today and that you're trusting in him.
SPEAKER_00: But for those of you who've heard this since you were a little kid like me, I hope that this is not something that you just say, oh, got that done.
SPEAKER_00: Gospel, okay, let me graduate from John 3.16 and move on to the rest of my life.
SPEAKER_00: No, you got to hear this over and over and over again.
SPEAKER_00: We need to remind ourselves daily of who God is and what he's done and who we are and what he's done for us.
SPEAKER_00: Because it's through this gospel that we begin, as we bask in these truths, we begin to change and be transformed.
SPEAKER_00: God takes the gospel, his word, and he uses that us to stir our affections greater for God and to begin to conform more and more to the image of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: The gospel is for all of us each and every day.
SPEAKER_00: It is not old news, it is good news.
SPEAKER_00: Regardless of who you are today, this is good news.
SPEAKER_00: We never outgrow it.
SPEAKER_00: So my hope today, my prayer for you, regardless of who you are, is that you have the opportunity to reflect and celebrate this incredible news of a loving God who made a way for you.
SPEAKER_00: He made a way through his son Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: That's good news that never grows old.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Father, thank you for today.
SPEAKER_00: I thank you for that truth.
SPEAKER_00: I just pray that that would saturate our minds and hearts so deeply today.
SPEAKER_00: I pray specifically for the person who came into the room searching and seeking, Lord, I pray that they would come to the place where they would hear and they would see the truth of the gospel and they would respond in faith.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, I pray that you draw them to yourself, that you would shine that light of the gospel into their eyes.
SPEAKER_00: I pray that they would come to the end of themselves and find you, and Lord, realize that you are everything.
SPEAKER_00: And Father, for those of us who we just feel like this is commonplace, there are some people in the room who've been walking with you a long time and maybe their faith feels stale.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, I pray that you would just shake them right now.
SPEAKER_00: Help them not to go through the motions, just presuming that the gospel is something that they move on from and that they can leave behind.
SPEAKER_00: But Lord, I pray that you would just bring this truth to their minds and hearts today very clearly, very vividly.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to remember this incredible truth each and every day.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to meditate on it.
SPEAKER_00: These are more than just words that we recite without thinking, Lord.
SPEAKER_00: This is the truth of the gospel, distilled in a profoundly powerful way.
SPEAKER_00: This is why this is one of the most popular verses in the entire world.
SPEAKER_00: And so we thank you for it, Lord.
SPEAKER_00: We thank you for the truth of the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: We love you.
SPEAKER_00: We just pray that you would shape us more and more by this incredible truth for your glory and for our good.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.