The Gospel

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, ESV)

Without question the most important thing in the Christian faith is the gospel.  In Galatians 1:8, the apostle Paul wrote, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed,” and in 1 Corinthians 15:14 he wrote, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”  From these two verses we come to the following conclusions:  1) The gospel is so vital to Christianity that any aberration to its content is worthy of condemnation; and 2) if the gospel is not true, then the Christian faith is a sham.

What exactly is the Christian gospel?  Based on the importance of the gospel to the Christian faith, it is vitally important that we have a clear understanding of what it is.  I believe John 3:16 offers the clearest and simplest explanation of the gospel in all of Scripture.  Let’s break this verse down in detail and see what we can learn about the gospel. 

The gospel is first and foremost an offer of salvation.  The Bible clearly states that mankind is born spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1).  What that implies is we are incapable of saving ourselves.  No amount of good works or religious activity can ever bridge the gap between man and God; and make no mistake, religion is man’s effort to reach God.  What man cannot do, God makes available.  It is God who initiates the offer of salvation to mankind.  “For God so loved the world.”  If mankind could earn their salvation, the verse would start out “for man so loved God.”  When I say that God initiates salvation, I also mean to imply that man is not actively searching for salvation (“No one seeks for God” Romans 3:11).  God reaches out to an ambivalent, even hostile, creation with the glorious offer of salvation.

What motivates God to do this?  Love.  “For God so loved the world.”  God is not obligated to save anyone; we’re all sinners worthy of condemnation before a holy and just God.  Since we’re all sinners, God would be perfectly just to condemn all of mankind to hell.  But as the psalmist wrote, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8).  The word used to translate “love” in the Hebrew is hesed, and in the Greek it’s agape.  This speaks of sacrificial love; the kind of love that acts based on the need of the one loved, not the one loving.  God doesn’t wait until we get our act together before going into action:  “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  God loves because it is in his nature to love (1 John 4:8).

Who are the recipients of God’s love?  The world.  “For God so loved the world.”  The word “world” can have several meanings depending on the context.  In this context, it is clearly referring to all of mankind.  There is a debate that arises in Christendom (usually between people from a Reformed background) as to whether Jesus gave himself for all of mankind or only for the elect.  This topic is an article all by itself, so I won’t get into it here.  Looking at this verse, though, there is nothing to indicate that there is any limitation on the gift of salvation; it is available to all people.

What did God’s love motivate him to do?  Give.  “That he gave his only Son.”  Love gives of itself.  If you truly love someone, you will give them whatever they need to grow and thrive as human beings.  God saw a need (a desperate need) and his love for us motivated him to give.  He didn’t just give any old thing, but his only Son (some translations say “his one and only Son,” or his “only begotten Son”).  This phrase needs a little explanation.  The phrase, “only Son,” is not meant to suggest that Jesus is an only child, or that he is a “son” in the sense that he is offspring.  The terms “Father” and “Son” when used of God and Jesus Christ describe relationship.  God is using earthly expressions to describe a spiritual reality to finite minds.  The closeness and intimacy of the relationship between the first and second person of the Trinity is analogous to the relationship between a father and his son.  But that doesn’t even really do it justice because the relationship between the Father and the Son dwarfs any human relationship between a father and a son.  The point being God’s love motivated him to give his absolute best—his one and only Son.

What do I have to do?  Choose.  “That whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  We have no control over being born again, that it is a working of the Holy Spirit.  God initiates salvation.  God chooses those whom he will save and the Holy Spirit does the work of re-birth.  If that is the case, where does my choice come in?  How can I choose salvation if I have no control over the process?  We have no control over the process, but we do have control over the response.  The response is faith.  Do you believe that God loved us enough to send us his Son?  Do you believe that the very Son of God willingly chose to set aside his divine prerogatives to take on human flesh and go to the cross for us?  As you’re reading this, do you feel yourself moved to respond in faith, or are you hardening your heart to the things of God?  Salvation may begin with a divine initiative, but it requires a human response to make it a reality.

What’s in it for me?  Eternal life.  “That whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  The word “perish” isn’t referring to physical death; that is a fate everyone will experience.  It is referring to eternal separation from God.  Death is a separation.  In physical death, your soul is separated from your body.  In spiritual death, your soul is separated from God’s beneficent presence.  It is truly amazing that so much depends on so little.  The very act of placing your faith in Jesus Christ determines your eternal destiny.  Rejection brings death, but faith brings eternal life.

Bottom Line:  God freely offers everyone the gift of salvation—everlasting life in his presence.  There are no strings attached, and once accepted the offer is irrevocable.  However, it’s only offered for a limited time.  As the writer of Hebrews says, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).  The time to choose is now!