And turn with me to John chapter 3. Gospel of John chapter 3. Next Saturday we celebrate one of the greatest events in the history of the world. The birth of Christ, the incarnation of our Savior, the eternal Son of God coming to earth and taking upon himself the flesh of humanity. The only other event in the history of the world that can compare in significance would be the crucifixion, and the resurrection, and the ascension of our Savior. And we could spend much time this morning talking about the mysteries of the Incarnation. God revealing Himself through the divine Logos, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. We could talk about the miracle of his birth. Born of a virgin, as Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 7, therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. We could talk about the hypostatic union of Christ. A union not of two personalities, but of two natures in one person. Jesus being both God and man. We could talk about the great obedience of our Savior, who was made under the law and kept the law perfectly, fulfilling its demands in every way. We could talk about all of these things, and all these things are wonderful indeed. and they should cause us to stand in awe before Christ. In fact, all of humanity should bow before Him in absolute silence before the spectacle of the birth of Christ our Savior. The hymn that we sing, let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand. Ponder nothing earthly minded, for with blessing in His hand, Christ our God to earth descendeth, our full homage to demand. The birth of Christ does strike all in our hearts, and it should. It should cause us to bow in holy reverence. But this morning I want to set something before you equally wonderful, equally awe-inspiring. I want to set before you something this morning that is beyond our comprehension. We cannot fully grasp it. We cannot understand it. It's beyond the ability of the human mind to wrap itself around. It's more than we can comprehend. I want to set before you this morning the reason for the incarnation of Christ. Now, we know that the ultimate end of all things is the glory of God. So the ultimate end, the ultimate reason for the birth of our Savior is the glory of God, that God might make Himself known, that God might reveal Himself in the fullness of His glory, that He might display His fullness in the birth of our Savior. But this morning, I want to tell you what motivated this display of God's glory. What motivated him to send forth Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of man. And it's in this simple verse in John chapter 3 that we memorized so long ago. Our children memorized it. Adults memorized it. It's probably one of the first verses that I was saved as an adult But it was probably one of the first verses that I memorized. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The reason that God sent forth Christ into the world is found in this simple but profound verse. for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son." Or again, 1 John 4, 9, "...by this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him." This morning, I want us to examine this wonderful, marvelous love that brought God to send forth His beloved Son into the world. For God so loved the world that He gave. He gave His only begotten Son and there has never, ever been a greater gift than this. Never been a greater manifestation of love. Love is one of the great attributes of God. I'm always careful about dividing the attributes of God because each attribute is essential to God's divine being. They are essential to God. And so to begin to pull out one attribute and separate it from the other attributes is to do violence to the very character of God. So I'm very careful not to do that. But that being said, Love is one of the great attributes of God. Because we find such passages such as 1 John 4.8, The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Love is of the very essence of the divine being. 1 John 4.16, And we have come to know that we have believed the love which God has for us, for God is love. The one who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him. Twice the Apostle says, God is love. Love is almost impossible to define. If I were to ask you, define love for me. It's one of those concepts that we all think we know and we think that we can wrap our minds around it. But then when we actually try to vocalize this concept, what is love, we begin to fall short. We find ourselves inadequate. We find words inadequate to describe this concept of love. But if we truly want to define love in the simplest yet most profound way, we can simply say the true definition of love is God, because the scripture tells us God is love. So, God is the very embodiment of love. Now, love does not diminish His other attributes. Love in no way is in conflict with His other attributes. It doesn't diminish His perfect holiness, because the Bible also says of God, He's holy, holy, holy. Nor does it stand opposed to His perfect justice. that God's love is that which is unfathomable and beyond our comprehension, that God would love us enough to send forth His only begotten Son. God's love existed equally and eternally in the Godhead with equal, eternal, infinite, matchless love being displayed between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Yet in the midst of this perfect, infinite love, God sent forth His beloved Son to die for us. His Son as a blessing sent forth to all of humanity. The ultimate display of God's love is in the incarnation. This is the display of God's love. When you begin to ponder what is the reason for the season, it's God's love. God putting His love for His people on display by sending forth his Savior. Verse 16 says, For God so loved the world. Literally, it reads, For God loved the world in this manner. That would be the literal reading. God loved the world in this manner that he sent forth his Son. Or you could read it, God demonstrated his love to the world in this way. that He gave His only Son. This morning I want to ponder this love for a few moments. I want to look at it under two simple headings. One, the application of John 3.16 as it applies to the whole world. Second of all, the application of John 3.16 as it applies to God's elect people. Let's look at these one at a time. First of all, the application of John 3.16 as it applies to the whole world. Wilton abused this text by taking it to one extreme or the other. And both Calvinists and Armenians are guilty of doing so. The Armenian says that God sent forth his son for the whole world universally, without limitation. And then Calvinists say, God sent forth Jesus Christ into the world for His elect and His elect only and neither side at times fall into the proper theological balance that God sent forth His Son for both groups yet you have to understand it properly as we consider God sending forth His Son for the sake of the non-elect For God so loved the world, meaning the world of all of his creation, the world of all human beings. God loves his creation. Jesus spoke of God's care even for the birds. He says in Matthew 10, 29, Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. In other words, something so insignificant. to the bird sold for a penny, insignificant as we consider the value of things. Jesus says, God cares so much for these birds that not a single one falls to the ground apart from His divine decree. God loves all of His creation. He is active in sustaining all of His creation. One look at your substance, your essence, one look at the human being, tells you God has great regard and great mercy even for the fallen race of men. You know, God has given us five senses, but each of these five senses are a receptacle for pleasure. Every one of them. And so, He gives us beauty, and He gives us music, and He gives us rich aromas, things to enjoy, flavors to savor, God could have sent food upon the earth to sustain us, but with no flavor at all. Nothing to savor, nothing to enjoy. The very reality of our senses in which, again, each and every one of them are a receptacle for pleasure. It tells us that we have a good God. A good God that loves to display His goodness even upon the wickedness of sinful flesh. This love and compassion is demonstrated even upon the lost, even upon those who hate him with a vengeance, and every lost person does. It's true that lost humanity is under the judgment of God. There's no doubt about that. I'm not soft peddling the wrath of God upon the fallen race of men. Lost humanity is under the divine judgment of God, and it is true that His wrath is kindled upon them, and it is true that they are under God's holy hatred. All of these things are true. Psalm 5-5, The boastful shall not stand before thine eyes, thou dost hate all who work iniquity. We're not soft peddling anything. And we are not denying God's holiness. We're not denying His divine wrath. We are not denying that He's angry with the wicked every day. But I do think some have lost the balance between God's holy judgment and His great mercy that He has sent upon lost, fallen humanity. The Bible teaches that God has a general love and compassion for all men, even those who hate and despise him. Jesus taught of God's love even for his enemies. Matthew 5.43, you've heard that it's been said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. In other words, that you might reflect your Father, the divine image, that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven, for he maketh his Son to rise on the evil and on the good. And He sent His rain on the just and the unjust. How do we know that God loves all men? All you have to do is look up into the sky and see the reality that the sun rose upon our city today. That's mercy. That's God's love. That's the display of God's goodness upon humanity. We should have awakened this morning to a plague. We should have awakened this morning to intense heat searing the skin from our bones. We should have awakened this morning to suffering and torment. The fact that we have awakened this morning to a beautiful day with sunshine filling the sky is testimony that God loves even his enemies for he maketh the sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust God is doing good things even for the wicked he's the father of mercies and so the father of love who so loved the world has to give his only begotten son listen to our Lord's words to the rich young ruler Mark 10.21 says, Then Jesus beholding him loved him. This was a God hating rebel who loved his wealth and his riches more than anything else. And the scripture tells us Jesus beholding him loved him and said to him one thing thou lackest go thy way and sell whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come take up the cross and follow me. All we can glean from this verse is Jesus looked upon this young man a God hater a rebel. And the scripture says, And Jesus, beholding him, loved him. Jesus looked upon this wicked, sinful, condemned man, and He looked upon him with love, and He held out His hands to him, and He said, Come, sell what you have, give it to the poor, and come. I will embrace you. God loves even the wicked, and sent forth his Son for the benefit of wicked men. He did not send forth his Son for the benefit of righteous men, because there are none. There's none righteous, no, not one. There's none that seeks after God. So we should not be ashamed to tell the sinner that God loved the world enough to send forth His Son to die for whomsoever will trust Him. We should not fear to make such a bold proclamation. We need to be careful of making these blanket statements, smile, God loves you. That's far different. and saying, God is merciful unto the wickedness of human beings and he sent forth his son to die for all of those who will repent and turn to him for forgiveness. God so loved the world. And the source of this love to all of humanity is the Incarnation. Christmas screams the love of God upon the earth. God so loved the world. that He gave His only begotten Son. There's no mercy apart from Christ. There's no goodness that God displays upon humanity apart from Christ. And so all of the goodness that people are enjoying today, all of the mercy that human beings are enjoying today, are all by Christ. God so loved the world that He sent Christ. As an act of mercy upon all mankind, you understand that apart from God's purpose, His redemptive plan in Christ, apart from Christ, every human being would be in hell at this very moment. Young person, I know we have several young people in our congregation at this very moment who have not received Christ as their Savior. The only reason you are not in hell right now is because God so loved the world as to send forth His Son that He's merciful. And the mercy you are enjoying right now It's because God so loved the world that he sent forth Christ. And it is the greatest wickedness for you to say, I despise him. And for you not to have him is to despise him. It's truly marvelous that God so loved the world. Christmas is good news. And it is good news to all human beings. I mean, listen to Luke 2, 9 and 10. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. The angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. You ponder, how can this be? How can it be that Jesus Christ came, the joy, the great tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people? Because apart from Christ, apart from that glorious birth of this little child 2,000 years ago, we would all be in hell right now. without hope, without mercy, without any possibility of escape, we would be in hell. For God so loved the world. Now, God's general love for all humanity is not the same and cannot ultimately be compared to the love that God has for His elect people. We never forget that there are millions of people in hell right now that God loved in this general sense of compassion and mercy. The compassion and mercy came forth through Christ. It came forth for God so loved the world. What I am not talking about God sending forth Christ redemptively for them in the sense of eternal life, in the sense of eternal mercy, in the sense of eternal salvation. The Bible teaches us that yes, God has a general love for all humanity, but oh how He has a love for His people. So the second aspect of John 316 I want us to look at applies to God's chosen people. Christmas is about God sending forth his son to redeem a particular people, a particular people. And therein lies the source of much dissension and much hostility in the Church of Christ today. Because although Jesus Christ came, and in a very general, real sense, with an act of mercy upon all of humanity, God sent forth His Son particularly for a particular people to save His people from their sins. Matthew 1.21 and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, and he shall save his people from their sins." John 10, 11. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. And not all men are the sheep of Christ. Jesus Christ was sent by the Father to accomplish a perfect work to deliver his people from their sins, to call his sheep unto himself. And our Lord's love for his sheep is both intense and particular. He loves his particular sheep, not just any stray sheep, but his particular sheep. And he will search high and low for his particular lost lamb. And when he finds it, he picks it up, puts it on his shoulders, and carries it to safety, where nothing ever will befall it. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who came to redeem his own. He says in John 10, 14, I am the Good Shepherd, and I know my sheep, and I am known of mine. Verse 27 of John 10, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. and they follow me." This is a particular, unique love that the Lord Jesus Christ has for His own. And this is a love that He had for His people from all eternity. He came to do a particular work for a particular people. His bride, His betrothed, the ones that the Father pledged to Him from all eternity, He came because of His infinite love for them. Listen to John 17. This is our Lord's High Priestly Prayer, verses 21 through 23. That they may all be one, who? His people. The ones He came for. The ones He came to redeem, to rescue, to save, to deliver, to bring to Himself, that they may all be one even as you father are in me and I in you that they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you sent me the glory which you have given me I have given to them that they may be one just as we are one I in them and you in me that they may be perfected in unity and that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you have loved me." Do you hear that? This infinite, exquisite love that the Father had for His own Son for all of eternity, He now has for you. You, particularly. For God so loved the world that He gave His Son that He loved. He loves you in this sense. It's the greatest of loves. It's covenant love. Do you know this love? Have you experienced this love? Is this the love that you have confidence that God has for you? that when he speaks of these people in John 17, you say, this is me. He's praying for me. He wants me. He came to die for me. He is working all good things for me. And he's coming back again for me. God so loved me that he sent forth Christ for me. This is the greatest of gifts that God has bestowed upon us. upon you is electing love, this infinite mercy in Christ Jesus. This is Christmas. This is Christmas. You talk about the reason for the season, and you've heard me say many times that there are two holidays being practiced together as one, the secular holiday and the birth of Christ. We should not miss this opportunity once a year. We marvel at it continually, and we do. Each time we come to the Lord's table, we should marvel at both His incarnation and His death and His resurrection. We marvel at these things continually. But it's good to set aside particular times. You see, there's no place in the Bible Well, yes, but I say no. I dare to differ with you. No, there's no charge in Scripture to pour out a particular day to celebrate the birth of Christ. But we do know that God commemorates dates. Why? Because He knows our frame. He knows we're prone to forget. He knows this. And so all through the Bible, God sets aside particular times for commemoration. What is the Passover? What was the purpose of the Passover? Why did they continue to celebrate the Passover? Because Israel was prone to forget, and so are we. Prone to forget. Once a year, they had this commemoration so they would not forget their deliverance from Egypt and what it cost to deliver them. Because they would forget. Years would pass and they would no longer have any understanding of what took place all these years ago. It's good for us to take a time aside. We don't have a biblical command for it, but it is good. We find implications. We find examples in Scripture. It's good for us to take time to consider. How often do you consider John 3.16? that God so loved me that he sent forth Christ for me. It's good to take times to commemorate. This birth of Christ is something that we should not take for granted. It's something that is at the very heart of God's love for us. And so, John 3.16 is at the heart of Christmas. God so loved the world that he gave He sent forth Christ for us and he sent forth Christ in his fullness for us. You know, there's a there's a verse in John. Turn with me to John 13. And unfortunately. Sometimes the English translations do not really give us the fullness of what's going on here. Few English translations do. In fact, the only one I know of that does is one of the ones I really don't like. I'll tell you in a moment which translation that is. But John 13-1 reads this, Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come, that he would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end so we find here John 3 16 tells us why God sent him and the same thought is continued here in John 13 1 that he would now is the time has come his hour has come to depart and we know how he would depart through crucifixion why would he die because God so loved the world that he sent him to die and it says having loved his own who these people for whom he came to die having loved his own who were in the world and then it says he loved them to the end well the word or the expression to the end it's the greek phrase eis telos and it carries them this this idea of completeness to fully do something or to do something to the uttermost so God loves us to the full extent of his capacity to the utmost that there's no limits that it is extravagant that it is unreserved that he loved us in the fullness that's in essence what's what's going on here He loves us to the full capacity of His love. For God so loved the world that He gave, He gave the greatest that He could give, His own Son. John 15, 13, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend. Now certainly, This verse points to the fullness of God's love in terms of duration. So, I'm not saying that these translations are necessarily in error, because He does love us in the fullness of duration. And so, we can say He loved them to the end, and that's a proper translation. You can translate it that way. But, He translated, I mean, He loved us in another sense and the only translation I know of that captures this, believe it or not, because I don't even consider the NIV a translation, it is a dynamic equivalence and the translators did not strive for a literal translation. Literal in the sense that perhaps the New American Standard or the ESV or the KJV would use. But the NIV translates it this way. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The full extent. The full extravagance of it. That's how much God loves you. He demonstrated it in the fullest way that could ever be demonstrated in sending forth His Son to die for these wretches that hate Him with a vengeance. Before God saves you, and Lowell's person here this morning, do not for a moment deceive your own heart into saying, well, I don't hate Jesus. I love Jesus. You do not. You do not. You hate him and despise him and you will not have him. The rich young ruler would have said also, I want you good master, good master. I think you're great. You're wonderful. I want you good master. What must I do to have eternal life? I want you. Jesus says, son. You want me. You can only have one God. Go sell everything you have. Give it to the poor. Come follow me. Jesus tells every one of you, follow me supremely, completely. And the fact that you have not can only mean that you love something else greater than him. And you say in your heart, I will not have him. which is the same thing as saying, I love myself and I want my way and I will do my good pleasure and I will not have him. God so loved the world. Are you among those that this is pointing to in the covenant sense? The boundless love that God poured out upon his own, which is full and extravagant. Christmas isn't about God sending forth His Son to a world of deserving, righteous men. Christmas is about God sending forth His Son to a world of God-hating men whom He would redeem and call His own. Romans 5.8, but God demonstrates His own love toward us. In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. How do you obtain this glorious love? You can't. You can't obtain it. You cannot do anything to obtain it. It's a gift. And a gift can only be received. As soon as you try to buy a gift, it no longer becomes a gift. It becomes a purchase. And you cannot purchase the love of Christ. It can only be received. And that's the glory of it. For God so loved the world that he gave, it's a gift. That even while we were yet sinners, Christ came and died for his own. Where do you know this love? It's at the very heart of Christmas. Do you know this love that God has given his son? Can you comprehend it? Can you wrap your mind around it? And it is so hard to do. The Apostle Paul writing to the church of Ephesus. Remember. The church of Ephesus knew something of the love of Christ. Don't forget the letter. To the Church of Ephesus in the book of Revelation. Remember, Ephesus is one of the seven churches that Jesus writes to. And what is the charge against them? That you've left your first love. They knew something of the love of Christ. But their heart was beginning to grow cold. It's to this church that Paul writes, you were sometimes darkness, but now you're light. Walk as children of light. Be what you are. It's to this church that Paul says, put on the whole armor of God. Because they were continually in danger of falling away. Not the true believers. But. even the true believers were starting to forget the love of Christ. Here's what Paul writes to the church of Ephesus. He says in Ephesians 3 beginning with verse 14, For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and the length and the height and the depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Can you comprehend it? Do you ever ponder it? This is fodder for meditation. If you want something to think about while you're sitting in a traffic light, there's much that you can ponder. The scripture is full of these morsels for you to consider. Just take the love of Christ and think about it. Now He loved me so, especially as you consider what you were. Picture the worst cesspool, filth and slime. The odor rises up and is beyond anyone's ability to come near it. And even when you were in this condition, Jesus Christ came for you. Can you comprehend it? Can you grasp it? Do you consider it? The height, it's higher than we can consider. The depth, it's deeper than we can ever know. The breadth and the width, it's multidimensional. And you consider it. This is Christmas. This is the glory of Christmas, that God so loved the world. Do you know it? Do you marvel at this love? Do you awaken each day with the wonder, oh, that God would love a wretch like me? Do you ponder it, that He has fixed His love on you? And is this your joy? There are many things that we can be joyous about, but nothing can compare with this. And if you are filled with a sense of sadness and your life is filled with discontent, you find nothing in life that brings you any sense of satisfaction. Could it be that you have not found this glorious truth? God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. May God grant us this week, next Saturday is Christmas. May God grant us this week to absolutely stand in awe. Remember John 3.16. I know you haven't memorized. And if you don't, just remember this. For God so loved the world that He gave. That He gave. Do you know this love? This is Christmas. For God so loved the world. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we consider this love, it is beyond our comprehension. It is beyond our ability to to grasp it, to wrap our minds around it. Father, we know what we are. There's nothing in us that would garner your favor. There's nothing in us that would consider us worthy of such a gift. The only thing that we've earned and deserved is your wrath. Father, you loved us. Even the lost world, Father, They're enjoying your mercy even this day. Father, nothing can compare with the exquisite covenant love that you have bestowed upon us. Thank you, O God. All we can say is thank you. Thank you, Father. And may we reflect this Thanksgiving with love returned, with obedience offered, with praise sung, with worship given. Father, help us to love you and to love you more. And now, Father, as we prepare to partake of yet another token of your of your rich love upon us, the bounty that continues to overflow. Father, we ask that you bless the food as we partake of this banquet together. May you bless our fellowship as we enjoy it as one body in Christ. Father, may you be honored by all that we speak and all that we do. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.