Sunday’s Sermons

Text: John 3:35-36 4/19/09 a.m.
Thesis: The Father’s love and the centrality of the Son mean you have to make a decision.

Intro: Last week, from John 3:31-34, we looked at reason after reason that Jesus is above all. First, Jesus is from above, from heaven. He is God. Second, what Jesus saw and heard in heaven he shared with humanity. He is the authoritative witness.
Jesus is above all, third, because he was sent by God, spoke only the words of God, and possessed the Holy Spirit without measure. Because of whom he is and what he has done Jesus is above all. Today we will build on the greatness of our Savior.
Jesus, the Word of God and only begotten Son of God, is the center of the Fathers affections; the Father loves no one like he loves the Son. And God has given everything into Jesus’ hands; Jesus is the center of God’s love and the center of all of God’s plans. You see, we are building to a crescendo in verse 36: whoever believes in him has eternal life. The focus of God’s love and the reason for all creation must be the focus of our love and the reason for our existence. To believe in Jesus Christ is to be caught up in the center of the Father’s love and plan but to reject Jesus Christ is to be given over to the center of the Father’s wrath. Everything hinges on Jesus Christ.

Read John 3:31-36

Last week I emphasized the importance of words; doctrine is important. We are meant to have a relationship with God because we listen to the words of God. The words of God in verse 35 are important because they point us to

1. The love of the Father and the centrality of the Son

We need to understand that Father’s love for the Son is different from the Father’s love for the world. It is true that God loves the world. It is true that the word for love in John 3:16 is the same as the word for love in John 3:36. The difference comes by way of relationship. Apart from saving faith, what is the condition of the world? What have we already seen from this gospel? John 1:10 told us that Jesus came into the world that he made but the world did not know him. The world did not recognize, welcome, or love it’s creator. John 3:16 told us that the world is headed toward eternal death. John 3:19 is bold. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
John 3:20 puts it in plan terms, the world hates the light and does not come to the light. So when John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world we are not being told that God loved us the way a bridegroom rejoices over his pure totally devoted bride. God’s love for the world is a love of pity. The way the father loved the prodigal should come to mind. We have wasted the father’s gift. What the Father worked for was given to us and we wasted it on worldly passions. We are enemies of God and yet God loves us. God is merciful and gracious slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Ps 86:15). We, his creation, have spit in his face. He sent his only begotten Son and we crucified him. God’s Son spoke God’s words and we chose to listen to our hearts and follow the advice of fools. And yet God loved us. God’s love for us is true, powerful, undeserved and overwhelming. But when we say God loved the world and the Father loves the Son we are almost saying two different things.
God’s love for the world is one of mercy; it’s the faithful powerful love of a betrayed husband who gave the greatest gift for his unfaithful wife. God’s love for his Son is an eternal love of mutual joy and equality. After his baptism the Father said, “This is my beloved Son, which whom I am well pleased.” God no where refers to any of his redeemed people as a beloved Son. In fact, John in his gospel is very careful to never call anyone but Jesus a son. We are God’s children but in this gospel we are never called sons. We need to ask this question:

Does the Father love us with the same affection and intensity that he loves his Son? The answer is No.

John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God; the only God [referring to Jesus], who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” At the Father’s side is literally “in the bosom of the Father.” This implies a close relationship between the Father and Son that is unlike any other relationship. John Piper wrote, “Jesus spoke with such unprecedented endearment and intimacy concerning the Father that his enemies sought to kill him because, John 5:18, “he called God his own Father, making himself equal with God” (Pleasures of God, 32). The Father uses this same unprecedented endearment and intimacy when the Spirit inspired John to write John 3:35, “The Father loves the Son.” Listen to how God puts it in Matthew 12:18, “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.” Let me again quote John Piper and hopefully bring out the point more clearly: When we say that God loves his Son…We are talking about a love of delight and pleasure. God is not stooping to pity the undeserving when he loves his Son. That is how God loves us. It is not how he loves his Son. He is well-pleased with his Son. His soul delights in the Son! When he looks at his Son he enjoys and admires and cherishes and prizes and relishes what he sees. The first great pleasure of God is his pleasure in the Son (Pleasures of God, 34).
So when God affirms his love for his Son he affirms his commitment to the first commandment. God will have no other gods. He will love no one like he loves the Son. His delight will be first and foremost in his Son. His love for his Son from before the foundation of the world (John 17:24) into all eternity will always be greater than his love for us.
The Son is truly above all.

2. But God doesn’t love his Son and leave him on the shelf like some highly valuable but practically useless piece of art.
John 3:35, God has given all things into Jesus’ hands

Ownership of everything has been given to Jesus. Authority over everything has been given to Jesus. Sing it with me, “He’s got the whole world in his hands, He’s got the whole world in his hands.” Who does? Jesus has everything in his hands because the father gave him everything. Jesus has been given everything so that he can do with everything as he wills. Jesus said in Matthew 11:27, “All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” What did John the Baptist say about giving and receiving? John 3:27, “No one can receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.”
Everything hinges on Jesus Christ. He has received everything from heaven. Since he has authority over all things he is able to work all things for good (Rom 8:28). We are meant to understand that everything is secure in Jesus Christ. Everyone who is in Jesus Christ is secure because he has brought you in and he is powerful to keep you. No one can snatch you out. Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:28-29).
But how do the love of the Father for the Son, the authority of the Son over all things, and our redemption relate?
The worth and work of the Son is the reason whoever believes in him has eternal life.

3. Verse 36 is an encouragement and a warning
Look at verse 36, “whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.”

How do you know that? How can you be so sure? Because there is no greater gift, there is no sacrifice that could be more effective, than the death of the only begotten eternally loved Son of God for you. There is no gift of greater value than the Son that was given for you. There is no person of greater authority to secure your redemption. So there is encouragement. There is the encouragement to believe. We are enemies of God, condemned already, haters of the light, and lovers of the darkness. There is no amount of good things that we can do that will cause us to be accepted by God (Rom 3:20). In fact, all of the good things we do, all of our righteousness is like filthy rags in God’s sight (Is 64:6). You cannot restore yourself. You cannot make it right. What are you to do?

Believe in the Son. Believe in the beloved Son. Believe in the one who has been given all things. Believe that he is enough for you.
But believing he exists is not enough. The demons know he exists and it is not enough for their salvation how could it be enough for yours? (James 2:19). As we have worked through this gospel my definition of what it means to believe has certainly been enriched. Now this is my definition so where it helps you biblically then use it but where it confuses Scripture then please correct me. To believe in Jesus means to receive what is true of him as true of you. He is righteous so I am righteous. He is eternal life so by having him I have eternal life. He has all authority so I will seek to submit to his authority. I will believe his words. I will follow his example. I believe in Jesus.Therefore I have everlasting life. Right now. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever. Any rebel from the youngest to the oldest.
Believe in Christ. He has dealt with your sin and your death. He has told you. He has done it for you. Embrace what he said about you as true. Embrace what he has done for you as true and you will live. Repent to God and place your faith in Jesus Christ and you will have eternal life (Acts 20:21). Today, the unsnatchable unstoppable life of the age to come can be yours. Is it yours? Is Christ exalted in your eyes? Are you overwhelmed that the one whom God loves more than anything was given for you? Do you understand your need for a savior and do you see that he meets your every need? Believe in him and eternal life is yours.

You have every encouragement to believe in him and
You have been warned. God in his grace sounds a sobering note in this otherwise happy tune. Look again at verse 36 (read it)

Some translations read “whoever does not believe the Son” instead of “whoever does not obey the Son”. Both phrases are saying the same thing. Notice the prepositions if you have the repeated word believe. I’ll use the NKJV as an example, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life.” Do you see that everlasting life comes because you believe in the Son but not seeing life comes when you do not believe the Son? It doesn’t say that not seeing life comes when you do not believe in the Son. Eternal hell comes when you do not believe the Son; when you do not listen to his words; when you do not obey. It is unfortunate that in the noble attempt to protect justification by grace through faith alone we have removed the sharp point of God’s word. What I mean is some of you are trying to get out of the truth of verse 36 due to some translation differences. “I don’t really have to obey; that’s not grace”. Feel this sharp point and I pray it drives you to the end of your self-righteousness and straight into the loving arms of the Father. John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 15:10, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.” Do you believe him? Do you believe Jesus? If you do not believe him you will not see life. If you do not obey the all authoritative Son you will not enjoy the eternal love of the Father. Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” All things have been given to Christ, Christ has been given for you, believe in him, submit to him and God will graciously give you all things. You will be given grace. You will be given a new heart. You will be given joy. You will be given strength to endure. All that is required of you will be freely given to you. God will work obedience in you (Philippians 2:13). Or you can stay where you are. You can remain under the wrath of God. And God will punish every wrong. This is a foundational biblical truth. God will not let the guilty go unpunished. Exodus 34:7, he will by no means clear the guilty. And all of us are guilty. All of us are by nature children of wrath (Eph 2:3). We are light haters and darkness lovers. And the day of reckoning is coming. We refused to listen to Christ. We refused to embrace what is true of him as true for us. We would not obey. Therefore, God is just in sending us all to hell.
All of you who hear my voice right now. If you do not believe in Jesus Christ the wrath of God will remain on you because of your disobedience. You will spend eternity in torment because of your rebellion from the loving rule of the beloved Son. Believe in him and you will live. You have encouragement and you have a warning. I pray that today the Spirit will convict you of your great need for a Savior. I pray that right now the Spirit will impress on you the glory and greatness of Jesus Christ who alone provides for your every need. May today be the day of salvation. All you must do is believe. Cry out in repentance to God and place your faith in Jesus Christ and you will be saved. I stand down front ready to rejoice with any who receive Christ today.