[16] 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.
[17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
John 3:16 is used by many to teach that God loves everybody. From this verse is deduced the three words that are so common to the false gospel taught today - “God Loves You.”
Let me point out to you one person which the Scripture clearly states was hated by God. This is Esau. You can briefly read about him in Romans 9:11-13 and Malachi 1:2-5. He was hated before He was born. He was not hated in the sense of merely being ignored by God but was hated to the extent of God being actively opposed to him and his descendants. If there is one person or group that God hates then how can it be said that He loves everyone?
The basic misinterpretation of John 3:16 stems from giving a meaning to the word “world” which is incorrect. People assume that it means “everybody.” This is an erroneous assumption since the “world” seems to have as many as seven different meanings in the Scripture. These meanings are to be determined by the context of the passage.
In our own culture the word can have various meanings. We often refer to "the world of politics" or "the business world" or a “world of hurt.“ You've heard the sportscaster say, "Today in the world of sports…." Someone else says, “The world is out to get me.” We use “world” to refer to the earth, the whole creation, even the system or practices of life around us summed up as “the world in which we live.” It can even mean “mankind.” These uses of "world" are readily understood by us in their context.
In Scripture it is easy to see various uses of “world.” I John 2:15 begins, “Love not the world….” We would certainly not jump to the conclusion that the world here means everybody that has ever and will ever live. We read the whole verse, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” It is understood that the world system is that which is being spoken about.
Consider John 12:19. In regard to Jesus the Pharisees say "... the world is gone after him." Obviously everybody in the world was not following Jesus. The Pharisees were simply remarking that Jesus was getting a lot of attention or that all kinds of people were coming to Him.
John 17:9 is a most astounding statement. Jesus says, “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.” He makes it clear that he prays only for those whom God has given Him. He does not pray for the “world” of this verse. This world is the “world of unbelievers or the non-elect.”
Contemplate the meanings of this word in John 1:10. "He was in the world," (a portion of the habited earth) "and the world" (heaven and earth) "was made through him, and the world" (unbelievers) "knew him not."
Thus, my opinion is that the best interpretation of the "world" of John 3: 16 would be "world of believers" or “world of the chosen. " This interpretation would be in line with such passages as John 6:33; "For the bread of God is that which cometh down out of heaven, and giveth life unto the world." Jesus is this bread of God. He does not give life to all the people of the world but only to the elect. He explains in verse 51 that this is eternal life that He is referring to, that the bread is His flesh and it is given for the life of the world. Again, the only possibility being the world of believers, since they are the only ones receiving eternal life.
In John 3:17 we see that God sent Jesus into the world “that the world through him might be saved.” This is the same world that we find in John 3:16. It is the world that will not be condemned but that will be saved through Jesus Christ. Jesus is not going to save a world of everybody that ever lived. He is going to save the world that God loved. This is the world of believers.
But someone will say that verse seventeen is only teaching that the world might possibly be saved. In their view they believe that Jesus does not actually save but only makes salvation possible.
Consider this. My wife gave me ten dollars so that I should stop by the store on the way home and buy some eggs, milk and bread. Did she give me ten dollars thinking that I might possibly stop by the store if I feel like it and get the groceries? No! She gave me ten dollars fully expecting me to stop and get the groceries.
Now consider other Biblical examples. One only has to go back to verse 16 to the phrase “should not perish.” Does this merely mean the possibility of not perishing? The believer “ought not perish” or “might possibly not perish?” No! It is a statement of surety. The meaning here is that the believer will not perish.
“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again” (John 10:17). Is Jesus laying down His life that He might possibly get it back again? Of course not! He is laying down His life with the certainty that He will have it again.
“Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47).
Was the Lord Jesus Christ adding to His church those who should possibly be saved? What an absurdity! He was adding to His church those whom God decreed would be saved!
In all these examples we are dealing with statements of certainty and not statements of possibility. When Jesus says in John 3:17 that the world “might be saved” through Him He is not declaring a mere possibility but the fact that the world will definitely be saved through Him. And this world that is definitely saved is the world of God’s chosen, not every person that has ever lived.
In context this world that is going to be saved through Him is the same world that God did not send Him to condemn. It is the same world that God loves. It is the world of believers or the world of the elect.
The world of John 3:16 is the world that God loves. It is the same world which He will save in John 3:17. When understood properly that this world is the world of the elect believers these verses conform to the systematic teaching of the remainder of Scripture. It also eliminates the conflict of statements made about God’s hate for certain people found in such places as Malachi 1:2-5, Psalm 5:5, Psalm 11:5 and Romans 9:11-13.
You couldn't say "God Loves You" to these people and many others such as Pharoah (Romans 9:17), those who perished in the flood (Genesis 7:23) or whole nations (Deut. 20:16,17) who God instructed Israel to wipe out. God's love is placed upon His people whom He has chosen, the world of believers.
[17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
John 3:16 is used by many to teach that God loves everybody. From this verse is deduced the three words that are so common to the false gospel taught today - “God Loves You.”
Let me point out to you one person which the Scripture clearly states was hated by God. This is Esau. You can briefly read about him in Romans 9:11-13 and Malachi 1:2-5. He was hated before He was born. He was not hated in the sense of merely being ignored by God but was hated to the extent of God being actively opposed to him and his descendants. If there is one person or group that God hates then how can it be said that He loves everyone?
The basic misinterpretation of John 3:16 stems from giving a meaning to the word “world” which is incorrect. People assume that it means “everybody.” This is an erroneous assumption since the “world” seems to have as many as seven different meanings in the Scripture. These meanings are to be determined by the context of the passage.
In our own culture the word can have various meanings. We often refer to "the world of politics" or "the business world" or a “world of hurt.“ You've heard the sportscaster say, "Today in the world of sports…." Someone else says, “The world is out to get me.” We use “world” to refer to the earth, the whole creation, even the system or practices of life around us summed up as “the world in which we live.” It can even mean “mankind.” These uses of "world" are readily understood by us in their context.
In Scripture it is easy to see various uses of “world.” I John 2:15 begins, “Love not the world….” We would certainly not jump to the conclusion that the world here means everybody that has ever and will ever live. We read the whole verse, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” It is understood that the world system is that which is being spoken about.
Consider John 12:19. In regard to Jesus the Pharisees say "... the world is gone after him." Obviously everybody in the world was not following Jesus. The Pharisees were simply remarking that Jesus was getting a lot of attention or that all kinds of people were coming to Him.
John 17:9 is a most astounding statement. Jesus says, “I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.” He makes it clear that he prays only for those whom God has given Him. He does not pray for the “world” of this verse. This world is the “world of unbelievers or the non-elect.”
Contemplate the meanings of this word in John 1:10. "He was in the world," (a portion of the habited earth) "and the world" (heaven and earth) "was made through him, and the world" (unbelievers) "knew him not."
Thus, my opinion is that the best interpretation of the "world" of John 3: 16 would be "world of believers" or “world of the chosen. " This interpretation would be in line with such passages as John 6:33; "For the bread of God is that which cometh down out of heaven, and giveth life unto the world." Jesus is this bread of God. He does not give life to all the people of the world but only to the elect. He explains in verse 51 that this is eternal life that He is referring to, that the bread is His flesh and it is given for the life of the world. Again, the only possibility being the world of believers, since they are the only ones receiving eternal life.
In John 3:17 we see that God sent Jesus into the world “that the world through him might be saved.” This is the same world that we find in John 3:16. It is the world that will not be condemned but that will be saved through Jesus Christ. Jesus is not going to save a world of everybody that ever lived. He is going to save the world that God loved. This is the world of believers.
But someone will say that verse seventeen is only teaching that the world might possibly be saved. In their view they believe that Jesus does not actually save but only makes salvation possible.
Consider this. My wife gave me ten dollars so that I should stop by the store on the way home and buy some eggs, milk and bread. Did she give me ten dollars thinking that I might possibly stop by the store if I feel like it and get the groceries? No! She gave me ten dollars fully expecting me to stop and get the groceries.
Now consider other Biblical examples. One only has to go back to verse 16 to the phrase “should not perish.” Does this merely mean the possibility of not perishing? The believer “ought not perish” or “might possibly not perish?” No! It is a statement of surety. The meaning here is that the believer will not perish.
“Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again” (John 10:17). Is Jesus laying down His life that He might possibly get it back again? Of course not! He is laying down His life with the certainty that He will have it again.
“Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47).
Was the Lord Jesus Christ adding to His church those who should possibly be saved? What an absurdity! He was adding to His church those whom God decreed would be saved!
In all these examples we are dealing with statements of certainty and not statements of possibility. When Jesus says in John 3:17 that the world “might be saved” through Him He is not declaring a mere possibility but the fact that the world will definitely be saved through Him. And this world that is definitely saved is the world of God’s chosen, not every person that has ever lived.
In context this world that is going to be saved through Him is the same world that God did not send Him to condemn. It is the same world that God loves. It is the world of believers or the world of the elect.
The world of John 3:16 is the world that God loves. It is the same world which He will save in John 3:17. When understood properly that this world is the world of the elect believers these verses conform to the systematic teaching of the remainder of Scripture. It also eliminates the conflict of statements made about God’s hate for certain people found in such places as Malachi 1:2-5, Psalm 5:5, Psalm 11:5 and Romans 9:11-13.
You couldn't say "God Loves You" to these people and many others such as Pharoah (Romans 9:17), those who perished in the flood (Genesis 7:23) or whole nations (Deut. 20:16,17) who God instructed Israel to wipe out. God's love is placed upon His people whom He has chosen, the world of believers.
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