John 3:16: The Manner of God’s Love

by Frank Tyler

Introduction

How many Christians both hear and quote from memory the following verse… perhaps hundreds of times?

For God so (ο ὕ τως) loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16; bold added for emphasis) [1]

As your brother in Christ, may I ask, if God so loved the world, and demonstrates His love through Jesus’ incarnation and crucifixion ( that He gave His only begotten Son) and then through Jesus’ promise of everlasting life [2] ( that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life ), then what is the manner of His love? Many say, “loved so much;” others might say, “loved sacrificially.” Following in the historical wake of our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection, these answers remain transparently true, and are rightfully the basis of many outstanding evangelistic tracts. However, in His witness to Nicodemus, Jesus had not yet been crucified; therefore, He was witnessing to an individual who could not have understood God’s love for the world based upon an event which had yet to transpire. If neither answer accounts for Jesus’ witness to Nicodemus, then what is the manner of God’s love that Nicodemus might understand within the immediate context of Jesus’ witness?

Agape Love?

In John 3:16, the word translated loved comes from the transliterated Greek verb, agapao which is closely related to the Greek noun agapē. Will New Testament (N.T) studies of the words agapao or agapē shed light on the manner of God’s love? Or, will these word studies import N.T. meanings that fall short of the Old Testament (O.T.) context Jesus provides for Nicodemus to understand His meaning?

Search a lexicon or conduct a word study as we may, but how should you and I expect Nicodemus to grasp N.T. usages of these words when the N.T. had yet to be written?

The Verb To Love (Agapao): According to BDAG, “ἀγαπάω: 1) to have a warm regard for and interest in another, cherish, have affection or love- (b) of the affection of transcendent beings- α. for ordinary human beings” (Romans 8:37; 9:13 (Malachi 1:2), 2 Thessalonians 2:16, Hebrews 12:6 (Proverbs 3:12), John 14:21, 1 John 4:10, 19, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Mark 10:21, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 5:2, John 11:5, 15:9, John 13:23, 19:26, 21:7, 20, 1 Thessalonians 1:4, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Colossians 3:12, Jude 1, Romans 9:25) [3] BDAG does not reference John 3:16 as an illustration. “(IV) Spoken of things to love, i.e., to delight in (Luke 11:43; John 3:19; Heb. 1:9; 1 John 2:15). The expression ‘not to love’ means to neglect, disregard, condemn… . Other references: Matthew 5:44… John 3:16; 11:5; 12:43; 13:1, 23, 34; 14:15, 21, 23, 24, 28, 31; 15:9, 12, 17; 17:23, 24, 26; 19:26; 21:7, 16,20…”[4] According to The Complete Word Study New Testament, “to love indicates a direction of the will and finding one’s joy in something. Contrast withphileo, to be contented with, denoting common interests.Agapao is used of God’s love toward man and vice versa.” [5]

The Noun Love (Agapē):

According to BDAG , “agaph: 1) the quality of warm regard for and interest in another, esteem, affection, regard, love- (b) of the love of God and Christ- a. to humans.” (1 John 4:10, 1 John 4:9,16, Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:17, Romans 8:39, 1 John 3:1, Ephesians 1:4f, 2 Corinthians 13:13, Jude 2 and 4, 1 John 4:7, 2 Corinthians 13:11, 1 John 4:8, 16, John 15:89, 10a, 13, 1 John 3:16, Romans 8:35) [6] According to The Complete Word Study New Testament , “Translated charity (1 Cor. 13:1) Meaning benevolent love. Its benevolence, however, is not shown by doing what the person loved desires but what the one who loves deems as needed by the one loved; (e.g., For God so loved… the world that He gave… John 3:16).” [7] Perhaps more satisfying is the word study titled “Love” found in The New King James Version Open Bible “In John 3:16, the verb ‘loved’ expresses this concept of agape. God (even in our sin) decided to love us, because it is His nature to love. In fact, while it is wrong to turn the verse around… and teach that ‘love is God,’ it is quite true that ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8).” [8] In each instance, if the reference for understanding the manner of God’s love in John 3:16 comes from N.T. Scripture, written well after Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, then how would Nicodemus grasp such meanings?

This dilemma compounds itself in translations of this passage that fail to render οὕτως in verses 14 and 16 in a consistent manner. Consider Jesus’ words to Nicodemus in verse 14 which allude to an event in Israel’s wilderness years (Numbers 21:5-9):

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness , even so (ο ὕ τως) must the Son of Man be lifted up,
(John 3:14; bold added for emphasis)

If we understand the Greek word οὕ τως, as an adverb of manner, “in this manner,” then surely you and I can agree: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, “in this manner” (οὕτως) must the Son of Man be lifted up that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. The meaning of the cross is prophetically clear; is it not? How then, do we not, “in this manner,” understand God’s love in verse 16?

For God so (ο ὕ τως) loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16; bold added for emphasis)

Translating οὕτως differently in verses 14 and 16 hides the immediate context that defines the manner of God’s love in verse 16.

Unfortunately, this same subtle discrepancy finds expression in other modern translations. The New Living Translation openly defines loved as loved… so much:

And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so (ο ὕ τως) the Son of Man must be lifted up

(John 3:14; bold added for emphasis)

For God loved the world so much (ο ὕ τως) that He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. [9] (John 3:16; bold added for emphasis)

By using a punctuation mark (colon), the NET Bible implies God loved sacrificially:

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so (ο ὕ τως) must the Son of Man be lifted up (John 3:14; bold added for emphasis)

For this is the way (ο ὕ τως) God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life .[10] (John 3:16; bold added for emphasis)

Thankfully, the translators for the NET Bible provide a footnote explaining their translation. Or “this is how much”; or “in this way”… it is likely (3) that John is emphasizing both the degree to which God loved the world as well as the manner in which He chose to express that love. This is in keeping with John’s style of using double entendre or double meaning. Thus, the focus of the Greek construction here is on the nature of God’s love, addressing its mode, intensity, and extent. [11]

The translators meld the two concepts together in a very gracious and thoughtful manner. Nonetheless, though theologically smooth to the ear of most Christians, the discrepancy in the translation of ο ὕτως in verses 14 and 16 misleads readers. Likewise, the NET translators end Jesus’ words to Nicodemus at verse 15; thereby implying that the Apostle John provides editorial or theological commentary in verse 16 well after the fact of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Sadly, many within the scholarly community see little problem with this kind of approach. [12]

Would Jesus have continued his explanation to Nicodemus in verse 16 in a manner that ignores His O.T. illustration in verse 14? Certainly not! Surely, verse 16 expands upon the immediate context Jesus establishes in verse 14. Let us revisit the event Jesus refers to in Numbers 21:5-9 and rediscover the context Jesus provides Nicodemus to understand His meaning.

Chesed

The incident, to which Jesus calls Nicodemus’ attention, encompasses both “so much” and “sacrificially,” but does so within the greater reality of God’s loyal covenantal love or chesed . When God’s people failed in their covenantal relationship by grumbling over food and water, while longing to return to, of all places, Egypt, the land of their enslavement, God brought correction with fiery serpents (Numbers 21:5-6). And, when His people began to perish, Moses interceded in prayer (Numbers 21:7). According to His by-grace covenantal relation with Israel, God exercised love or chesed and provided a way of salvation, to live after being bitten by the fiery serpents of death (Numbers 21:8-9). [13]

As a teacher of Israel, Nicodemus should easily grasp chesed… loyal covenantal love or mercy based upon the by-grace covenantal relationship God has with Israel. Indeed, two of the most prominent themes in the Old Testament Scriptures, grace and mercy, evidence the nature of God’s unrelenting chesed for His people. Consider the relationship between John 3:14 and 3:16 allowing for a corrected translation. In verses 14 and 16, the Greek word οὕ τως is an adverb of manner, hence, the translation “in this manner;” οὕτως begins verse 16 followed by the postpositive γ ὰρ translated “for.”

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, in this manner (ο ὕ τως) must the Son of Man be lifted up
(John 3:14; bold added for emphasis)

For in this manner (ο ὕ τως) God loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16; bold added for emphasis)

When οὕτως is translated consistently in both verses and when the Greek word order (Οὕτως γ ὰρ) is reflected in the translation of verse 16, then the connection between John 3:14 and John 3:16 becomes very apparent, even to a badly confused teacher of Israel like Nicodemus.

Often translated “mercy,” the Hebrew word chesed , forms the refrain in each of the 26 verses of Psalm 136:

For His mercy endures forever . The psalmist reveals the great and timeless theme of God’s goodness:

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For his mercy

( chesed ) endures forever (Psalm 136:1; bold added for emphasis). Whether with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses or David; whether conditional or unconditional, whether unilateral or bilateral; whether man fails or not; regardless of the covenant, God is good! [14] Jeremiah writes: The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness ( chesed ) I have drawn you
(Jeremiah 31:3; bold added for emphasis). God loves Israel with an everlasting love or loyal covenantal love that never fails. Though, Nicodemus may not understand Jesus’ prophetic reference to the cross in verse 14 until after the crucifixion, he surely knows the nature of God’s love or chesed for His people as God led them through the wilderness: To Him who led His people through the wilderness, (f)or His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136:16; bold added for emphasis).

The Challenge for Nicodemus

If the manner of God’s love in John 3:16 remains the unfailing and unalterable love of the One True God, who, by grace, covenants Himself to Israel, then Jesus challenges Nicodemus to understand that in this manner God loved the world… not just Israel. To a Pharisee, living first hand through the Gentile oppression of Rome, Jesus’ words likely reminded Nicodemus of Jonah’s predicament, [15] but just as likely His words reminded him that God’s plan of salvation and chesed always included Gentiles.[16]

At the heart of Jesus’ witness to Nicodemus abides a very simple parallel structure that unifies verses 14 through 17.

(A) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, in this manner must the Son of Man be lifted up (3:14)

(B) that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (3:15).

(A) For in this mannerGod loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (3:16a),

(B) that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life

(3:16b)

(A) For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world (3:17a), but

(B) that the world through Him might be saved (3:17b)

The For that Jesus begins both verses 16 and 17 is explanatory and therefore linked to His O.T. illustration in verse 14. You and I might offer this synthesis for the (A) portions of the parallelism: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, in this manner must the Son of Man be lifted up,… (f)or in this manner God loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,… (f) or God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world. Likewise, for the (B) portions: that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life,… that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life,… but that the world through Him might be saved. Repetition within Jesus’ witness emphasizes a very simple message that Nicodemus along with many other Pharisees and leaders within Judaism struggled to grasp.

In marked contrast to Nicodemus and his fellow Pharisees, consider the words of Simeon, a just and devout (man), waiting for the Consolation of Israel (Luke 2:25), who upon seeing the baby Jesus in the temple, blessed God:

Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples ,

A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel . (Luke 2:29-32; bold added for emphasis)

According to the Scriptures, Jesus must be God’s Savior for both Jews and Gentiles. How better to reveal Himself in Nicodemus’ eyes as the Christ, the Son of God, than to remind him of this simple, yet utterly profound truth. If Simeon’s eyes saw in the baby Jesus, God’s salvation for both Jew and Gentile, then surely Nicodemus can grasp God’s plan of salvation for the world, both Jews and Gentiles, especially when Nicodemus acknowledges Jesus as a teacher come from God based upon the signs he witnessed Him perform in the temple (John 3:2).

Nonetheless, in this manner

God loved the world

(both Jews and Gentiles)

that He gave His only begotten Son

(despite all of their failures, despite all of their sin, and despite the perpetual wickedness of their hearts) that

whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life

(John 3:16; bold added for emphasis). With this one simple promise, Jesus challenges Nicodemus, not as a Jew, a Pharisee or even a teacher of Israel, but as a

whoever

to believe in Him, the One who gives everlasting life according to His promise based upon God’s

chesed. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved

(John 3:17; bold added for emphasis).

Who could this teacher be, this One, who teaches and performs miraculous signs throughout Israel, and now standing before him, reminds him of God’s loyal covenantal love for the world, while overtly promising, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life ?

It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.
(Isaiah 49:6; bold added for emphasis)

The immediate expression of God’s chesed is the giving of His Son (a)s a covenant to the people to restore the earth.
In an acceptable time I have heard You,
And in the day of salvation I have helped You;
I will preserve You and give You <
As a covenant to the people,
To restore the earth,
To cause them to inherit the desolate heritages;
(Isaiah 49:8; bold added for emphasis)

But, the restoration (Messianic Kingdom) is bettered, for ultimately God creates a new heavens and a new earth (Eternal Order).

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
For as the new heavens and the new earth

Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the LORD,
So shall your descendants and your name remain.

(Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22; bold added for emphasis)

As believers, we according to His promise, look fornew heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13; bold added for emphasis), let us remember also, just as the Psalmist reminds us time and again, His love endures forever. Indeed the Lord is good! Our Messiah’s apologetic remains as unassailable and persuasive today as it was when He first spoke it to Nicodemus.

Significance in the Apostle Paul’s Life

Prior to the cross, Jesus’ words to Nicodemus foreshadow the great mystery that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel (Ephesians 3:6). However, following the cross, consider the words of our brother Paul, himself a Jew and chief among sinners, as he boldly declares to fellow Gentile believers in Rome, the very seat of Roman empire and persecution: I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us (both Jews and Gentiles) from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39; bold added for emphasis). Consider the remarkable contrast that only months later, while giving his personal testimony in the temple, Paul shared this same truth and endured great persecution at the hands of His fellow countrymen.

And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’

Then He said to me, “ Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles .’ ”

And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!” (Acts 22:20-22 bold added for emphasis)

Later, when standing before King Agrippa and Festus, the apostle, who at one time openly persecuted the Way, concludes his defense:
…to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come—that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
(Acts 26:22-23; bold added for emphasis)

Consider the response of Festus, the Roman Governor: Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad (Acts 26:22-24)! As you and I face worldly and demonic persecution, should we not stand boldly with our brother Paul and share the certainty God’s love? God is good! His love endures forever… for both Jews and Gentiles.

Significance in Our Lives

As believers in Jesus Christ, may I ask, despite all of our failures, sins, and, dare I mention, wicked designs of the heart, are we, like Paul, persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us (both Jews and Gentiles) from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39; bold added for emphasis)? Like Paul, do we boldly share God’s love with others even in the face of persecution? When the challenges of life seem larger than our faith, we would do well to revisit Psalm 136 and John 3:16 and allow God to rekindle in us the utter certainty of His, by-grace, loyal covenantal love, chesed, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life .

Perhaps, as you read this article, you realize you have never believed Jesus’ promise of eternal life; you have never known God’s love for you based upon His promise. This is the day of your salvation; believe in Jesus Christ and His promise of eternal life. Know the grace of His loyal covenantal love for you as His child and the certainty of His gift of eternal life: For in this manner God loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16)… God is good! His love endures forever.

Conclusion

The manner of God’s love in John 3:16 rightly encompasses the popular, post-cross descriptions of God’s love as “so much” or even “sacrificial love.” Yet, the roots of God’s loyal covenantal love ( chesed ) run deeply throughout God’s Old Testament relationship with Israel and culminate in His ultimate expression of chesed for both Jew and Gentile. Jesus uses His Old Testament illustration of chesed in John 3:14-15 to remind Nicodemus of the manner of God’s love in verse 16. For in this manner God loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

At the moment Jesus speaks with Nicodemus, the events of the cross and the New Testament remained an unfulfilled mystery to this Pharisee and teacher of Israel. Only within the context of God’s loyal covenantal love ( chesed) revealed through the deliverance of Israel time and again despite their unrelenting failures, can Nicodemus understand the manner of God’s love and be challenged to believe Jesus’ promise of everlasting life to whoever believes in Him (John 3:15 and 16; bold added for emphasis). Thankfully, Jesus’ witness remains as unassailable and persuasive today as it was when He first spoke to Nicodemus.

© 2018 by Frank Tyler; you may copy, print and give away freely, but you may not sell.