The Greatness of the Gift

Think about what we were just singing, "Now my soul magnifies the Lord." Think about that. "Now my soul magnifies the Lord." I truly believe if we receive all that the Lord is giving us in this series, the greatest gift ever given, I think if we receive it as we should, our soul will magnify the Lord. You might say, "Pastor, I've studied these things, meditated over these things, seen these things afresh and anew, my soul has magnified the Lord." And I'll tell you, folks, if your soul magnifies the Lord in these things, it will touch others around you, your children, your spouse, your home, even those in the world.

I appreciate that worship, Jared and Megan, I do. Well, let's take our Bible. Let's turn back to John chapter 3. Like I said earlier in our scripture reading, we're going to finish out verse 16, finish out the rest of the verse, and as always, we're going to look at a few other verses. Now, last Sunday morning we began our Christmas series that is titled "The Greatest Gift Ever Given." And we started off this series by looking at the giver of the greatest gift ever given. Of course, the giver of the greatest gift ever given is God. We see that plainly in John chapter 3 verse 16, the beginning of the verse.

"For God, for God so loved the world that He gave." That's the gift, His only Son. And in last week's message we examined three facts that teach us quite a lot about the nature of God and the person of God. We saw quite a lot about who God is. First, God was the giver of the gift. Everything associated with the greatest gift ever given originated with God. We can say that God was and is the author of all of these things. Think about this with me. Verse 16 says, "For God so loved the world." You might say, "Pastor, I know that." You've said it over and over and over.

But notice the verse does not say, "For the Son loved the world." Of course, we know that the Son loved us and gave Himself up for us, Galatians 2.20. But verse 16 tells us that these things originated with God. He was the author of these things. So God was and is the giver of the gift. Second, love was in the heart of God in giving such a gift. But this was not some kind of a sappy, sentimental love. We saw that this was not some kind of a fickle or fleeting love. God was motivated by an eternal love because God is, always has been, and always will be love. We saw that God was motivated by an unchanging love because God is never changing.

And this love was and is the highest form of love in that God made the choice to give that which cost Him the most. That was and is His only Son. The Bible scholar A.W. Pink says of these things, "The great sacrifice was provided by love. Christ was God's love gift." Let that sink in. Christ was God's love gift, and I'm continuing with the quote, "This at once refutes an error that Christ died in order that God might be induced to pity and save men." The very opposite is truth. Christ died because God did love men and was determined to save them that believe. Now think about what this tells us, folks.

From all eternity, God has loved sinful men. God did not choose to love sinners. God is love, and it has always been in God's heart to love sinners. And it was always in God's heart to love law sinners by giving that which cost Him the most. That is His only Son. And then third, we saw that the world was the object of God's love. Now this does not mean that all the world will believe and be saved. And this does not mean that God somehow approves of the sin of sinful men. This means that God loved and loves all the different peoples of the world. His love was not restricted to a particular race, to a particular group or nation.

So God loves all the world of sinful men. I've said this numerous times, but I love it. Leon Morris says God's love is wide enough to embrace all mankind, and it is. Now think about what this tells us. And this is a fact that so many in the theologically reformed world need to embrace. Here John says that God loved and loves the world, not the elect. That's not what the text says. Not the predestined. That's not what the verse says. God loves the world of sinful people, so God's love is wide enough to embrace all mankind. Now I have not used this phrase yet, but notice what we have here. The Gospel.

These three facts that we learned and we studied last week are at the heart of the Gospel. And the Gospel is the message of salvation that has been accomplished for sinful people through the life, the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And all these things came as a gift from God out of the love of God for the world. These things came out of the loving heart of God. Now this morning we're simply going to continue in verse 16. Last week we covered the first part of the verse, and this morning we'll cover the middle of the verse and the last part of the verse.

Let's read the verse one more time, and then I'll reference it throughout the message. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Now this is how we're going to approach the rest of the verse. First we will look at the greatness of this gift. The greatness of this gift God gave his only Son. And then second we will look at the greatness of this gift God gave his only Son so that whoever believes would have eternal life. So number one, the greatness of this gift God gave his only Son. Number one, God gave his only Son.

The verse says, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that is plain to see." But there is much more to the gift of God's only Son that we need to see. And this will show us the greatness of this gift, and this will also show us more of the nature and the person of God. Three things. First God gave us his only Son. Some translations say only Son, but others say the only begotten Son. Now this term only begotten simply means only child. So it is plain to see that John is speaking of God's one and only child. Obviously this is a son, and this is a term that John used quite often, and he used it to refer to Jesus every time.

In John chapter 1 verse 14, John said, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." In John 1.18, John said, "No one has ever seen God, the only God who is at the Father's side, he has made him known." Now notice the King James Version reads a little different.

"No man hath seen God in any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." And in John 3.18, John said, "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he is not believed in the name of the only Son of God." And in 1 John 4.9, he said, "In this the love of God was made manifest among us that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him." But the Son of God was not just God's only Son. Let's say that again. But the Son of God was not just God's only Son.

He was God's only Son who was uniquely near and dear to the heart of God. In Matthew 3.17, Jesus' baptism, "A voice from heaven said, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'" Here God plainly said that Jesus was his beloved Son, which means his Son was loved, his Son was worthy of love, and highly esteemed. In John 3.35, John said, "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand." Here it is clear that God loves his Son, so much so that he has given his Son over, or in control of all things.

And in Philippians 2.9, Paul said, "Therefore God has highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name that is above every name." Here Paul says God has highly exalted his Son, and given him a name that represents the fact that he is exalted above every one and every thing. And in John 1.1, John said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This speaks to the fact that the Word, who was and is Jesus, he enjoys intimate fellowship with his Father throughout all eternity, past, present, and future. Now what is the point in reading and commenting on these verses?

These verses give us a glimpse of the unique nature and person of the Son of God. These verses describe the one and the only Son of God. And these verses show us the intimacy that the one and only Son enjoys with his Father. And we see just how God the Father feels about his Son, his one and only Son. So we can say here that God gave us his best, and he did, but he gave us more than his best. He gave us his best, but his best was his one and only. Just like Abraham, the Old Testament willingly gave, willingly sacrificed, willingly gave and sacrificed his one and only Son, God gave, God delivered up. That's what that word gave means.

God delivered up his one and only, his dearly loved Son. Now before I continue a probing question or two, rhetorical question or two, that I trust and pray the Holy Spirit will use in your life, are we willing to give our best, not to the world, but to God? Are we willing to give our best, and are we willing to give our best and even more? Are we willing to give our best and our one and our only, whatever that may be? And then second, God gave his only Son to the cross. Now to see this, we have to go back in the verses. Look back at verse 14 and 15.

Of course, Jesus is concluding here with Nicodemus, and he's transitioning into verse 16, but notice verse 14 and 15. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." Here we see Jesus is using some strange language and some strange imagery. He talks of serpents being lifted up, which comes from Numbers chapter 21. Maybe you go study that on your own. Now we do not have time to go through all that took place there in Numbers 21, but what I want to point out is this.

The serpent of brass being lifted up on a pole in Numbers 21 was a picture of Jesus being lifted up on the cross. Brass and the Scriptures speak of judgment. Jesus was sinless and should have never been judged on the cross. But he, that's Jesus, took the place of sinful men and he bore the judgment of God which sinful men and man deserve. The pole here speaks of the cross on which Jesus was lifted up. And just as the Jews looked to the serpent and were saved in Numbers 21, those who looked to Jesus are saved today. But take note of what Jesus said about going to the cross in verse 14. Look back at the verse with me.

Jesus said, "So must the Son of Man be lifted up." If you write in your Bible, circle that word must, highlight that word must. So must the Son of Man be lifted up. This word must is an important word in understanding the cross. In the original, it is a very, very strong word that was used other times in the New Testament. In John 3, verse 7, Jesus said that man must be born again. You hear that? Man must be born again. And here in verse 14, Jesus said that he must be lifted up on the cross. He must be lifted up on the cross. Now what is my point here? The cross and the death of Christ on the cross was a must.

It was completely and totally necessary. This speaks to the fact that the cross and Jesus' death on the cross was completely necessary. Why? For the salvation of sinners. There was no other way. There was no other way. The cross was a must. There was and is no other way for men and men to be saved from sin other than the cross. Then third, God gave his only Son to the cross for the world. Now we've already covered this son, but notice how all this ties together. God gave his one and only Son, his best and then some. And he gave his one and only Son that he loved and he loves dearly and he gave up his Son to the cross.

And he gave up his Son to the cross for a world of lost sinners, enemies, and foes. It would have been one thing for God to give up his one and only, his much loved Son for a friend, but he did so for enemies. He did that for those who would never love him if they were left in their sin. One thing that helps us here is the tense of this word "loved" in verse 16. In the original, it's in the past tense, "love." Notice that? It's not in the present tense, "loves." A.W. Pink says that he loves us now that we are his children we can immeasure, understand. Think about that.

That he loves us now that we are his children we can immeasure, understand. But that he should have loved us before we became his children passes knowledge. In other words, it's beyond our understanding, but he did. Romans 8.8 says, "But God shows his love for us that while we were sinners," let that phrase sink in, "while we were sinners Christ died for us." Now I will add to Romans 8.8, I will make some changes. "God showed his love for us while we were sinners, while we were foes, while we were enemies he loved us and gave us his one and only son, his best and then son." So here we see the greatness of the gift that God has given.

He gave his only, his much-loved son, and he gave him and he delivered him up to the cross. And he gave this gift for a world of lost sinners and enemies who would have never loved him had he not loved them first. And this teaching is all about the gospel. And the gospel is the message of salvation that has been accomplished for sinful people through the life, the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus Christ the Son of God. And God giving this greatest of gifts, his one and only son, the best of the best. That's at the heart of the gospel folks. Now an application, I want the Holy Spirit to turn this around on us.

I'm depending on the Holy Spirit here folks. I'm trusting and hoping that the Holy Spirit will turn this around on us. If God was willing to give and give up so much for us and the world of sinners, how much should we give and give up for him? How much should we give and give up for him? Would it be too much if we were to give up our job for him? Sometimes folks come to a place where they have to change jobs to serve him. Would it be too much to give up a career for him? Sometimes people have to give up a career to follow him and to walk with him. Would it be too much to give up friends for him?

Sometimes folks when they come to saving faith, they have to give up all of their friends for him. Would it be too much to give up time for him? As we walk with the Lord, sometimes we come to crossroads where we have to give up time and more time. Would we give up time and more time for him? Would we give up money and possessions for him? You see? But to continue with that, how much would you give up for his church?

Galatians 6, 10 says, "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone and especially to those who are of the household of faith." And my question for you is this, how much would you give up and continue to give up for his church for those who are of the household of faith? See, there are lots of ministries around here that need your attention. In the new year, one of the things we'll tackle in January is some of the ministry needs that are around. I'll go ahead and give you a warning. If you see a phone call from the pastor over Christmas, it could be that he is tapping you for what? For a ministry in the life of the church.

Is that too much for you to give for his church? And how much would you give up and give and continue to give for your brothers and sisters? John 13, 34 says, "A new commandment I give you that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." Are you willing to love brothers and sisters as Christ has loved you? How much would you give up for brothers and for sisters? And how much would you give up for a world of lost sinners? John 4, 35, Jesus had taken his disciples into Samaria. They really didn't want to go there. They were very conflicted for various reasons. They didn't like Samaritans.

And somehow, someway, by the will of God, Jesus ended up there at the well talking with a Samaritan woman. A woman of bad reputation. So number one, they didn't want to go to Samaria. Number two, they didn't want to be talking with a woman. And they sure did not want to be talking with a woman of bad reputation. So Jesus sent them into town to get food so he could have a one-on-one with the woman. And when they came back, they were amazed. They said, "Jesus, we have food." But he said, "No, my food is to do the will of the Father who sent me." And he goes on to say, "Look, look, look, I tell you, lift up your eyes." What is he saying?

"Look around you and see that the fields are white for harvest." What does that mean? They're ready to be harvested. Who was he talking about? People. And how much would we give up for a world of lost sinners? So the greatness of this gift God gave his only, his much-loved son, his best. But that's not enough to describe what he did. He gave his best and then son. And then number two, the greatness of this gift, it's rather long. God gave his only son so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. God gave his only son so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. We see this in the rest of the verse, verse 16.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Here we see the offer of salvation. Here we see the gift of salvation, and this may surprise some of you. Here we see the invitation given in and through the Gospel. Now let me give you a little lesson here. The invitation for people to come to faith in Christ is found in the Gospel and that invitation is extended by declaring the Gospel and trusting in the Holy Spirit to do the inviting. Let me say that again.

The invitation for people to come to faith in Christ is found in the Gospel and that invitation is extended by declaring the Gospel and trusting in the Holy Spirit of God to do the inviting. Occasionally people will ask why we do not give what's called a traditional invitation. I'm not against an invitation. I just don't think it fits what God's called us to do. I know some who do an invitation and they do an invitation after the service well, and some do it not so well. But we don't give an invitation. But we regularly, every service, we present Christ, we present the Gospel, and we present the true Christian life. You see?

We present Christ, we present the cross, we present the Gospel, and we're always about presenting the true Christian life and contrasting that up against what? Everything else. And we wait, and we trust, and we depend on the Holy Spirit of God to do what only the Holy Spirit of God can do and that is to extend an invitation to lost sinners to come to faith in Christ. But notice what we see here. This offer of salvation is available for two kinds of people and only two kinds of people. First, this is available to the world.

Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." This would include Jew and Gentile. We've already discussed that. Mora says, "God's love is wide enough to embrace all mankind." And then second, this is available only to those who believe. Jesus says that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. In the opposite of believing and receiving, eternal life would be that whoever does not believe shall not receive eternal life. So in one sense, the gift of salvation is unrestricted. Any and all in the world who will believe shall be saved. Let me say that again.

Any and all in the world who will believe shall be saved. Now, time out here, folks. Listen. Beware of a doctrinal position which restricts the offer of salvation to the point where one cannot say whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Let me say that again. Beware of an attitude that's expressed. Beware of a demeanor. Beware of even a doctrinal position which restricts the offer of salvation to the point where one cannot say clearly, "Whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Let me go one step further. Reject any theological position.

Reject any person, any attitude, which restricts the offer of salvation to the point where one just cannot say, "For God so loved the world," that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. But in another sense, the gift of salvation is definitely restricted. Only those in all the world who believe shall be saved. You see? Only those in the world who believe shall be saved. And look, folks, only those who believe the gospel will be saved and go to heaven, and only those who hear the gospel message can believe and can be saved. Those who never hear the gospel can never believe and they can never be saved.

You might say, "Pastor, what about the man in the jungle who's never heard the gospel?" They can never be saved. Romans 1 deals with that. They're held accountable by the life that they've received in the creation. You need to see how those in the world may appropriate or get salvation. And what happens to those who do not? First, those who believe receive eternal life. Earlier in verse 15, Jesus said, "Whoever believes in him," now, who is the him? The one being lifted up on the cross, that's Jesus. "Whoever believes in him may have eternal life." And here in verse 16, Jesus is saying the same thing.

And understanding what it means to believe is key, not just to understand these things, but this is key to attaining eternal life. This belief, or believing, consists of accepting something, not doing something or being something or being someone. But this is more than accepting information. This means to accept Jesus and his payment for sin on the cross. This means to believe in Jesus as God's only Son who died in the place for sinful men and to entrust oneself to him for one salvation. And Jesus says that those who do believe in him shall have or receive eternal life. But a question, what is eternal life? Eternal life is endless life.

But ponder this question, do those doomed to hell not have eternal life as well? Yes. But the eternal life, or endless life, which is gained by believing in Christ is an endless life of possessing and sharing in the life of God in Christ. Jesus said in John 13.3, "And this is eternal life. And this is eternal life that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. And this life with God in Christ is eternal." That means it can never be lost. How can one believe in Christ and be granted eternal life if it can be lost? By definition, eternal life is unending and never ceasing life with God in Christ.

So how can eternal life be given by God and then be lost? It cannot. By definition, eternal life is unending. It is never ceasing. It is unending. It is never ceasing life with God in Christ. So those who believe receive eternal life, which is unending life with God in Christ. I love what Matthew Henry says here. He says the salvation offered here is complete. They shall never perish. They shall have eternal life. It's simple but good. But then second, those who do not believe, they perish. You see here we see the opposite. The verse does not state it, but obviously Jesus says that those who do not believe shall perish.

In this word perish means the opposite of salvation. To perish is used of death as opposed to life in Mark 3.6. It is used of destruction as opposed to preservation in 1 Corinthians 1.19. Perish is used of loss as opposed to gain in 2 John 8. To perish can be used of sheep who have gone astray in Matthew 10.6. It can be used of a son who wandered from his father's house in Luke 15.24. And the use of the word perish here clearly means that those who do not believe do not receive the life of God in Christ. They are hopeless. They are alienated from God.

They are destined not for eternal life with God in heaven, but for eternal life under the judgment of God. And hell, they perish. But notice where else we see this word perish. I mentioned this earlier. In the parable of the prodigal son, specifically in Luke 15.24, we see what the father said about his son's condition before he came home. Verse 24 says, this is the father speaking in the parable. "For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost." Circle that word lost and is found and they began to celebrate. Notice that this word lost is the same word translated perish in John 3.16. In the original language, this word is apollomie.

And he is truly saying that before his son repented and came home, which is a picture of salvation, he is saying that his son was lost. He was perishing. So the prodigal son was lost. He was perishing. And those who do not believe will perish. They will be lost and they will be perishing in hell for all of eternity. So here we have the greatness of the gift that was given. God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish or be lost, but have eternal life with God in Christ. And this is all about the gospel.

And the gospel is the message of salvation that has been accomplished for sinful people through the life, the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And God giving this greatest of gifts is at the heart of the gospel. And for us here this morning, we need to see that we have two kinds of people here in the pews. Only two kinds. The believing and the non-believing. Those who possess life with God in Christ or salvation and those who are perishing and who will perish under the judgment of God if they do not believe.

And for those of us who believe, how should we react to what we have studied and what we will study? How should we react to these things? We should rejoice. We should be moved to joyful tears. We should be grateful beyond measure. We should be grateful to the point where we are willing to do anything and everything for God. You see? And why? Why? Why? Because God loved us before time in human history. Why? Because he loved us even when he knew how wicked and vile and evil we would be in thought and word and in deed. And he still loved us and he gave his one and only much loved son to die in our place. We should be moved to worship.

And for those of you who do not believe, how should you react to what you have just seen and heard this morning? You should rush to Christ and believe. You should look to Christ, dying on the cross and trust in Him for your salvation. Look friend, look friend, if you are unbelieving and not rushing to Christ to believe, it is because you are refusing to believe. You are willfully rebellious. Please, please, please hear the message of the gospel. See Christ on the cross. Look to Christ and live. Believe in Christ, trust in Christ for your salvation and receive eternal life. Please, please leave your sin and your rebellion behind.

So the greatest of this, the greatness of this gift. God gave his only son, his much loved son, the very best of the best and then some so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life. Now as I close, I want to remind us of the purpose of this series. If we are not careful, all that we do during the Christmas season can overshadow the true meaning of Christmas. The busyness of Christmas and being caught up in so many good things that we enjoy this time of the year can cause us to lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas if we are not careful.

So let's take what we are studying because all of these messages are meant to be tied together. They form one big message. Let's take all that we are studying and let's make sure we make Christmas all about what we see here in John 3 16 and the rest of the verses that we study. Let's personally pray over these things. Let's meditate over these things. Let's study over these things and go a little further, a little deeper, a little wider. Let's talk of these things in our home. Let's talk of these things with our spouse and with our children. Let's talk of these things with others as we have the opportunity. So the greatness of the gift.

That's the title of the message, The Greatness of the Gift. Let's pray. Let's commit these things to the spirit of God and let's look to the spirit to do what only the spirit can do, to move us to a place where we can receive and worship and love and serve our Lord and even come to faith in Christ this morning. Let's pray.