By Tin-chee Lo (盧天賜); September 7, 2021
“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
Most people say, the word “world” here means all the people on this earth. But some scholars say, the word “world” here refers only to the elect.
Q: which camp is right?
A: I believe both are right, depending on how you understand the word “loved”.
The phrase “For God so love the world” in John 3:16 can be perceived in two different angles. Let us explore.
The First perspective
The word “world” refers to ALL PEOPLE on the planet earth. This must follow that the world “love” refers to the enemy-loving love. For we ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And there is no righteous, not even one. So we ALL are in enmity with God. But God loves even enemies. Jesus even command us to love our enemies. Clearly, this kind of enemy-loving love must be different from that which parent love their children much less Heavenly Father loves His chosen ones.
God unconditionally loves all of us out of His common grace. He gives rain and air to sustain sinners’ lives, and the beautiful earth in which they live and the magnificent universe for all sinners to enjoy. Notwithstanding how wonderful this enmity-love is, all of us are doomed to perish without exception. We cannot help but exclaim that it would be better off for each one of us not to have been born into this world.
Then, John 3:16 continues, “that He gave his one and only Son” to mankind to make possible that some of this ALL will be saved. This is God’s act of love. But this is not the kind of enemy-loving love, this is the Fatherly-love shown not to all but to the elect only. To this particular group. God gives them faith as gift. With this gift, this group of people can and will believe in God, and as a result, the phrase, “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” can be actualized. With this understanding, it comes the second way of understanding for John 3:16.
The Second perspective
Given that John 3:16 focusses on redemption in particular, and that in the grand context of Gospel John in general, we can say that the word “world” in John 3:16 should properly be referred to the elect exclusively. It must then follows that the word “love” must refer to the Fatherly love and not the enemy-loving love mentioned in the First Perspective. Out of this divine love, Father-God gave His one and only Son to the elect exclusively and the accompanying God-given gift of faith as a means of grace to make sure that they have eternal life.
Understanding the distinction among different kinds of love and the basis of the doctrine of predestination, one can gain a deeper insight of this familiar verse, John 3:16. Christians should therefore not question God’s wisdom of election but offer their thanksgiving to Him as a proper response to His priceless gift of salvation.
Conclusion
• For those who advocate the generality, the word “world” means all people on earth, and the word “love” refers to the enemy-loving love given by God as His common grace to the sinful mankind.
• For those who advocate the particularity, the word “world” refers to the elect, and the word “love” refers to the Fatherly-redemptive love, the kind of love as Jesus said to His beloved disciples, “I have loved you with the love which my Father loves me.”
Therefore, these two perspectives of John 3:16 are two sides of the same coin without contradicting one another–if explained properly.
