John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son

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.

(16)  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,   God's love and concern for mankind motivated Him to send His only begotten Son into this material world.  John's first epistle tells us that "God is love."  John further explains that man's highest concept of love in its best expression is too meager to be compared with God's love toward us. "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." - 1st John 4:10

Man's pitiful and helpless state moved God with such compassion that the Son was compelled to lay aside His glory and to put on the fleshly shroud of humanity.  Let us review the Apostle Paul's account of Christ's incarnation.

 

Though he was God,

he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.

Instead, he gave up his divine privileges,

he took the humble position of a slave

and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,

he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. - Philippians 2:6-11 NLT

 

God has revealed the story of His love throughout the pages of the Bible.  The love experienced by the Father was symbolized by Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mount Moriah.   By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. - Hebrews 11:17-19

 

And God's determination to intercede on the behalf  of man in his helpless condition is illustrated by Isaiah 59:

 

For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:

In transgressing and lying against the Lord,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.

Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.

So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him
That there was no justice.

He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.

For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak. - Isaiah 59:12-17
  

The fulfillment of God's zeal is also recorded by Isaiah:

 

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6

 

The writer of the Book of Hebrews records the Son's resolve to offer His body as a sacrifice for our sins:

 

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

"Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.

In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
You had no pleasure.

Then I said, 'Behold, I have come -
In the volume of the book it is written of Me -
To do Your will, O God.'" - Hebrews 10:5-7

 

The Crucifixion - Fra Angelico

 

That whoever believes in Him  The love of God has sent the Lamb of God to rescue man from sin and death.  For it pleased the Father that in Him[Jesus] all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. - Colossians 1:19,20  God has done everything so that man can be reconciled to his Maker.  However, not every man desires to be rescued.  Some are determined to remain alienated from God.  Often in their defiance they argue that God has no right to judge sinners since He gave man freewill and allowed sin as a choice.

 

They fail to observe that, at a great price, God has provided complete restoration and reconciliation through Christ; in essence placing every man in the position of Adam - to choose obedience and life, or independence and death.  Everyone must make his, or her, own choice.  When Jesus was born, Simeon told Mary, "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."  And the thoughts of the heart are revealed by our response to the Savior.  Wouldn't everyone want to believe their Creator loves them enough to save them from their own destruction?

 

Should not perish  The Greek word, "perish", is ἀπόληται (apolētai).  A more accurate rendering of the Greek would be, "should not be being destroyed."  "Being destroyed" describes an ongoing process.  Jesus described Hell as a place where "their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched."  Sin causes corruption.  So those who choose eternal disobedience will experience eternal corruption.  The Bible is clear that Hell exists as the final  place of judgment for Satan and his fallen angels.  God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." - 1st Timothy 2:4

 

But have everlasting life  Life implies thriving, growing, learning, and maturing.   Eternal life, is life with God. And God is good.  And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ.  This is the true God and eternal life. - 1st John 5:20

 

The words of Moses to the Children of Israel as they entered the Promised Land are also applicable to the choice between Heaven and Hell.  "I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.  I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." - Deuteronomy 30:18-20