For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son… (John 3:16a)
John 3:16 may just be the most well-known verse in all of Scripture. It contains a precious promise: God gave his one and only son so that “all the ones believing” (literal translation) would not perish but have everlasting life.
Unfortunately, this passage, like any other, also tends to be used to justify questionable theological agendas. One outstanding example I’ve heard a lot is those preachers who deny the sovereignty of God in election and predestination. Such preachers often appeal to John3:16 – “you see, God SOOOOOOO loved the world!” Part of this passage’s vulnerability to such actions comes from the fact that the way it is translated in most modern English Bibles is based upon its traditional translation in the 1611 King James Version. The problem lies in the fact that the English language has evolved in the four hundred years since then, but modern translations have been skittish about changing a translation that is so firmly established in the popular mind.
The issue is the meaning of the word translated “so” in most English translations. Modern English-speaking Christians are tempted to read the verse in the following sense: “God loved the world so much, that…” (In fact, that’s exactly how the New Living Translation puts it). Our own language leans us this way; modern English tends to use the word “so” in that way (“I am SO over that,” or “He SO wants to get that job”).
Is that what the passage means? I don’t think so, for three reasons:
1. The Greek word rendered “so” in most translations, houtos, is most commonly found in the New Testament with the sense of “thus” or “in this manner.” While it can carry a sense of degree (“so much”), this is not nearly as common. So the meaning of the term cannot simply be assumed; in fact, the burden of proof lies on those who want to translate it as “so much.” We have to determine its meaning from the immediate context.
2. The immediate context of John 3:16 has a focus on God’s actions (the mechanics and manner of salvation). God sends the Son in order that believers are saved. John 3:14 refers to the manner in which God healed the Israelites in the wilderness – by a serpent on a pole. In John 3:14-15 Jesus draws a comparison between that instrument and the Son’s being lifted up, with the result that believers attain eternal life. A summary of this section might read: “In the same manner that the serpent was lifted up for the salvation of Israel, the Son shall be lifted up in like manner for the salvation of believers. For this is the way God loves the world – he sends his only Son….” The emphasis throughout the passage is on how God’s actions bring salvation, and so the love spoken of in 3:16 is a love that must be interpreted in light of the thrust of the context.
3. An interesting parallel is found in 1 John 4:11. Here, the same author (John) is speaking on the same topic (God’s love for human beings) using virtually the same words (not just houtos, but also the same word and form for “loved” in combination with “God.” In the immediate context of this verse, John is clearly discussing the manner or form of God’s love as being God’s sending the Son into the world. Verse 9: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world.” He then points out not the extent of God’s love but its fact and expression. Verse 10: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” So when John says in verse 11, “If God SO loved us,” it’s hard to argue against the context and say John is talking about the degree or intensity of love. And if John is talking about the manner of God’s love in 1 John 4, using the same language and the same examples, it’s much better to say that in John 3:16 Jesus is talking about the manner of God’s love for the world.
So what about John 3:16, then? A more accurate sense would be, “For this is how God loved the world,” as a footnote in the English Standard Version points out. The Holman Christian Standard Bible renders the phrase this way: “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son…” (Another translation I found that renders it properly is the NET Bible: “For this is the way God loved the world”). In other words, John 3:16 is not trying to tell us how much God loves the world (contra the NLT, the Contemporary English Version, and the Message), but in what way He loves the world.
Once we understand this difference, we realize that God’s actions are not simply the effects or results of His love. They are, in fact, expressions of that love itself. We are shown that God’s love for us, far from being a mere feeling or inclination, is an active love. God’s love is deeds, not just words or feelings.
Think about that! Love, while it is certainly an emotion, is so much more than that! This view of love has far-reaching implications for Christian living. When Jesus commands us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself,” how do we do that? Elsewhere, he gives an answer: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). So one way we love God is through obedience. This is one reason why so-called “no-lordship salvation” (which denies that it is necessary to accept Jesus as Lord and repent of sin for salvation) is heresy – it essentially declares that it is unnecessary to love the Lord.
This extends to every area of life. How does a husband love his wife? The same way Christ loved the church – by “giving himself up for her.” How does a wife love her husband? By obeying God’s command to “be subject to your husband.” How do we love our neighbor? By doing what the Samaritan did – tending to their needs, including their most urgent need: sharing the Good News of salvation in Christ.
We see that God’s gift of Christ to the world was more than just a reflection or expression of love – this gift is love itself, love made real and concrete. It’s not enough to love sentimentally.
Hollywood is wrong: love is not a simplistic, shallow, fluttery, exciting feeling in the heart. Love is expressed through concrete action. Let us love like God loves, with deeds as well as feelings.