Millions have memorized this version based on 17th century English:
“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.”
John 3:16 KJV
https://www.bible.com/1/jhn.3.16.kjv
#ItSeensToMe...we are wise to #reimagine~ review and revise as we take outdated and misleading English handcuffs off Scripture.
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 NLT
https://www.bible.com/116/jhn.3.16.nlt
#1 - Not how much but how
>The first phrase of this scripture looks back in time; not how much in quantity.
>Verse 16 looks back to 3:14-15 and the example of Moses
>What God directed Moses to do to rescue his people is now how God’s love has come to rescue the human race. “This,” (Moses lifting up the pole) is now what God has done, how God has loved the world. Yes, God loves us “so much” (quantity) but God’s love is not merely emotional, it is actionable.
#2 - Love?
-How has God demonstrated love? God gave. An unearned gift; amazing grace.
“But Christ proved God’s passionate love for us by dying in our place while we were still lost and ungodly!”
Romans 5:8 TPT
https://www.bible.com/1849/rom.5.8.tpt
#3 - Only Begotten?
>This does not indicate God had an offspring in heaven.
>The Scripture is not teaching polytheism.
>The word translated “only begotten” is composed of two words: “mono” (singular) and “genesis” (come to be)...indicating a being that is totally unique; a one-of-a-kind being.
>The author of this book, Jesus’s closest friend John, is telling us that God gave us a human being that was birthed by God. “What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace.”
2 Corinthians 5:19 CEV
https://www.bible.com/392/2co.5.19.cev
#4 Son?
>God did not send a male offspring from heaven. God created a unique person to walk and talk, live and die, then rise and open the door to eternal life. That person, Jesus, was a human being from Nazareth who was in dwelt with iGod in a unique, one-time-only, way.
>Jesus is the One of God who singularity qualified to be God our Savior.
#5- Trinity?
>God is one but reveals Self as Soverigh God (uncreated Creator; originator (father) of all life), Savior God (took the form and flesh of a human to die for our sins), and Spirit God (resides in each person who trusts God for salvation).
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“Jesus is the unique, one of a kind God who is now at the Father’s side. His uniqueness results from the dual nature He acquired when He who “was God” (John 1:1) became flesh (John 1:14). The Person of Jesus is eternal in His original nature as God, but in becoming man, He gained a human nature, resulting in unparalleled uniqueness.
The “Sonship” of Christ is not eternal, but is predicated upon the supernatural conception when the Word became flesh. Jesus is the Son of God due to the voluntary decision He made to clothe Himself with flesh and walk among men as Messiah. The title “Son of God” is expressive of His eternal nature as deity, i.e., true God (cf. 1 John 5:20).
In becoming flesh, the Divine nature was mated with a human nature, producing the Messiah of Old Testament prophecy. There is no instance in Scripture where the designation “Son” (in relation to Christ) is not used with reference to time subsequent to the incarnation.
The virgin birth gave the world the Son of God and the Son of Man in the unique Person we know as Jesus. Neither of these titles applied to the pre-incarnate Word. Although the Second Person of the Godhead is active throughout the Old Testament, not one time does He designate Himself as the “Son of God.” That title is reserved for Jesus who was born of the virgin, dwelt among men, was crucified for claiming to be equal with God, but was gloriously raised as the firstborn from the dead, powerfully demonstrating that He is the magnificent Son of God.”
Tracy White
Recently Revised Translations (that do not have the name King James in their titles)
A third test passage for me is John 3.16. And it is precisely because this is one of the most beloved verses in the Bible that the tendency is not to mess with the older beloved translation— ‘for God so loved the world that….’. The problem is, it is very unlikely that the connective word Οὕτως can or should be rendered ‘so’. The sentence instead literally reads ‘for God loved the world thusly/ in this manner— he sent his only Son….’ In other words Οὕτως is going to tell us how God loved the world, not how much he loved it. Bill Mounce has rightly fought losing battles to get the translators to render this verse properly, but still they refuse to budge. It’s interesting to see sola Scriptura Evangelicals so bound to translation traditions of old.
PATHEOS