God So Loved | John 3:16

John 3:16 is not just a verse. It is a window into the heart of God.

In this message, we examine the nighttime encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus. This was not a debate between a teacher and a skeptic. It was a divine conversation between the Son of God and a man deeply committed to religion, but still in need of salvation.

Jesus told him the truth: You must be born again.

The Initiative of God

This conversation is not about human effort. It’s about divine initiative. Nicodemus had knowledge, "morality", and influence. But none of that could produce new life. New birth is something only God can give. It is not about doing better, it is about becoming new.

The Judgment of God

Jesus pointed Nicodemus to a strange Old Testament moment in Numbers 21. The people of Israel had rebelled. God sent judgment in the form of venomous snakes. But He also gave mercy, a bronze serpent lifted on a pole. Those who looked in faith were healed.

That moment was a shadow. The real fulfillment came when Christ was lifted up on the cross. There, the full judgment of God against sin was poured out, not on the guilty, but on the innocent, that is on Jesus.

God So Loved | John 3:16

God So Loved, John 3:16 begins with God.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son…”

This is holy love. It is love that moves. Love that gives. Love that sacrifices. God did not just feel love, He showed it. At the cross, God did not excuse sin. He judged it. And in that judgment, He made a way for anyone to be saved.

The Call of God

This message is not about trying harder. It is about trusting the One who was lifted up. Anyone who looks to Christ in faith will live.

The gospel is not a story about man reaching for God. It is about God reaching down to save man.

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