THE BIBLE’S GREATEST VERSE

John 3:16
I thought I might share outlines of some of my favorite sermons from the last few years.
Max Lucado has rightly stated that John 3:16 is the "Hope Diamond of the New Testament." I would not argue with the many who believe it is the most important verse of the Bible. On this verse we stand upon God's plan for the ages. Let's break the verse down and give it some of the attention it deserves [though admittedly we can't scratch its surface].

• God—it all begins with Him. I think Isaiah 40:12-31 is all the commentary we need for this fact. I would urge you to read the entire passage, but here are just some of them: Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand…Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has taught Him? …Behold the nations are as a drop in the bucket…All the nations before Him are as nothing…It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers…He brings the princes to nothing…To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal? Says the Holy One. Well the answer to that question is obviously—No one and nothing! In the beginning God…The greatest of all verses begins where the Bible begins and ends—with God.
• So Loved—God is love [John 4:8]. Because love is His very nature, He must do more than just say He loves. He must demonstrate it. We'll get to that in just a bit.
• The World—who is the object of God's great love? It is the world. "The world" in the 4^th Gospel refers to sinners [3:19; 7:7; 16:20]. God so loved sinners. Let's not keep this too generic, however. It is helpful I think to replace the word with "me". God so loved me—a sinner. Now it's particular. Now it's personal.
• That He gave—love is always demonstrated by giving. You will give to the object of your love. You're going to give freely and abundantly.
• His only begotten son—what is God's gift of love? It is a "who." It is His only begotten. It is His "unique," "one of a kind" son. Of course that is Jesus. It is He 'who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age" [Gal 1:4].
   
  Why did God do this? Why did He give His one and only Son?
   
• That whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life—the purpose statement of the Bible's greatest verse draws an eternal dividing line that cannot be ignored. Now let's work backwards.
   
  Everlasting life—ultimately of course everlasting life is heaven. Jesus said the night before His death that He was preparing a place (John 14:2). Heaven is not a state of mind. It is a place prepared for God's children by Christ Himself. Everlasting life is also a present possession [John 5:24].
  Would not Perish—here's the part most people would like to see omitted from the Bible's greatest verse but cannot. How would you know good news without bad news? The bad news is that there is everlasting punishment. Jesus talked about it just as surely as He spoke of everlasting life [Matthew 25:46]. There is a dividing line. There is a heaven and there is a hell. What determines where eternity will be spent?
  Believes in Him—faith is the key. Faith is not just mental assent; it is a yielding of self to God. It is not just saying I believe; it is handing over one's life to God. Notice "in Him." You must hand your life over to God in Christ. You cannot get to the Father but through the Son.
  Whoever—this is my favorite word of the Bible's greatest verse. Who can believe? Whoever. That means me. That means you. That means anyone. That's good news. Eternal life is not just available to a holy few or a number of people already determined. Eternal life is available to anyone willing to believe in God through His Son whom He gave as a gift of His love to the world.

If I might quote Lucado again—John 3:16 'unrolls the welcome mat of heaven to humanity.' It is the greatest verse in the Bible.
It comes with four realizations:

God loves

God gave

You believe

You live
 

You must decide.