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JOHN
3:16

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 Copyright © 2021

Smart Abavo

All rights reserved.

All scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Holy
Bible, except otherwise stated.

This book may not be copied or reproduced without the written

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 Dedication
To the outreach team in Benin, Nigeria, it‟s been a joy to serve the Lord
with you. And to everyone who is passionate about the Father‟s business,
may this book inspire and motivate your service.

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 Preface

John 3:16 is one of the most quoted verses of the Bible. Many children from Christian

homes are able to memorize and recite this verse. But the more important question is:

How many of us fully understand God‟s message to us from the verse? If we truly

understand the love of the Father, we would live more victorious and purposefully on

the Earth.

My prayer is that this book will bring us to a greater understanding of the

unconditional love of the Father demonstrated when He offered His only Son for the

salvation of the world at the cross. May God‟s overwhelming love fill you as you

open your heart to Him.

SMART ABAVO

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 Some English Translations of John 3:16

“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.” KJV

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His

only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on)

Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.”

AMP

“This is how much God loved the word: He gave his Son, his one and only son. And

this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a

whole and lasting life.” MSG

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that

everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” NLT

“For God had such love for the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever has

faith in him may not come to destruction but have eternal life.” BBE

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“For God so loved the world…”

Before we examine the love of God, let‟s explore the Personality known as God. The

Bible states “In the beginning, GOD…” (Genesis 1.1) The Bible neither reveals nor

describes an era when God never existed. .. This verse implies that a Being existed

before the milestone referred to as the “beginning”. It was God who began the

beginning. Without God, there would have been no beginning. Therefore, God is the

Author of everything in existence (John 1:1-3).

It is disquieting to know that there are humans (created by God) who believe that

there is no God. Nature provides sufficient proof that God exists. For instance, how

do you explain who and what‟s responsible for the rise and the setting of the Sun each

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day? Who can completely explain how a child is conceived in a mother‟s womb? Can

any of us explain how the breath of God in us sustains us?

Only a fool will say in his heart “there is no God” (Psalm 14:1). God is the Creator of

the universe. Everything in existence, whether visible or invisible, has been created by

God. “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.” Colossians 1:16-17 (emphasis mine)

It was God‟s unconditional love that resulted in the redemption of the world. He

created heaven and earth, but gave the earth to humans to rule and have dominion

over (Genesis 1:26) so that earth can be like heaven (Matthew 6:10). However, we

sinned (through Adam) and lost the authority to the devil who became the ruler of the

earth, which was never God‟s intention (Luke 4:6).

One would have thought that God would totally reject man in his fallen state but that

is not consistent with God‟s character. In fact, His love for us was first demonstrated

in the Garden of Eden when God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden. Genesis

3:22-24 says “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to

know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of

life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the

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garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the

man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword

which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

God‟s decision to send them out was for their own good. He sent them out to

prevent them from eating of the tree of life in their fallen state. Had they eaten of

the tree of life in their fallen state, they would have become irredeemable.

John 3:16 reveals the unconditional love of the Father in that while we were yet

sinners, Christ died for us. We all need to learn about God‟s unconditional love.

There are those who love only people who love them and hate those that do not love

them. This is not a description of God‟s unconditional love.

In recent times, the word „love‟ is abused by so many. In intimate relationships today,

many ladies claim to love, whereas their real motive is to obtain a “favour” from their

man. There are also men who claim to love but their intention is to be sexually

intimate with ladies and afterwards, abandon them for others. This does not describe

or reflect God‟s kind of love. His love is not self-seeking (1 Corinthians 13:5). If all

you live for is yourself, then you are yet to fully grasp the meaning of love. The

primary reason why marriages crash is because the individuals seek only their own

interest. For instance, some have lost their marriage because they deny their spouse

sex. It is very easy to say the man loves it too much. But let us take a look at Paul‟s

comment on this subject:

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“The husband should fulfill his wife‟s sexual need, and the wife should fulfill her

husband‟s needs. The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the

husband gives authority over his body to his wife. Do not deprive each other of

sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited

time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should

come together again so that Satan won‟t be able to tempt you because of your lack of

self-control. 1 Corinthians 7:3-6 (NLT)”

The verses above imply that love in marriage is not self-seeking. If you decide to

marry, then you have given your spouse authority over your body. In other words, if

your spouse demands sex, you should not deprive them of it, even if you are not in

the mood at that time. Of course, you would not always be in the mood for it. So how

do you cope with an excessive demand for sex? This is why we must marry someone

who understands the true meaning of love because understanding plays a key role in

marriage. An understanding spouse, who also knows that love is not self-seeking,

would certainly limit his/her demand for sex. They would no longer be interested in

solely satisfying their sexual needs but they would instead consider their partner. This

is the definition of love. If the world truly understands the meaning of love, divorce

rate would reduce significantly.

1 Corinthians 13 has been described as the love chapter of the Bible. Verse 7 of that

chapter reads “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures

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through every circumstance (NLT).” Here, we see that love encompasses a whole lot,

including perseverance, faith, hope and patience. But are our lives truly portraying

these dimensions of love? There are fathers who have given up on their wayward

children. Some men/women have given up on their unloving spouses. This contrasts

with the description of love from God‟s perspective. Love is the best way to save a

lost soul. God demonstrated this by sending His Son to die on the cross in order to

redeem the lost world (John 3:16). Love is hopeful. As Christians, we will keep

struggling to win souls for Christ until we walk in love. There are sinners around us

who seem too lost to be redeemed. Preaching hell to them would not do much. We

must present the love of Christ to them in our words, deeds and lifestyle. As long as

God has not given up on those sinners, we are not expected to give up on them.

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“…that he gave his only begotten Son…”
According to John 3:16, God demonstrated His love by giving. It is in God‟s

character of love to give. It wasn‟t out of necessity or compulsion; but from a heart

of love. This implies that love will involve some sacrifice by giving. You certainly

cannot love without giving. God‟s unconditional love is an exception and is different

from our culture of always receiving without giving.

There are many relationships where ladies expect the men to do all the giving while

they do all the receiving. This is unlike God‟s love. It is more blessed to give than to

receive (Acts 20:35).” There are also those who don‟t expect women to contribute

anymore to the relationship than the gift of their body. God had other plans in mind
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beyond the gift of a sexual partner when he created Eve for Adam. God made Eve a

help, suitable for Adam. She was called to support Adam to fulfill the assignment that

was entrusted to him (Genesis 2:18). Married women have more than just the gift of

sex to offer to their husbands. You can offer him godly counsel, prayers, peace of

mind. He needs all of these! He also needs your listening ears. You should be his

cheerleader. And who says you can‟t support him with your finances too? As a single

lady, if all you have to offer a man is your body, then you are not marriageable. A man

needs more than sex; he needs support.

Every true friendship will involve the giving of our time, energy and resources. If you

have a friend who is not adding value to your life, they do not deserve to be your

friend. There are people who have friends that are willing to buy them about ten

bottles of beer when they are depressed or despondent but these friends will never

offer any solutions to their problems. These are not good friends. True friendships are

tested in times of adversity.

Many Christians today claim to love Jesus. In church services, we sing hymns and love

songs to Jesus with teary eyes. But do we really love Him as we should? When Jesus

was asked about the great commandment, His response was apt: “…thou shalt love

the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, and with ALL thy soul, and with ALL thy

mind (Matthew 22:37) [emphasis mine].” It is either we love Him with our ALL or we

do not love Him at all. A proof of love is commitment. How often do we commit

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ourselves to Jesus? In a fast-paced society like ours, people spend over half of the day

at their places of work and then commit ten minutes of their time to talk to Jesus.

This definitely is not love! God seeks a relationship with us. He wants us to commit

our time, resources and skills for His use. Would you give your all to King Jesus or

would you waste your life on mundane things?

God gave all He had – His ONLY begotten Son, to save humanity. Jesus was all that

the Father had but He still gave Him up for the salvation of a sinful and wicked

world. What indescribable love! He gave His only Son to be crucified for the sins of

an undeserving world. Guess what? The sacrifice of love always yields great rewards!

God‟s act of love has resulted in more sons and daughters for His kingdom. Jesus is

no longer the only Son of God (1 Peter 1:3). Hallelujah! He is now the first begotten

of the Father (Hebrews 1:6; Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:18). Everyone who believes in

Jesus becomes a son of God (John 1:12; 1 John 3:1).

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“…that whosoever believes in him should not
perish…”
God‟s offer of salvation extends to all as depicted by the word „whoever‟. Anyone or

everyone is welcome. This implies that God is not prejudiced. He doesn‟t seek to

redeem only a select few. Instead, He continues to give the opportunity to everyone,

regardless of gender, demography, social status, ideology, race, etc. Everyone is

welcome, including smokers, the addicts and alcoholics, the prostitutes and

promiscuous, the greedy gamblers, robbers and liars. We all can receive God‟s

unconditional love and forgiveness at the cross.

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Anyone who believes in the Son of God (Jesus) will be saved. The Bible leaves no one

in doubt about what is required to be saved. We are saved if we believe in Jesus

Christ and trust Him for the salvation of our souls. We don‟t get saved by giving alms

to the poor or by acting sanctimoniously. Salvation is in and by Jesus Christ alone

(Acts 4:10-12; Romans 10:9-10).

The Bible says that if you believe in Jesus, you will not perish. Sadly, those who refuse

to believe in Jesus are heading to destruction. They are condemned already (John

3:18) and will eventually end up in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). This is referred

to as everlasting damnation. It is not a place of pleasure; you want to avoid it at all

cost. But the only way of escape is to believe in Jesus while there is still breath in your

nostrils.

There is no opportunity to repent and receive God‟s forgiveness in the grave. It is

not God‟s will for us to perish. (2 Peter 3:9). But we need to make that choice to

believe in Jesus, be saved and follow Him or to reject Him and spend eternity in hell.

There is no other alternative – we are either saved or not.

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“…but have everlasting life”
God promises everyone who believes in His Son Jesus everlasting life. Everlasting

(eternal) life is not necessarily life that has no end because everyone on earth will

actually “live” forever. But where will you spend eternity? Those who reject Jesus will

“live” (perish) eternally in the lake of fire while those who believe in Jesus will spend

eternity with Him.

“Eternal life” is the life of God. This life prevents us from perishing (John 10:28) and

gives us the ability to have a personal relationship with God. Beyond the regular

attendance of church events, our spirits can experience an intimate relationship with

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God (John 17:3). Jesus Himself tells us in John 17:3 that eternal life helps us to know

God. Because we have eternal life, we no longer fear of what will happen in the future

or even thereafter. An intimate relationship with the Lord is vital to our walk with

Him. The knowledge of God enables us to do His will effectively and to fulfill His

purposes in our lives. We have access and are able to take advantage of all Jesus Christ

purchased for us by His blood. Without eternal life, life has no meaning! Someday,

when the troubles of this world are over, we will see Jesus and spend eternity with

Him. We will reign with Him forever. What a great privilege to reign with Jesus!

If you have not yet made a decision to follow Jesus Christ, today is a great

opportunity to do so. Don‟t delay your salvation any longer. When Jesus returns for

His church or at the end of our lives, our fame and possessions would no longer

matter; the most important priority will be your eternal destiny.

You can accept Jesus today. Let us pray: Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of

God and that you died to set me free from the bondage of sin. Today, I surrender my

heart to you, I give you my life. I want you to be my Lord and Saviour. Come into my

heart dear Jesus; come in today; come in and stay. Thank you for saving me.

If you said that prayer from your heart, you are saved. You are no longer condemned

(John 3:18, Romans 8:1). Your past is now forgiven. You now have eternal life.

Welcome on board! Since God‟s Spirit now dwells in you, you can know God

personally and intimately. To experience the new life in Christ, you must continue to

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make the study of God‟s word, prayer and the fellowship of other believers a priority.

Enjoy your walk with Jesus!

I would love to hear from you.

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If this book has been a blessing, please share with others.

Smart Abavo is a teacher, author and coach. His desire is to see more young men and

women pursue God‟s purpose and live an imprint on this generation. Other titles

written by Smart Abavo include – 27 Important Lessons Life Has Taught Me; Who

Cares about Love?; Time‟s Winged Chariot; Maximizing Seasons of Waiting; Powerful

Quotes of Apostle Joshua Selman and Apostle Arome Osayi.

For speaking engagements, kindly contact [email protected] or

+2347034591402

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