The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:16-21
(3) Divine love and judgment. read more
John-3:16-19,-john-3:16-niv
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:17
For —notwithstanding your vain and selfish interpretation of the older revelation— God sent not his Son to judge the world. Observe that the word "sent" replaces the word "gave" of the previous statement ( ἀποστέλλω , not πέυπω ). The word carries with it "the sending on a special mission" (see notes on John 20:21 ), and arrests attention by denoting the immediate function of the Son of God's mission into the world. He was sent, not to judge the world. This judgment is not the... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:17
The great purpose of God in the mission of his Son. Consider it— I. IN ITS NEGATIVE ASPECT . "For God sent not his Son," etc. This implies: 1 . That God might have sent him for purposes of judgment. 2 . God did not do what he might have justly done. "For God sent not," etc. 3 . Much of God ' s goodness to the world consists in not doing what he might justly and easily do. II. IN ITS AFFIRMATIVE ASPECT . "But that the world through him might he... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:17-21
The Incarnation regarded respectively in its design and in its actual result. I. THE DESIGN OF THE INCARNATION . "For God sent not his Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world through him might be saved." 1 . It was for the salvation of the world. (a) from the guilt of sin, (b) from the power of sin, (c) and to give him an eternal inheritance in glory. 2 . It was not for the judgment of the world. The Jews expected the kingdom for the... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:18
Salvation is the Divine result of believing on him, and salvation lifts the saved man from the necessity of the judgment, of the moral discrimination which awaits every man, and is passed upon every man by his own conscience and by the providence of God. The word κρίνω does not necessarily mean "to condemn" (see John 3:17 ), and whensoever the unfavourable issue of judgment is emphatically referred to, then κατακρίνω is used ( Romans 2:1 ; Romans 8:3 ; 1 Corinthians 11:32 ; ... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:18
Faith and judgment. Man's life is full of alternatives. Choice between different paths that offer themselves, often between two paths, determines the direction and the character of the journey. If it is so in the decision men form as to a profession, an abode, a friendship, etc., is it not also thus with regard to religion, with regard to the principle which shall govern our moral life and decide our lasting destiny? Immediately after propounding one of the fullest and riches statements of... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:19
The above interpretation is confirmed by the explanatory sentence which follows, and which is obviously meant to explain the nature of the κρίσις , the process of the judgment of which he had spoken. This crisis, in the case of the believer, furnishes a clear and illustrious proof that the Son of God had primarily come to save, not to judge; while in the case of the unbeliever it was sufficiently manifested by the absence of faith in that which was so sublimely adapted to induce... read more
Spence, H. D. M., etc.
The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:19
Lovers of darkness. Our Lord's discourse to Nicodemus was mainly of redemption and regeneration, and was therefore bright and hopeful. Yet he was constrained, in faithfulness and candour, to speak also of condemnation. The prospect before mankind was not one of unclouded glory. The prevalence of sin and the alienation of man from God were a cloud upon the horizon which obscured the brightness even of the gospel day. I. THE ADVENT OF LIGHT . In the spiritual world light is the... read more
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - John 3:16
For God so loved - This does not mean that God approved the conduct of men, but that he had benevolent feelings toward them, or was “earnestly desirous” of their happiness. God hates wickedness, but he still desires the Happiness of those who are sinful. “He hates the sin, but loves the sinner.” A parent may love his child and desire his welfare, and yet be strongly opposed to the conduct of that child. When we approve the conduct of another, this is the love of complacency; when we desire... read more
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The Pulpit Commentary - John 3:16-17
"The gift of God." This is the language either of our Lord himself or of the evangelist. If these are Christ's words, they contain his authoritative testimony to his own declaration. If they are the words of John, we have in them the inspired judgment of one who was in most intimate fellowship with Jesus, and who was peculiarly competent to represent his Master's work in accordance with that Master's own mind. Familiar as this comprehensive and sublime utterance is to all Christians, there... read more