God

Lesson #41

In our last lesson on John 3:16 – 18, eight key words were introduced. They are God, loved, world, gave, Son, whoever, believes, and life. In this lesson we will focus on God who so loved the world, that he gave his only Son. Before we go any further please take three minutes and listen from 13:35 to 16:35.

In our context, this God who loves and gives is the God of the Old Testament. John Piper describes him as “the all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He is personal and not a mere force, meaning he thinks and wills and feels. He loves, and he hates. And as personal, he is moral—that is, he deals with us in terms of right and wrong and good and bad. And as moral, he is unwaveringly righteous. He only does what is right. And the infinite worth of what he is defines what is right. To do right is to think and feel and act in a way that accords with (is in harmony with) God’s infinite worth.”

As we approach John 3:16 and the God who loves and gives, how should we respond. I think Paul makes this very clear in Romans 1:21 by saying, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” As we come to John 3:16 out of desperate need, we are to honor God as the God of infinite worth that he is and we are to thank him for the sacrifice he is making for us, for if we don’t then we will remain futile in our thinking and our foolish hearts will remain darkened.

Prayer

Oh, my Father, you are all powerful and of infinite worth. Your capacity to love and to provide for is beyond comprehension and to think that you want to restore me as your child to enjoy forever. How can I, as one who was dead in my sin and headed for eternal destruction, ever thank you enough? There is one debt I can never hope to repay and that is the debt of love.