Christians rarely, if ever, impute selfish motives to Abba, and certainly that is not the intention here. However, I intuitively understand that having One Beloved Son is unbearable for a loving Father.
Now, we know from scripture “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KJV
For all the preaching I have listened to and heard since I was brought forth from my mother’s womb, a greater weight is placed on the verbs ‘love’ and ‘gave’ followed by the subject – ‘His only begotten Son’ and predicate i.e., the sinful ‘world’ (or peoples) that needed saving substituted for complete ruin more or less in that order. The emphasis might vary depending on the leading of the Holy Ghost. But generally, it tends to fit in this mould.
John 3:16 is considered the “heart of the Gospel of Salvation” or simply the Gospel in a nutshell. It perfectly balances God’s initiating love and sacrifice with the necessary human response of faith. It offers hope, defines grace, and reveals the heart of God for humanity. And so, it is a useful starting point of the God-man reconcilement after the Fall[out]. Essentially, it summarizes the entire Biblical narrative in one verse.
The question or enlightenment sought here is what does John 3:16 tell us about the character and heart of God the Father?
I have researched and learnt that three things are revealed:
· God is fundamentally loving and personal,
· God is generous and self-sacrificial (“he gave”), and
· God’s desire is salvation, not condemnation (as reinforced in the following verse, John 3:17)
For the remainder of this article, I will dwell on the first point. It is not in contention that God is loving. In fact, we know according to 1 John 4:12bi, “God is love” (KJV). At the same time Adonai is selfless and personal. We know this because ‘He gave His only begotten Son.’
From here most preachers of the Word naturally move on to the preposition ‘whosoever believeth in Him should not perish’. However, and this is a crucial point, whereas most preachers understandably emphasise not perishing linking it to the salvation, i.e., the subject, the aspect of faith or belief in the Son of God tends to take a backseat. Here, we argue that believing in Jesus was so personal to God the Father as it was the harbinger and guarantee
of present and future obedience grounded on faith that He would offer His Son as a perfect sacrifice. “That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:15 KJV), just as His Son had.
As already noted, God is fundamentally loving. He loves His Son. But not unlike His friend Abraham, “the father of multitude”. As is written,
“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So, Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him;” Genesis 12: 1-4a KJV.
Jesus Christ’s ministry and mission follow a similar pattern, beginning with the calling (who shall go on our behalf); obedience (here I am, send me LORD), and promise (I will bless or give). The parallel between Abraham, “the father of faith” and Jesus “the better Abraham” include the assurance that God would bless those who bless, the promise that through Abraham’s offspring – the entire world would be blessed – which is widely believed to refer to Jesus Christ, and the promise of a great nation, which is correctly interpreted as the nation of Israel (read the Church).
Based on the foregoing, it can be concluded that God’s love for His Son is concordant with His love for the world and for humanity. As His only begotten Son, God’s heart for many sons materialised through giving His only Son to redeem many sons and for Jesus, His only begotten Son to bring everything into completion. Thus,
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: | Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: | In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: | Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: | For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:| And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. | And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence. | For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; | And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.| And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled | in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:” Colossians 1:12-22 KJV.
Amen.
Full Disclosure: Some of the motivation for writing this article was a conversation on learning the character of God I earlier had with Elder Eddie Smith. I am solely responsible for the views and accuracy of the material presented here.