so loved
The Greek word for "loved" here is "agapao," which signifies a selfless, sacrificial love. This is not merely an emotional affection but a deliberate act of will. The adverb "so" (Greek "houtos") intensifies the action, indicating the magnitude and depth of God's love. This love is unconditional and universal, transcending human understanding and reflecting the very nature of God as described in 1 John 4:8, "God is love."

the world
The term "world" (Greek "kosmos") refers to humanity in its entirety, encompassing all people regardless of race, nationality, or status. In the historical context, this was a radical concept, as many religious systems of the time were ethnocentric. The use of "kosmos" underscores the inclusivity of God's love and the universal scope of the Gospel message.

that He gave
The verb "gave" (Greek "didomi") indicates a voluntary act of generosity and sacrifice. This reflects the nature of God's love as giving and selfless. In the historical context of sacrificial systems, this act of giving is profound, as it is God Himself who provides the ultimate sacrifice, not requiring anything from humanity in return.

His one and only Son
The phrase "one and only" (Greek "monogenes") emphasizes the uniqueness and singularity of Jesus Christ. "Monogenes" can be translated as "only begotten," highlighting the special relationship between the Father and the Son. This underscores the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Christ, affirming that Jesus is not merely a prophet or teacher but the unique Son of God.

that everyone who believes
The word "everyone" (Greek "pas") signifies the inclusivity of the offer of salvation. "Believes" (Greek "pisteuo") is more than intellectual assent; it involves trust and reliance upon Jesus Christ. This belief is the means by which individuals receive the gift of eternal life, emphasizing faith as the key response to God's offer.

in Him
The preposition "in" (Greek "eis") indicates a direction or focus of faith. Belief is not just a general faith but specifically faith in Jesus Christ. This highlights the centrality of Christ in the Christian faith and the necessity of a personal relationship with Him.

shall not perish
The phrase "shall not perish" (Greek "apollumi") refers to eternal destruction or separation from God. This is contrasted with eternal life, emphasizing the stakes of the decision to believe. The promise of not perishing is a reassurance of the security and permanence of salvation for those who believe.

but have eternal life
"Eternal life" (Greek "zoe aionios") is not just an unending existence but a quality of life that begins now and continues forever in the presence of God. This life is characterized by a restored relationship with God, peace, and joy. The promise of eternal life is the culmination of God's redemptive plan, offering hope and assurance to believers.

God so loved the world.--Familiar as the words are to us, they were uttered to Nicodemus for the first time. They are the revelation of the nature of God, and the ground of our love to God and man. (Comp. Notes on 1John 4:7-11.)

His only begotten Son.--Here, once again, the Old Testament Scriptures suggest and explain the words used. Every Jew knew, and loved to think and tell of his forefather who was willing to sacrifice his own and only son in obedience to what he thought to be the will of God (Genesis 22). But Love gives, and does not require, sacrifice. God wills not that Abraham should give his son, but He gave His only begotten Son. The dread power that man has ever conceived--that is not God; the pursuing vengeance that sin has ever imagined--that is not God; the unsatisfied anger that sacrifice has ever suggested--that is not God. But all that human thought has ever gathered of tenderness, forgiveness, love, in the relation of father to only child--all this is, in the faintness of an earth-drawn picture, an approach to the true idea of God. Yes, the true idea is infinitely beyond all this; for the love for the world gives in sacrifice the love for the only begotten Son.

Believeth in.--Better, believeth upon. The preposition is not the same as in the last verse. (Comp. John 1:12.) There the thought was of the Son of Man lifted up, in whom every one who believes and can interpret spiritual truth, ever has eternal life. Here the thought is of the Son of God given for the world, and every one who believes upon, casts his whole being upon Him, and, like Abraham, in will rests all upon God, finds that God has provided Himself a lamb for a burnt-offering instead of human sacrifice or death.

Everlasting life.--Better, as the same Greek word is rendered in the previous verse, eternal life. For the meaning of this word see Note on Matthew 25:46. It is of frequent use in this Gospel (seventeen times), and always used in reference to life.

(3) Divine love and judgment. Verse 16. - For God so loved the world. The Divine love to the whole of humanity in its condition of supreme need, i.e. apart from himself and his grace, has been of such a commanding, exhaustless, immeasurable kind, that it was equal to any emergency, and able to secure for the worst and most degraded, for the outcast, the serpent-bitten and the dying, a means of unlimited deliverance and uplifting. The Divine love is the sublime source of the whole proceeding, and it has been lavished on "the world." This world cannot be the limited "world" of the Augustinian, Calvinian interpreters - the world of the elect; it is that "whole world" of which St. John speaks in 1 John 2:2. "God will have all men to be saved" (1 Timothy 2:4). Calvin himself says, "Christ brought life, because the heavenly Father loves the human race, and wishes that they should not perish." Pharisaic interpretations of the Old Testament had left the outside world in judgment, to cursing and condign punishment, and had made Abrahamic descent and sacramental privilege the conditions of life and honour and royal freedom. Here the poor world is seen to be the object of such love, that he - the Father-God - gave, "delivered up," we do not know certainly to "what," but we may judge from the context that it was such a deliverance, or such giving up. as is involved in the uplifting of the Son of man upon his cross of humiliation and shame. But the Lord in,educes a more wonderful term to denote his own personality. This "Son of man" is none other than his only begotten Son (cf. notes, John 1:14, 18). Just as Abraham had not kept back his only begotten son from God, so God has not withheld his perfect Image, his Well-beloved, his Eternal Logos, the perfect ideal of sonship. He gave him with the following view: that whosoever believeth in him (εἰς αὐτὸν) may not perish, but have eternal life. The previous saying is repeated as in a grand refrain for which a deeper reason and fuller explanation have been supplied. Perishing, ruin, the issues of poisonous corruption, might and would, by the force of natural law, work themselves out in the destinies of men. The awful curse was spreading, but it may be arrested. None need be excluded. Looking is living. Believing in this manifestation of Divine love is enough. This is the first, high, main condition. Appropriation of such a Divine gift unriddles the mysteries of the universe, emancipates from the agelong bondage, confers a life which is beyond the conditions or occasions of dissolution. This verse is infinite in its range, and, notwithstanding a certain vagueness and indefiniteness of expression, presents and enshrines the most central truth of Divine revelation. When the terms "gave," "only begotten Son," "believeth," "life," "perishing," "God," "the world," are fully interpreted, then the words of this text gather an ever-augmenting force and fulness of meaning; and they may have been expanded to meet the prejudices of Nicodemus or the difficulties of disciples. The idea of gift and giver and the ends of the giving may have at once suggested to the Pharisaic mind the grand distinction between Israel and the world, and the inquiry may have been made - Is not Messiah, then, about to judge the world, to summon all the nations round to hear their doom? To some such heart-deadening query, to some such conscience-benumbing scepticism, our Lord continued - No; this love to the world on the part of God, this condition of faith on the side of man, thus laid down, is perfectly honest and sincere -

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