John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only born Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Context and meaning
This is the best-known verse in the Bible, and it appears in the middle of a night conversation. Nicodemus, a respected teacher among the Jews, comes to Jesus in secret, at night, to understand who he is. After speaking of being born again, Jesus sums everything up in one sentence that has crossed twenty centuries.
The center of the sentence is a verb: loved. The initiative is not human — the world does not climb up to God; God gives himself to the world. And "the world" here is not a select group; in John's Gospel the word usually means humanity in opposition to God. It is precisely that world that is loved.
The consequence is presented as an open choice: "whoever believes in him". There is no list of names, no prerequisite of origin or merit. Believing, in John, is more than agreeing: it is entrusting your life to someone.
The next verse completes the thought and prevents a common misunderstanding: God did not send the Son to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through him. If you want to read the whole scene, start at the beginning of the chapter.
Related verses
For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This verse appears in
Scripture text: World English Bible (WEB), public domain. Prayers, introductions and reflections: original text by this site, not affiliated with any denomination. Devotional content; it does not replace medical, psychological or legal advice.
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