For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whomsoever believes in Him shall be saved. ”
What does this verse *really* mean? What type of divine *love* is it referring to when it says “God so loved the world?”
it so well that it is easy to take it for granted because we hear it so often.
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~More on the True Love of Jesus~ (Material in this section copied directly from several sources, see sources below.) Jesus’ Sacrifice & The Love That Motivated It. This section is dedicated to Jesus, the Son of God. The Son of God Who willingly came to die for us so that we could have the privilege of knowing Him as our personal Savior and Friend. To know Jesus is to know Love. To know Jesus is to know true self-worth. To know Jesus is to know the most true and dependable Friend you could ever hope to have. To know Jesus is to know what true Family is. To know Jesus means to have a deep peace that passes all understanding. To know Jesus is to eagerly desire to know all that you can about Him. To know Jesus is to desire to obey Him and trust Him with all Your heart. I cannot say enough about Jesus and about how truly wonderful He is and how He has changed my life. He has given me a purpose and a fulfillment that I have never found in anyone or anything else. My most sincere hope is that this section will open your eyes to Who Jesus *truly* is. That you will let Him into your heart and in doing so find your true purpose for living...Him. ~WHAT THIS SECTION IS ABOUT~ This section provides a revealing look at Jesus and the Love that He has for each of us, on an individual basis. The material in this section focuses on the pain that Jesus experienced when He died on Calvary. There are several articles in the scrollbox below that give a medical evaluation of exactly what He endured when He died. Medical documentation unquestionably reveals the absolute reality of what Jesus was willing to endure for each of us. Isaiah 52:14 (Amplified Bible) states,"[For many the Servant of God became an object of horror; many were astonished at Him.] His face and His whole appearance were marred more than any man's, and His form beyond that of the sons of men- -but just as many were astonished at Him." After reading this medical documentation I can clearly see why this shockingly descriptive verse was penned by Isaiah to describe Jesus on the day of his Death. It is also important to note that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead 3 days after He died on the Cross. He is alive today and sitting at the right hand of His Father. However, for us to truly appreciate His Resurrection, we also need to fully understand His Death. I will WARN everyone beforehand that the scrollbox articles below do contain graphic and brutal material. They are marked as “GRAPHIC” and “VERY GRAPHIC” so that you can see which of the articles are more intense and less intense. ~WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE?~ Most of us know that Jesus came to die on Calvary in our place. In fact, we hear this truth *so* often that it is easy for us to take it for granted. But do we *really comprehend* what He went through for us? Do we really grasp the depth of *Self-Sacrifice* that He *willingly* endured for us? What does the Bible mean when it says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His *ONLY* Begotten Son that whomsoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)? Have you ever devoted the time to ponder and to consider what this verse *truly* means? God desires a personal, intimate relationship with each one of us. However, sin made this relationship impossible and separated man from God. Only through the death of Jesus could this relationship be reconciled. Anyone who has studied the process of crucifixion knows that it entails unspeakable agony and pain. this section, I was shocked to read what Jesus actually endured from a physical point of view. I saw His Sacrifice in an entirely different way. I saw that the heart of God is filled with unspeakable love. I saw that Jesus was not forced to die for us but He willingly chose to.... understanding full well what He would endure *before* He ever endured it. The Bible clearly says that He knew exactly what He would suffer from the foundation of time. (Revelation 13:8) I saw that the love that motivated Jesus' death extended to each and every person that has ever been alive I recognized that if only ONE person would have accepted Him then He would have willingly endured all He did for that ONE person. Mind boggling isn't it? The Love that Jesus portrayed when He died cannot be fathomed or understood by our finite, limited minds. ~FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD~ Have you truly considered the true meaning of John 3:16 when it says that “God so loved the world”? Have you ever wondered what the connection is between God's Love for the world and the Sacrifice of Jesus? We need to realize that there is infinitely more to God than a dutiful, casual acknowledgment of His existence. More to Him than a Sunday school story. He reveals Himself to mankind for the sole purpose of pursuing a personal, individual relationship with each of the people He lovingly created. An all-knowing God willingly allowed His Son, Who is a dearly-treasured part of Him, to die for each of us. Why would such a HUGE God go out of His way to *deliberately* care about the SMALL creation of humanity? ~GOD IS THE SUN, WE ARE THE SAND~ In order to mentally picture the unfathomable way that God relates to man, consider the following illustration. I view God as the Sun over a beach that is never-ending. A beach in which the beginning and end are not known because of its vastness. The Sun (God) continually warms the beach as His rays shine over the beach. The specks of sand glisten in its light. Each person in the world would be represented by a tiny speck of sand on this never -ending beach. Next, consider the size difference between the sun that is so big it is able to warm and shine upon this never-ending beach. Then consider, from the Sun's perspective as He warmly gazes down on the beach...how infinitely tiny and small each grain of sand must be in be in His Eyes. Think about the size difference! What value would a speck of sand seem to have to the huge Sun? Most people would say "none." Surprisingly, God disagrees. He says we do. God says that He knows each every one of the individual specks of sand that He warms. The Sun knows *each* minute detail of *each* speck of sand on this never-ending beach. Even more inconceivable is the fact that the Sun allowed His only Child - the warmest and most radiant part of the Sun's heart to willingly sacrifice Himself for each one of the specks of sand below. Why would the Child of the BIG Sun decide to die for each one of the TINY specks of sand? Well the specks of sand are very close to the ocean. The ocean is known as the Ocean of Sin. Ever so often the Ocean's Tide of Sin will come up onto the beach to capture as many of the the specks of sand that it can. The specks are then helplessly drawn into its tumultuous waves. The Sun absolutely hated to see the specks of sand that He so lovingly warmed and protected to suffer such a fate. The only known way for the Sun to protect the specks of sand was to build a barrier between them and the tide. The problem was that this barrier had to be built repeatedly because the tide from the ocean was so strong that when it beat against the barrier, it broke. As a result, there was no permanent protection for the specks of sand. In order to make the protective barrier permanently stable so it would not continually topple down, the Sun realized that the barrier had to be sealed with a special glue. This glue was known as "salvation glue." This special glue was rare because it could only be obtained through the death of the Child of the Sun. Why would the Child of the Sun care if tiny, itty bitty specks of sand were washed away? Why would He willingly volunteer to die for the protection of the sand specks?? Because He knew everything about each speck of sand that He warmed with His rays; each one was very precious to Him. So He willingly died to protect each and every individual speck of sand. His death provided the glue of salvation that kept the barrier between the sand and the ocean tide separated. With the salvation glue in place, nothing could ever tear down this separation barrier. The sand specks would be permanently protected and separated from the Ocean of Sin and its tide It is absolutely impossible for the human mind to comprehend such a concept isn't it? The absolute love, devotion, and compassion shown for each of the tiny individual specks of sand from the Sun is unfathomable. It is a baffling thought at best. ~THE GOD-GIVEN PRIVILEGE OF CHOICE~ God created man so that He could share Himself with him. God created man with the ability to make choices. God did not want a people who were like robots that only did what they were told. God did not want a people that He had to force to love Him; that is not real love. God wanted a people who would willingly love Him, not because they *had* to but because they *wanted* to. God places great value on the heart of a person who willingly chooses to love Him. The love Jesus displayed on the Cross was totally based voluntary choice. Jesus died so that we could the choice to voluntarily return this love. However, this divine gift of choice ultimately led to Jesus' death. Like it was mentioned above, Jesus knew before time that He would have to die for us (Revelation 13:8). He still willingly chose to do so. To someone who is not a Christian, the idea of God creating a people that He knew would sin and that His Son would eventually have to die for seems ludicrous. Yet, even though God knew that man would sin, He knew that certain individuals would willingly choose to worship, praise, and follow His Son, Jesus. It was for these people that Jesus willingly died. Jesus' death was for the sole purpose of reuniting God and these people. Jesus' blood was the only way that the severed connection between man and God could be reconciled. When God first created man and woman, He created them with the ability to choose. God gave them commandments and told them that if they chose to disobey them then they would surely die. God told them that they could eat fruit from any tree in the Garden of Eden except for the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil found at the center of the Garden. As we know, man and woman chose not to follow God and believed the lies of God's enemy, Satan. Before man sinned, he and God had close, personal communion. However, after man sinned, this close communion was permanently severed. God's predicted consequence of death came true when man sinned. (Genesis 1:26-3:24) Sin is death to everything and everyone it comes into contact with. (Romans 6:23) ~THE CONSEQUENCES OF MAN'S CHOICE TO SIN AND TO DISOBEY GOD~ The divine "privilege of choice" is a double edged sword. You cannot have the choice to love God without being given the choice to not love Him. Each decision that requires a choice will have a sinful and an un-sinful side to it. So, now that man has chosen to sin, how does his decision affect his personal relationship to God? ~WHY A HOLY GOD CANNOT TOLERATE THE PLAGUE OF SIN~ Sin permanently cut the ties of relationship between Himself and man. To a Holy God, sin is like a deadly plague. He cannot be near it because of its unholiness. Consider the following verse which states that "iniquities have separated you from your God." Isaiah 59:2 (NIV), But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." Sin erects a barrier between man and God. Sin cuts people off from him, forming a wall to isolate God from the people he loves. Sadly, people who die with their life of sin unforgiven separate themselves eternally from God. God wants them to live with Him forever, but He cannot take them into His Holy Presence unless their sin is removed. Sin not only shuts away from God, but destroys in the human soul both the desire and the capacity for knowing Him. ~THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD PROVIDES SIN REMISSION~ Hebrews 9:22 says, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." God desperately sought to reconcile the severed connection between Himself and man. God knew that the *only possible* way to provide reconciliation between Himself and man was through a blood sacrifice. All throughout the Bible, this is a recurring theme. What about blood was necessary to remiss sin? Sin makes us dead to God. Blood represents life. In God's Eyes, the life that He saw in the sacrificial blood healed man from the death of sin. The blood made man alive before God by covering the death of his sin. In the Old Testament, the Israelites had to sacrifice a *perfect* animal to cover their sins so that they could approach God at a distance. However, this sacrifice only covered sin temporarily. As mentioned above, God desperately sought to reconcile His relationship to man. This temporary sacrifice made it possible for God to temporarily dwell among men. One of the most astounding truths in the Bible is God's desire to dwell among man. He created them for this sole purpose "that we might know, believe, and understand Him through personal relationship (Isaiah 43:10). Finally, God decided that He could no longer abide "temporarily" with man; He wanted to abide *permanently* with man. ~THE DIVINE COMMITMENT OF PERMANENT SACRIFICE~ The only way to permanently remove the sin barrier between God and man was to offer a perfect, permanent Sacrifice. This permanent sacrifice would do away with the temporary sacrifice that we see in the Old Testament. The permanent Sacrifice would require that part of man die and part of God die. This was the only way that man and God could be truly and permanently reconciled. Both parts of the Sacrifice, the part of man and the part of God had to be perfect and unblemished. This presented a problem because no man is perfect and sinless. Man's entire being is saturated with sin. ~JESUS, THE PERFECT MAN~ God knew that without a perfect man that it would be impossible to reconcile His desired relationship to man. His Only option? To allow His Son to take on human flesh and become a man. His Son would be a human man, except He did not allow the sinful nature of man to taint Him. His Son, Jesus, would take our place as the human part of the sacrifice needed to mend the irreparable relationship between man and God. When the Bible says that “God so loved the world" that He allowed Jesus to “give Himself” on our behalf, this is the strongest, most self-less demonstration of Love conceivable. Jesus was half man and half God. As a man, Jesus enjoyed the same daily practices and routines that normal, "everyday" people did in His day. The only thing that noticeably made Him different was that He was God’s Son - Who had become man so that He could be part man and part God. He was like any person we would see on a daily basis. He had parents like we all do. He had siblings. He played with the neighborhood kids, ate meals with His friends and family. Jesus was perfect and and undefiled as a Man...and as God. ~RECONCILIATION FOUND ONLY IN THE BLOOD OF JESUS~ It was only through the Sacrifice of Jesus that we can approach God in a sinless and blameless state. Man can only achieve this sinless state through Jesus. Sinful man cannot approach God through any other but Jesus. "No man comes to the Father but by Me [Jesus]." (John 6:44) Jesus continually knocks on the door of our hearts. Jesus continually calls us to Him until our dying day. Jesus says that He will abide permanently with those who answer His knock and open the doors of their hearts to Him. (Revelation 3:20). ~JESUS ALSO HAD THE ABILITY TO CHOOSE~ It is important to note that God also had the divine privilege of choice just like man did. The only difference is that it is impossible for God to sin and do evil. Knowing that Jesus *willingly* came(John 10:15-18)and gave Himself for us provides us with a reality that is often overlooked when discussing His death. Jesus did not have to die for us, He *could* have chosen not to go through with the Cross Jesus *could* have chosen not to die. He *could* have said, "No" to dying on our behalf. As a result and all mankind would be eternally separated from God, with no hope of redemption or salvation. Consider the prayer He made in the Garden of Gethsemane right before He was captured. In Luke 21:41-42, we see Jesus in such agony that He began His prayer with "If it be Your will let this cup pass from Me." God would have granted His request if Jesus had not finished His prayer with, "Not MY will but THY Will be done." He choose to submit. Jesus was not forced to die for our sins, He willingly chose to let Himself die. ~TWELVE LEGIONS OF ANGELS~ Consider further evidence of Jesus' willingness to give Himself on our behalf. As they came to capture Jesus and take Him away to kill Him, Peter reached out and cut off the ear of the High Priest's servant, Malchus. Jesus emphatically and angrily told Peter to put his sword away. (John 18:10-11) Jesus also made Peter aware of the fact that *if* He decided to call upon His Father for protection, He would immediately provide more than 12 legions of angels (more than 80,000) to protect Him. He then told Peter, that if He indeed called upon divine protection how would the Scriptures be fulfilled? Jesus clearly stated that He *could* have asked for help and God would have provided. Yet, He said He would obey His Father's will and submit Himself as a willing Sacrifice for the individuals of mankind. (Matthew 26:53-54) ~BETH MOORE OFFERS A REVEALING PERSPECTIVE ON JESUS' DECISION TO DIE FOR MANKIND~ Jesus, before He was arrested, endured such physical, emotional, and psychological stress that it is nothing short of a miracle that He did not refuse to give Himself as a Sacrifice on our behalf. Beth Moore (2) provides a revealing look into tortuous and agonizing moments and struggles that Jesus willingly endured prior to His arrest. In speaking about Jesus' prayer to "remove this cup from Me" she writes, "Do not subtract God's freedom of choice from this picture. God could have chosen to reject the way of the Cross. After all, He is the sovereign of the universe. That God could have stopped the process yet didn't is a matchless demonstration of love. Can you think of anyone for whom you'd watch your only child be tortured to death? [Jesus said]"Abba Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from Me." (Mark 14:36). The request that Christ placed before the Father ought to make us catch our breath. [Jesus' prayer] ascended to heaven through wails of grief. God's beloved was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Luke's Gospel tells us His sweat dropped like blood [Luke 22:44], a condition almost unheard of except when the physical body is placed in more stress and grief than it was fashioned to handle. Do we think that God sat on His throne unmoved? Our hearts ought to miss a beat. Christ could have walked past the cross. He could have - but He didn't. Luke 22:47 tells us, "While He was still speaking a crowd came to arrest Jesus. Imagine the scene they walked into that night. Please try and grasp Christ's physical condition before the crowd headed up the Mount of Olives to seize Him. Like a body that rejects a transplanted organ, the human body of Jesus Christ was practically tearing itself apart. The full throttle of the divine impact and emotion was almost more than one human body could endure. The stress had nearly turned Him inside out. I do not make this point to emphasize His weakness. Quite the contrary. In fact I find the scene recorded in John 18:6 portrays His incredible power. When Jesus told the crowd, "I am He," even overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, the proclaimed presence of Jesus Christ knocked the mob to the ground. Dear, sweet Jesus. We really have no idea Who You are, do we? Your God-ness could not be diminished for a moment, in or out of that prison of flesh. Lord, don't let us forget. You, who submitted Yourself to the hands of sinful men, were [the] very God. As we allow the Holy Spirit to escort us to a place of fresh insight and gratitude, we're considering not only what God has done that He didn't have to do, but also what he didn't do that He could have. God deserves our praise both for what He has done and what He hasn't done." ~WE MUST NOT TAKE JESUS' SACRIFICE FOR GRANTED~ One of the most tragic things that I can think of is how the suffering that Jesus endured has lost obvious reality of what *really* happened. What He endured is not some "feel good story" that so many sentimentally celebrate at Easter. I do believe it is okay to celebrate that Jesus loved us enough to die for us. What I do not think is okay is to not truly ponder the depth of what He did out of love for us....and to offer our most heartfelt praise and worship to Him. Our minds are limited to fully comprehending and understanding what Jesus endured and what personal Sacrifice He made on our behalf. Yet, someday, when we see Him in Glory we will know Him fully and comprehend fully the true depths of His Loving Heart. (I Corinthians 13:9-10) We will be given heavenly crowns and be recognized as His beloved children. We will understand what a true selfless display of Love that His Death was. We will see how our eternal destinations truly hinged upon His decision to give His Precious Blood on Calvary. It is at that time that we will fall prostrate at His Feet. We will throw our crowns at His Feet and worship Him for all eternity. (Revelation 4:10b) Until doing research for this site, I *never* grasped how truly repugnant sin is to God. But for Jesus to endure what He did to permanently remiss our sins, I see things in a much harsher light. There is no level of severity as as far as sin is concerned; it is all equally vile. Telling a ‘white lie’ is just as horrid to God as killing someone. Jesus proved that all sin, no matter what the sin is, is equally abhorrent to God. He did not endure several deaths for several levels of sin. He endured the same sacrificial death for each and every sin. I am also absolutely convinced that He would gone through each and every brutally cruel part of His Death if only ONE person decided to believe on Him and come to Him for salvation. Jesus loves us that much! He demonstrated this unfathomable love to those who we would say least deserved it. He extended His love to those who so evilly crucified Him. He asked God to forgive them because they did not know what they were doing! What is even more astounding is that He petitioned God for their forgiveness immediately after they nailed Him to the Cross!(Luke 23:24) The only thing He says that we have to do to be saved is to *believe* on Him - that He died, rose again, and that He is the Only Begotten Son of God Who died on our behalf. The process of salvation is simple because Jesus died a complicated death on our behalf. The way to truly be saved and to truly know Jesus is found in John 3:16. The Amplified version captures the full meaning of this verse, "For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life. For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him. It is my most sincere and heartfelt hope that you have come to know Jesus for the wonderful, loving God that He is. That you remotely comprehend the reality of what He endured for You because He loved You and wanted to know *you* for all of eternity. Thank you for reading this material. In the drop down menu below, you will see the complete Biblical history of Jesus' last days on Earth. The history begins with the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and ends with Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension. ~SOURCES:~ (1)http://www.search godsword.org/com/bcc/ view.cgi?book=lu& chapter=19&verse =41#Lu19_41 (2)Beth Moore,"Jesus, the One and Only" (pp 466, 467) (3)http://www.mtnsidechurch .org/fCMSBackend/img Root/Essays/why_did _jesus_die.doc (4)http//www.abible. com/devotions/2005/ 20050502-1812. May God Bless You. The scrollbox below provides several insightful articles about what Jesus truly endured when He gave His life. It is my deepest, heart-felt desire that you will realize how much He truly loves you and what He was willing to endure on your behalf.
( To view the articles please scroll down, click on the green links, and you will be directed to another page which will allow you to view the material. )Thank You for reading this material.