His Last Command: Our First PrioritySample

Day 9: That None Should Perish

John 3:16 NKJV

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.

Martin Luther said these twenty-five words of John 3:16 are the whole Bible in a nutshell. He called these the condensed Bible.

In this one verse of Scripture, we see the who, the what, and the why of the Bible.

The “Who” of the Bible

God the Father and God the Son.

John 17:23 NKJV

I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

God loves you and me and the whole world as much as He loves Jesus.

In John 17:24, Jesus continued His prayer to the Father and spoke of the love He had known before the foundation of the world. We can only imagine Jesus with the Father before time began. There was a beautiful, perfect relationship between the Father and the Son.

We can see that God the Father loves His perfect Son. However, we often find it hard to believe He could love us the same way. How can He do this? The answer lies in His infinite mercy and grace. After all, we can never do enough good deeds or act in a certain way to gain His approval.

Titus 3:4-5 NLT

When God our Saviour revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

When it comes to salvation, we are helpless. Older Bible versions (KJV) use the phrase “without strength”, describing us as feeble, weak, and unable to break the power of sin over our lives.

Romans 5:6-8 NLT

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

What extravagant love!

What beyond measure abandonment for others!

What excessive commitment to our well-being!

What total self-sacrifice for sin-filled strangers.

Ephesians 2:4-5 NLT

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)

The “Who” of the Bible is God. Our salvation rests on God and His grace alone.

“For God so loved …” - John 3:16

“You … have loved them…” - John 17:23

“When God our Saviour revealed His kindness and love..." - Titus 3:4

“But God showed His great love..." - Romans 5:8

The “what” of the Bible

The “what” of the Bible is that God gave His only begotten Son.

Jesus is God’s gift to you and me. God bankrupted heaven for you and me to give us the free giftof His Son.

2 Corinthians 9:15 NKJV

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Romans 8:32 NKJV

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Romans 6:32 NKJV

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 4:10 NKJV

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.

The “what” of the Bible is God’s gift of His Son - the sacrifice for our sin.

“His indescribable gift!” - 2 Corinthians 9:15

(God)… “delivered Him up for us all” - Romans 8:32

“…The gift of God is eternal life in Christ…” - Romans 6:32

“If you knew the gift of God … you would have asked Him…” - John 4:10

The “why” of the Bible

“Why” is the important question. The why of a thing always gives us the purpose and the reason. The “why” is always the mission statement of any person or organization.

John 3:16 encapsulates God’s mission statement in just four words:

THAT NONE SHOULD PERISH

The whole plan and purpose of God is that none would perish. Not one. Not one man or woman, boy or girl.

God sent and sacrificed Jesus that none should perish. And now you and I, who have been born again, have been called to His side for this purpose. Jesus has now called us to be part of His mission.

John 20:21 NKJV

So, Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.

Me? Sent by the Father? Hang on a minute. I’m not an evangelist. I don’t feel peace about that. I’m quiet, I’m shy … and many other reasons and excuses we might make for ourselves.

And yet Jesus said, you are just as sent as He was. You are as much on this mission as He is.

This is called the Great Commission. CO-MISSION

It means a common mission; the cause and purpose we share in common with God.

The mission is that none should perish.

People perishing without the Gospel is not an option.

2 Corinthians 5:15 NKJV

…And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

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Prayer

Lord, I thank you for the privilege of being on mission with you. I dedicate my heart, all that I am, and all that I have to your cause of sharing the good news of Jesus with my world and in my generation.