John 3:17-19 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.… Christianity is built on facts; those facts are connected with the history of a Person; that Person is the Son of God. Three such facts are here. I. GOD SENT HIS SON INTO THE WORLD. 1. This fact implies — (1) Separateness of existence. (2) Subordination of existence. These no philosophy has yet reconciled to the doctrine of Divine Unity. 2. This is the greatest fact in the history of the world, perhaps of the universe. It constitutes the great epoch in the annals of the race. II. God sent His Son into the world NOT TO CONDEMN IT. This is not what might have been expected. 1. Because of the wickedness of the world: full of ingratitude, idolatry, corruption, and rebellion. 2. Because of all the treatment His other messengers had received. The world had rejected, persecuted, murdered His prophets. Might it not then be expected that God's Son would come on a mission of judgment. III. God sent His Son into the world TO SAVE IT. What is salvation? Not physical, intellectual, or local change, but a restoration in the soul of what has been lost through sin. 1. Supreme love to God — the life of the soul. 2. Constant fellowship with the great Father — the happiness of the soul. 3. Useful service in the universe — the mission of the soul. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. |
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