13 January 2019 2 PM
The Enormity of God’s Love
Reading: : Psalm 5
Text: John 3:1-17 (text; v.16)
SERMON: The Enormity of God’s Love
We come today to the most well-known verse in the Bible, John 3:16. It is a verse which everybody thinks they understand and indeed, it is a simple verse – but it is also a verse which is often made to say some things it does not say and in doing so, people miss the real greatness of God’s love. This happens because we often come to the Bible with preconceptions about what it should be saying, or even about what words mean. The crucial word here is the word world. What does John mean by the word world in our text? Well, it’s obvious, you say. It means the whole world and everybody in it. The problem with that is that the infinite God’s love turns out not to be so great after all – quite measureable actually. The other problem is that if Jesus loved the world in that sense, what does John mean when he tells us in his first letter that “if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him”? So let’s go digging, not forgetting either that this text is given us in the context of the story about Nicodemus needing to be born again. Three points:
1. God’s love is so great he loved the world;
2. God’s love is so great he loved a world so sinful it was condemned to death; and,
3. God’s love is so great he sent his own Son to die for a world so sinful it was condemned to death.
Psalm 5 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.
For the choir director; for [a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.
5 Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my [b]groaning.
2 Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
3 In the morning, O Lord, [c]You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will order my [d]prayer to You and eagerly watch.
4 For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil [e]dwells with You.
5 The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes;
You hate all who do iniquity.
6 You destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
[f]At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You.
8 O Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of [g]my foes;
Make Your way [h]straight before me.
9 There is nothing [i]reliable in [j]what they say;
Their inward part is destruction itself.
Their throat is an open grave;
They [k]flatter with their tongue.
10 Hold them guilty, O God;
By their own devices let them fall!
In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out,
For they are rebellious against You.
11 But let all who take refuge in You be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And [l]may You shelter them,
That those who love Your name may exult in You.
12 For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord,
You surround him with favor as with a shield.
John 3:1-17 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
The New Birth
3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; 2 this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these [a]signs that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born [b]again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus *said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born [c]again.’8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. 12 If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. 14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;15 so that whoever [d]believes will in Him have eternal life.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His [e]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.