{"id":19713,"date":"2020-02-10T11:12:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T17:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=19713"},"modified":"2020-02-11T14:14:10","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T20:14:10","slug":"for-god-so-loved-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/for-god-so-loved-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"For God so Loved the World"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

by Matthew W. Bassford<\/p>\n

John 3:16 is surely the most well-known verse in the Bible, with even Matthew 7:1 running a close second. Most Christians are aware that the world\u2019s understanding of the latter is dramatically off-base, but I think that even when it comes to the former, we miss the point a little bit.<\/p>\n

The problem is the word \u201cso\u201d. Typically, we read that as \u201cso much\u201d, as an expression of the intensity of God\u2019s love. Thus, we come away from the verse with the idea that God\u2019s sending of His Son reveals the depth of His love for us.<\/p>\n

I think that\u2019s true, but it\u2019s not really what Jesus is saying. The usual meaning of hout\u014d, the Greek adverb translated as \u201cso\u201d, is not \u201cso much\u201d but \u201cin this way\u201d. The first appearance of the word in the New Testament is Matthew 1:18, which begins, \u201cNow the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The KJV and all the translations that followed it weren\u2019t wrong to translate hout\u014d as \u201cso\u201d. In English, \u201cso\u201d can mean \u201cin this way\u201d. However, in the context of John 3:16, \u201cso\u201d introduces an ambiguity that usually is misunderstood.<\/p>\n

Jesus, then, isn\u2019t saying, \u201cGod loved the world so much that He sent Me.\u201d He\u2019s saying, \u201cGod loved the world by sending Me.\u201d Of all the major translations, I think the CSB is alone in capturing the meaning here (\u201cFor God loved the world in this way. . .\u201d).<\/p>\n

This is a subtle distinction, but I think it reveals something significant about the love of God. This cornerstone verse of Christianity is telling us not that God loves us intensely (though He does), but that God loves us by acting.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Image by PIRO4D from Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

When we are called upon to imitate the love of God, then, it is love expressed in action that we should be imitating. By contrast, much of the self-described Christian world gets hung up on feelings here: \u201cI just love God so, so much!\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, that\u2019s nice, I guess, but how is your love for God evident in the way you live? For that matter, how is your love for your brother and your neighbor evident in the way you live? There are an awful lot of folks out there who will shout their love for God to the rafters on Sunday morning then spend their week wallowing in selfishness and sin. That is not the way in which God loved the world!<\/p>\n

Instead, love that is like the love of God always reveals itself in service and sacrifice. Maybe it comes from somebody who doesn\u2019t get all teary-eyed during the Lord\u2019s Supper every week, but every week, they\u2019re out there tending to the needs of others. Love that meets our criteria for emotional intensity is neither here nor there. If you do get all teary-eyed during the Lord\u2019s Supper, that\u2019s fine too. What matters is love that manifests itself in a transformed life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Matthew W. Bassford John 3:16 is surely the most well-known verse in the Bible, with even Matthew 7:1 running a close second. Most Christians are aware that the world\u2019s understanding of the latter is dramatically off-base, but I think that even when it comes to the former, we miss the point a little bit.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[65,574],"class_list":["post-19713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-love","tag-service"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5794,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-they-do-that-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":19713,"position":0},"title":"How Do They Do That? 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