John 3:16

Seven Wonders of John 3:16

The Ancient World was said to have seven wonders. The classic seven wonders were:

·        Great Pyramid of Giza, El Giza, Egypt the only one that still exists.

·        Colossus of Rhodes, in Rhodes, on the Greek island of the same name.

·        Hanging Gardens of Babylon, in Babylon, near present-day Hillah, Babil province, in Iraq.

·        Lighthouse of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt.

·        Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, in Halicarnassus, Achaemenid Empire, modern day Turkey.

·        Statue of Zeus at Olympia, in Olympia, Greece.

·        Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, in Ephesus (near the modern town of Selçuk in present-day Turkey).

·        Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled from antiquity to the present day, to catalogue the world's most spectacular natural wonders and manmade structures.

·        The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the first known list of the most remarkable creations of classical antiquity; it was based on guidebooks popular among Hellenic sightseers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim and in Mesopotamia. The number seven was chosen because the Greeks believed it represented perfection and plenty, and because it was the number of the five planets known anciently, plus the sun and moon.[1] Many similar lists have been made.

Also, not included in the original seven there is of course the 8th wonder of the world, Andre the Giant! Tonight’s message is only one verse. John 3:16. It has long been celebrated as a powerful, succinct, declaration of the gospel. Of the 31,102 verses in the Bible, it may be the most popular single verse used in evangelism. Tonight we start discussing the seven wonders of John 3:16



John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Nicodemus has come to Jesus at night to discuss things with him. Who is Jesus? Why does He teach the way He does? How can he do these miracles? What was that business with the temple tables? Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel, gets the answers to all his questions but not in the way he expected. He finds out that good works won’t get him into heaven, but faith and grace.

It’s while Nicodemus is trying to process that that Jesus gives us the most familiar verse in the Bible, John 3:16. And this is an explanation of verse 15, ’cause Nicodemus is going to be saying to himself, “Why in the world would God do this? Why would God give eternal life to anybody who just believed in Him? Why would God not reserve eternal life for the people who kept the rules, right? For the people who followed the Law, for the people who kept the Sabbath, for the people who were traditionalists, for the people who were zealous for holy things, did the ceremonies, offered the sacrifices?” Wait a minute. Why does eternal life get to be given to whoever believes, and not just Jews that believe but whoever believes? How can this possibly be?

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

There’s so much in this one little verse! It’s in part why it’s so popular. How much time have you actually spent pondering this verse? Until I had to do this sermon I kind of took it for granted. It’s a verse we all know. We have seen it on signs, billboards and heard it quoted countless times. Children memorize it at Bible School. There’s a sense where we know it so well, have hard it so much, that it has become white noise to us. That’s why I want to spend a decent amount of time breaking down this verse. Be prepared this will be more than one sermon. There are 7 wonders to be found in John 3:16. Pastor & Author David Guzik listed them as such.

God	The Almighty Authority
So loved the world	The Mightiest Motive
That He gave His only begotten Son	The Greatest Gift
That whoever	The Widest Welcome
Believes in Him	The Easiest Escape
Should not perish	The Divine Deliverance
But have everlasting life	The Priceless Possession

How does this verse start? The same way everything has started, God. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” To Quote Rebecca St. James “
He made the night, he made the day, Spread the earth upon the waters, make the heavens and the rain,
Look at the sky; see its design, The very same creator is the one who gives life.
And what is man that he's mindful of us? We're merely clay in his hands, What am I that he loves me so much he would die? You know, all I can say is It’s God.”


Now that we know the who is providing salvation we have to ask why? Love. The World. Love is another word that we think we know but we really don’t.


We use it for everything. I love my wife, I love my kids, I love cheese and coffee. Then there’s the confusing but understandable I love you but I don’t like you. The world frequently interchanges love and lust as the same thing but they are not. Lust is selfish, Love is sacrificial. Lust is conditional. Love is unconditional.

The Biblical concept of love, as it is used right here, is a statement of commitment evidenced by unconditional sacrifice. In it’s over 130 appearances in the Bible it’s used to describe three things.

The first and foremost is that it describes the attitude of God not only towards His only begotten Son but to all of his children. Whether or not they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ or not. I want you to ponder on that for a moment. God loves Jesus, you and me, and the people that we despise most. Not only does He love us, He loves us all equally! 


Second, this is how God wants us to love one another!  Love thy neighbor as thyself! In the gospel of  Luke. The Pharisees and Sadducees were constantly trying to get Jesus. They wanted him to slip up in some way. So they tried trick questions and in Matthew someone asked what is the greatest commandment?  Jesus answered and cut right to the heart of the matter.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'38 This is the first and grea
t commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 

So what’s the difference between loving your neighbor and loving your neighbor as yourself? We all love ourselves. We’re very concerned about our own welfare, our own comfort, safety, interests, health, etc. We have a hope we want to realize it. We have a desire we want to fulfill it. We have a need we see to it that it gets met. Is that how we treat other people? Are we even that good to our friends? Our family? Our spouse and children? What about random strangers? This is a difficult command. In fact it’s an impossible command.


It’s difficult to love folks, because love is messy. What’s the most loving thing you can do for someone? Give them the gospel, both in word and deed. But Glen! You say. Those people aren’t deserving of the gospel. Agreed. Neither are we. No one is. 


Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”

Just like Nicodemus, we struggle with loving others. Yet, it’s not about whose deserving, it’s about who God loves and how He loves them! Unconditionally. 


Thirdly, love is not just something that God does. It defines His very nature. Love can be known only from the actions it prompts. God's love is seen in the gift of His Son, 1Jo 4:9, 10. But obviously this is not the love of complacency, or affection, that is, it was not drawn out by any excellency in its objects, Rom 5:8. It was an exercise of the Divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself, Cp. Deu 7:7, 8. Simply put God loves us because He loves us.

Who is this love directed toward? The World. The word her for world is Kosmas. Yes, that is where we get out word cosmos. There are some slight differences in the pronunciation but none that can be said with a southern accent. The Bible uses this word to refer to a couple of things. 1) The whole of creation, the universe. 2) All of humanity. 3) the ungodly multitude; the whole mass of men alienated from God, and therefore hostile to the cause of Christ.

God loves mankind. It doesn’t mean that He’s going to save everyone who ever lives. That’s pretty clear because verse 18 talks about the ones that are going to be judged ’cause of their unbelief. From this point forward we don’t hear anything else out of Nicodemus. He just stands there in silence. Who knows how much of this he is actually processing? 


What happens to Nicodemus after this? I imagine he walks away stunned, silent, confused, maybe sad, maybe angry, definitely humbled. A theological bomb just went off in his life. This meeting didn’t go at all the way he planned it. Many of us hear the truth of Christ and then walk away. We do not want to change our lives. We are happy and comfortable the way things are. We are going to trust in our works and our “basically a good person” theology. Nicodemus may have done that inintially but we see him two more times in John. 


The second time Nicodemus is mentioned, he reminds his colleagues in the Sanhedrin that the law requires that a person be heard before being judged (John 7:50–51). He does this coming to the defense of Jesus. 


Finally, Nicodemus appears after the Crucifixion of Jesus to provide the customary embalming spices, and assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the body of Jesus for burial (John 19:39–42).


Listen carefully. The free offer of the gospel is broad enough to include the worst sinner who believes. Did you get that? The free offer of the gospel is broad enough to include the worst sinner who believes. Even the chief of sinners; Paul said he was. Listen, the gospel is narrow enough to exclude the most moral religious unbeliever. The most moral, religious person on the planet that he hopes in their good works will be excluded by the gospel. The most, corrupt person on the planet who trusts only in Christ—the gospel is wide enough to embrace them. It’s by faith alone.