Written By Trina Bresser Matous,Michigan
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever should believe in Him should have everlasting life. John 3.16
This one verse
summarizes the history of God’s relationship with the world. It tells us
something about God, something about Jesus, something about what we are called
to, and something about this life.
For God The first words of this verse direct attention to God. God takes
action. Before humans sought God, God was taking action on their behalf. This
sets Christianity apart from all other religions. Only in the Christian faith
is it God who takes the initiative. Only in Christianity is personal and
intimate relationship with God possible because God pursues us.
So loved the world The basis of all God does is love. Before the existence of the world, God loved. His love was shown in the perfect community and unity of the Trinity. The Trinity is a mystery hard for humanity to understand: one God, three persons known as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. |
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Out of love and to share love, the Godhead created the world and all that is in it.God intended to
walk in perfect love and community with man and woman, the prize of all
creation, but evil and sin worked its way between God and mankind. Chaos entered
the world and caused a vast separation between God and the people He loved. God
could have turned His back and left humanity to its own devices, but He didnot.
He continued to love. He continued to pursue those He loved so dearly. And He
put a plan in place to restore the relationship between Himself and those He
loved.
He gave The penalty for the sin that separates us from God is death. The
penalty must be satisfied in order to restore the relationship between God and
us. But the vast separation between God and humanity cannot be bridged by
anything any of us can do. We can never be good enough, loving enough, perfect
enough or holy enough to restore the broken relationship. God gave the means
for restoring the relationship. God can and has done the one thing that is
required to restore the relationship. He gave. He did what we cannot.
His only begotten Son Jesus, the only begotten Son who lived in perfect
love, unity and community, left the Godhead. While remaining fully God, he took
the form of a man to also be fully human. During His life on earth, He modeled
the love of the Father. Even more importantly He did what not one of us could
do. He paid the penalty for sin. Jesus, the beloved Son of the Father, the only
man to ever live without sinning, took on the burden of all of humanity’s sin
and paid the death penalty by becoming the perfect sacrifice on our behalf. In
so doing, for one brief moment, it looked as though evil had won. Jesus was
dead. God endured the painful sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus, so that the
penalty would be paid and we could be restored to relationship with Him. After
three days, Jesus was raised from the dead as a show of God’s power and triumph
over evil and sin.
Whoever should believe Now God invites us to do one simple act. We are called to believe in Jesus. By putting our faith in the sacrifice of His life that the penalty of our sin might be paid,we are restored into full relationship with God. We no longer carry the burden of our sin. |
We no longer need to strive through good deeds, religious ritual, karma, or any other human effort. Jesus’ death paid the price of sin and His resurrection invites us to live in relationship with theFather. Through
Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, we get the privilege and blessing of experiencing
the unity and community of the Godhead in our own lives. We are wrapped in the
love of the Father, blanketed by the grace of the Son and cloaked in the power
of the Holy Spirit.
Should have everlasting life This life is not all there is. The penalty
Jesus paid on our behalf affects this life and calls us to the next life. We
still experience physical death, but for those who choose to believe, death is
really birth into eternity with God. For all of time and beyond believers in
Christ will exist in perfect union with the Trinity. There will be no more evil
and sin, no more suffering and injustice, no more pain and sickness. We will
experience joy, peace and love beyond our imaginations.
Where are you
today? Have you done the one and only thing that restores your relationship
with the Father and guarantees you eternal life? If you have not, I invite you
to place your faith in Jesus Christ. Pain and suffering will not be erased in
this life, but you will have the love, peace and joy of Jesus to sustain and
empower you. And best of all, whatever you experience in this life will be far
surpassed bythe peace and joy that come with eternal life.
Author Bio: Trina is the author of Paul’s Letters to the Early Church, which was released in September 2014 and is the first in the Christian Living Bible Study Series.She has a Masters of Arts in Christian Ministry from Ashland Theological Seminary and is a passionate Bible teacher and writer. For over 20 years, Trina has shared Biblical truths |
Facebook author page- https://www.facebook.com/TBresserMatous