JOHN 3:16 has become one of the most controversial texts in the whole Bible, which may prompt the question: Why? This is because Satan sees and realizes it is the most concise summary of the entire gospel message. Never has so much meaning been compressed into such a small space; it is one verse.

Our text gives a deeper insight into the true character of God than the heavens that declare the glory of God. In PSA 19:1 we read, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork."

Even this firmament which shows the handywork of God and all His tender mercies in providence which are over all His works, do not give such an insight into the true character of God as our text. "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," JOH 3:16.

Another thought comes to mind. Stop. Consider. To whom did Jesus preach this message? A man named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, came to Jesus by night, and this sermon of JOHN 3 was preached to that one man. If the sermon had not been recorded in print, it would not have traveled far because it was not spoken to a large multitude. This most concise summary of the entire gospel has been preserved for the church unto this day.

FOR OUR FIRST POINT, let's consider the love of the Father in giving His only begotten Son.

FOR OUR SECOND POINT, let's consider for whom He gave His only begotten Son.

Since so much is compressed into one small text, we are not able to unfold this in one message. Therefore, we will dwell on the first point in this message, and the Lord willing we will take up our second point in the next one.

FIRST, let's consider the love of the Father in giving His only begotten Son. With reference to the gift spoken of in our text the Apostle Paul exclaimed, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift," 2CO 9:15. Paul is saying that neither the human tongue, nor words in the human vocabulary, are able to explain and describe this gift—this unspeakable gift. The unspeakable gift that God the Father gave in giving His Son cannot be described.

To even attempt to fathom the love of our heavenly Father spoken of in our text, we must hold it in its true context, especially since it begins with the word "For". When held in its full context, our text points back to the substitutionary death of His only begotten Son. His Son was put to death so we might live.

The two verses preceding our text are JOH 3:14-15, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

When the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, they were told to look unto the brazen serpent whenever a serpent bit anyone, and they would live. To look upon that brazen serpent for a cure was an act of faith; they had to look beyond themselves; those who obeyed lived. "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up;" the Son of man must be lifted up in the gospel as the cure for our malady of sin. We are to look unto Him as the cure for sin as He is lifted up.

Verse 15 continues, "That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." To believe in Him is to stand in holy reverence and awe of the authority that was given to the Son by the Father for His perfect obedience, PHI 2:8-9.

Now let's consider JOH 3:18, "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." In other words, those who are condemned are those who have not had a holy reverence for the NAME above all names, and the authority connected with that NAME.

The source and fountain of the love of the Father in giving His Son was not found in a lost, ruined, and guilty world. Many people have preached about the love and sacrifice of Christ, that it was His love that put Him on the cross and held Him there, but have you ever stopped and tried to fathom the love of the Father in giving His Son?

The love of the Son was primarily His love to the Father; it was His holy reverence for His Father's will that He "...became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Jesus died in obedience to God, the Father; it was the Father who gave His Son!

The source of the Father's love is not in our spiritually dead and guilty world. We find the source of His love in ROM 8:28-29: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."

"For whom he did foreknow" are those with whom He entered into the marriage relationship; it is the intimate, loving relationship He entered into with His dear children before He even created the world. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son," is the fountain and source of the love wherewith the Father gave His Son.

The Father's love began in eternity before the world was created; He predetermined that His people should be conformed back into the image of His Son. The Lord Jesus Christ was the first-born of the family of God; He was the first one to fulfill perfect obedience to His Father's will in our human nature to make restitution and reconciliation with God, the Father, for His bride. The Lord Jesus Christ would be "...the firstborn among many brethren."

God, the Father, looked upon His people in their ruined condition and predestined that they would be restored into His image by the gift of His Son.

The love of the Father for His Son's bride becomes so great when we consider who it was that He "So loved..." In other words, the love of the Father was so great that He loved us while we were still His enemies. We see how great the love of the Father is in ROM 5:6-8, "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

At one time one of my little children was at the point of death, and I felt she was going to be taken away. The Lord lay on my heart that I was unworthy that He should spare her life. Could I pray for her? Could I even ask the Lord to restore her? I didn't deserve it, and neither did she deserve to be preserved, being fallen in that same pit of corruption by nature of Adam's fall. I had to stand there before the Lord at the bedside of that little child who would apparently die.

A parent may think they love a child, but they don't understand love until they stand at a deathbed expecting at any moment to see her taken away. Then every pang of the heart is drawn out in love for that child. At such a time that love comes into such exercise that we begin to understand the power of love.

Now we see God, the Father, allowing His own Son to be brought not only to the point of death but slain! For whom? For the ungodly. Now try to fathom the love that God has for His people while they were yet sinners.

Let's continue that we might have but a glimpse of the greatness and magnitude of His love. ROM 5:7-8 says, "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Think about that unspeakable gift of the Father!

For whom did God, the Father, give the gift of His Son? It was for those who plaited the crown of thorns and placed it on Jesus' head; it was for those who took the reed and smote Him, and spit upon Him. They mocked and scourged Him. For those He gave His Son. Oh beloved, what an unspeakable gift.

The Father "So loved..." His Son's bride that when He saw her polluted in her own blood, "...he gave his only begotten Son," that she might be cleansed in His blood. Her blood was upon her head because of her sin; she was a wretched, miserable sinner. Now God sends His own Son in our human nature and brings Him into the Garden of Gethsemane to sweat His own blood. For whom? For His polluted church.

Look at EZE 16:6, "And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live." Three times in one verse we see the phrase when thou wast in thy blood. See the magnitude of the love of the Father being commended unto us. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us," ROM 5:8.

Our blood is upon our own head as the penalty for our sin. Now consider the implications of that statement. That means we are justly condemned to death, yet He said, "Live" when He saw us in our own blood. We can only live by the gift, the unspeakable gift, of the Father in giving His own Son to die in our place.

The whole world was polluted in its own blood, yet our text says, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Stop to ponder and marvel at the character of God who demonstrated such love by the unspeakable gift of His Son.

What is the source of that love? The Apostle John describes the very character of God as being love. Now we see the source; that is His very character. "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love," 1JO 4:8. If you and I do not understand love, if we do not love our brother, if we do not love God, we do not know God. How is it possible to know God when His very character is love if we know not love? God is love.

The Father "So loved..." His own because they were His Son's bride, not for any worthiness in her. While we were yet in our sins, He gave the gift of His only begotten Son. His gift was not given for Godly children who were serving Him; it was for wretches, hell-deserving sinners.

In EPH 2:3-5 we read, "Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)" Can you even attempt to comprehend the greatness of that love? The source of the love of the Father for us sprang from His heart; that is what prompted Him to give the gift of His Son to be crucified, nailed to a cross. For whom? For hell-deserving sinners.

When our hearts are overwhelmed with such love we may well ask with David in PSA 8:3-6, "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet."

When we consider the holiness of His Son and who His Son is, the only beloved of His Father Who is without sin, what is sinful hell-deserving man that God is mindful of us? Why would the Father of heaven and earth give His Son for wretches such as we are? The only source or fountain of such love is the very character of God, which is love itself.

EPH 2:4-7 says, "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us [When?], Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus."

"What is man, that thou art mindful of him?" After considering this question of David, we must answer with Jesus, "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight," MAT 11:26. How could there be any other source of such love?

The compass of the Father's love was no less than the world; His gift was not limited to a certain individual or group. The scope of His love encompassed the whole world; His loved ones are in every part of the globe. The object was to deliver His Son's bride from going down into the pit, and the result was no less than finding a ransom. What is the ransom? The perfect obedience and the blood of His own Son was the ransom.

Love is measured by actions. A man can tell his wife how much he loves her, but if his actions do not correspond, he might as well save his breath. It would be a waste of time and energy to tell you how much God, the Father, loves His people if He had not demonstrated it with His actions. Jesus illustrates and teaches us how our actions demonstrate our love. The act of giving His Son established and demonstrated the love of God, the Father.

Mary was in Simon's house; Simon was condemning her by saying that if Jesus was a prophet, He'd know Mary was a sinner. Jesus replied in LUK 7:44-47, "Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little."

How much did the Father love his church? How much did the Father love the bride of Christ to give such a price? Jesus points out that the action, what is done, establishes how great the love is. How great is the Father's love? Jesus teaches us that the more one does to reveal his love, the greater the demonstrated love is.

By the nature of the Father's gift of His "...only begotten Son," in whom He was well pleased, He demonstrated not only His character of love, but also the extent of the love He had for WHOM? For rebelling, perishing enemies. Does this make us a little more tolerant of those who rise up against us?

We are created in the image of God. How much do we demonstrate by our actions that we in fact love God? He gave His own Son for rebelling, perishing enemies; for people He could have justly condemned to hell forever, but by His actions He demonstrated His love. Do our actions reveal love or criticism? Can we find so many stones to throw at our fellow man, or do we live in a house of glass, i.e., would we break out our own windows if we threw a single stone?

How can the human mind even attempt to fathom the love of the Father in giving His only begotten Son to redeem those who nailed Him to the tree? While the Lord Jesus was hanging on the cross, He said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do," LUK 23:34a. Do we realize it was for the very people who crowned Him with thorns and hung Him on the cross, mocking and scourging Him that the Father gave His Son? How do we find words in our human vocabulary to express such love?

ACT 2:22-23 says, "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." It was by God's "determinate counsel and foreknowledge" that His gift was given for His Son's bride; it shows the intimate love and relationship God had for His church before the world was ever created. Thereby He came to that determinate counsel to give His Son.

With wicked hands they crucified and slew the Lord of Life and Glory who demonstrated time and again that He was the Son of God. Those were the same men who were pricked in their hearts, came to Peter, and said, "...Men and brethren, what shall we do?" ACT 2:37. Not only these men, but three thousand were added to the church in one day, ACT 2:41.

Can we fathom such love as the Father had from eternity that He predetermined in His counsel for such hell-deserving sinners? He gave His Son for such scourging, mocking, and suffering. Why? He had an unspeakable love for you and me. We were among those who nailed Jesus to the cross; even though we weren't there in person, our wicked hands crucified Him; if we are saved, it was our sins that held Him to the cross.

By "...the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God," the Father decreed to allow His only begotten Son to stand in the sinners' room that they might stand in His.

2CO 5:21 says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Who made the Lord Jesus to be sin? It was God, the Father, who made His Son to be sin and to come under His own wrath; Jesus knew no sin, but He became sin that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Can you talk of the unspeakable gift He gave in giving His Son for your own soul? His Son was placed in our place, made sin before His holy bar of justice so you and I can spend eternity in the Father's bosom with Him.

If we could receive but a glimpse into the righteousness of God, we would understand ROM 1:16-17. The Apostle Paul says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth...For therein is the righteousness of God revealed..."

We should stand in holy reverence and awe of God's righteousness; before He would let one sin go unpunished, He would have it punished in His own Son. What an eternal wonder that God's love would be so great for His people that He would give His own Son to satisfy His righteousness in their behalf. "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," JOH 3:16. This is the unspeakable gift of the Father.

Now we add His righteousness. Do you begin to see the character of God? He is so holy and righteous that He could not allow one sin to go unpunished. Do you realize, "The thought of foolishness is sin," PRO 24:9?

Stop and realize that the Lord says, "...the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores..."? ISA 1:5-6.

The Lord says, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away," ISA 64:6.

The Lord our God is a holy God Who cannot allow sin or the sinner to come into His sight, yet "God so loved the world" that He allowed His own undefiled Son to be made sin. Why? It was so you and I might be cleansed in His blood! Think of that! "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him," 2CO 5:21.

To be made the righteousness of God means to be made so pure, so spotless, so clean and holy that we might become reconciled with such a holy and righteous God.

Oh, beloved, to think of the unfathomable love of the Father for Christ's bride to satisfy His righteous wrath upon His only begotten Son. He could not let one sin go unpunished. What awe we must have for the character of God. He is love, and His love is so profound and strong, yet His righteousness is so unaltered.

His just demands under the law are not altered even by such love. Would you want to come into a court in this world, which was that just? Think. You and I are going to come, on the Day of Judgment, to be judged by judgment that is that just. Not one evil thought will go unpunished; it is punished either in His own Son or in the sinner's own eternal damnation.

LUK 22:41-44 says, "And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

Stop and ponder Jesus' request to have this cup removed. Earlier I mentioned how every pang of one's heart goes out to a child who is near death. Here now we see the love the Father has for you and me when He sees His Son in the Garden, sweating in His own blood, prostrate on His face in prayer, pleading, "If thou be willing, remove this cup." It was impossible. Why? The reason is the love He had for us. "God so loved the world..."!

Can you see how Jesus’ prayer was drawing out the love of the Father? Can you see the paradox? The love the Father had for His dear children and the love He had for His own dear Son. Now we see His Son pleading while sweating His own blood, "Father, If thou be willing, remove this cup." Then His Father sent an angel to strengthen Him.

The result was that Jesus prayed more earnestly, "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."

Can you imagine the Father turning down that request with such prayer from His own Son? His own Son! Why? "For God so loved the world..."

As the Father beheld His only begotten Son sweating blood, pleading to Him, "Father, If thou be willing, remove this cup," we must also remember the love the Father had for his Son as Jesus said in JOH 17:24, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

The love the Father had for the Son was also eternal. As Jesus pleaded that eternal love, the Father sent an angel to comfort and strengthen Him, but being in an agony He only prayed more earnestly, and what was He praying? "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." It was the love the Father had for you and me that made Him restrain His love for His Son. His love for us kept Him from granting that request!

"O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me," JOH 17:25. Think of the paradox in the two words righteous Father. Righteousness demanded the full satisfaction of the law; His tender Fatherly love, that He had for His church and for His Son are from eternity, before the foundation of the world. Righteousness and love are brought together. What a paradox!

We read of this beloved, only begotten Son in HEB 5:7-9. "Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."

Can you picture a person that has had one glimpse of such love that could sin against that love? How can we sin against such love?

What does He say, "And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment," 1JO 3:23. What did Jesus purchase with His blood? He bought a rebellious, stiff-necked people to deliver them from the power of sin.

Now what is His commandment to us? "Love one another." Can you and I see a mote in our brother's eye with a self-righteous beam in our own eye?

HEB 5:8-9 says, "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."

There was no higher proof of Abraham's love to God than when he did not withhold his only son. In GEN 22:11-12 we read, "And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me."

How do we show our love for God? It is to have a holy awe and reverence for His will; the first table of the law is to love Him with our heart, soul, and mind. The angel told Abraham that God knew he feared Him because he obeyed; he did not withhold his son. See the love of the Father who did not withhold His only son.

No living thing will readily lose its offspring. We need look only as far as the natural world around us; a mother cow will protect her calf. Yet our heavenly Father allowed his only begotten Son to perish "...that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The love of the Father is unfathomable, unthinkable; it is unspeakable. He allowed His own Son to perish at the hands of sinners so whosoever believeth in Him would not perish, but have life everlasting.

Many a parent has found it most grievous to give a son to be exposed to the ravages of war; but our heavenly Father gave His Son to be mocked, scorned, and ruthlessly crucified by those whom He came to save. We need to understand who mocked, scorned, and crucified Him. If we have a part in that salvation, it was you and I who did it. Does that make us stand in awe of His will when we see the unfathomable love of the Father?

MAT 27:29-31 says, "And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him."

The Father gave His Son for those people to be mocked and tortured; the Father knew that He was giving His Son for these people; He knew this from eternity. Jesus also knew this from eternity; this was the reason He came. From the beginning both Father and Son decreed that this was to happen.

I had to go to the Army, and I still remember how my parents yearned when my brother and I went overseas to a peaceful country. Think of those who gave their children to go into the ravages of war. The results these cases presented were predominantly tragic.

Yet the Father gave His Son to be scorned and crucified. Think of the shame the Lord Jesus was exposed to, and the unfathomable love of the Father who "...so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Oh, the unfathomable love of our Heavenly Father to give His only begotten Son to be forsaken of His own Father in our behalf. They led Him away to crucify Him. Why was He forsaken by His own Father in our behalf? Do you know why? You and I deserve to be forsaken by Him for eternity. God, the Father, gave His own Son to be forsaken in order to purchase our salvation so you and I could spend eternity in His bosom.

We read in MAT 27:46, "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Not only did Jesus lie in the Garden pleading, "...Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me," but now as He is hanging on the cross, He cried out unto His Father, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

Oh, Beloved, what unspeakable love of the Father to restrain His love for His only begotten Son in such an hour because, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

All this sacrifice which the Father made was to appease His just wrath upon the sin of His Son's bride. 1JO 4:10 says, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." It was not that we loved God; we were His enemies. We mocked, scorned, and crucified His Son, yet He sent His own Son to pacify His wrath upon our sin. Such an unspeakable love to give such an unspeakable gift!

Now think what an admonition such love is to us to love one another. See now the very next verse, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another," 1JO 4:11. If a brother has offended us, how would it even slightly compare with our offense against God? How would it even slightly compare if we were to put coals of fire upon his head, overcoming him with love, with the coals of fire God, the Father, puts upon our heads? "Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death...the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it..." SON 8:6-7. Even though the waters of death overflowed His own dear Son, yet they did not quench the Father's love for His dear children.

He has given us such love in exchange for wicked, hateful spite and rebellion against Him. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another. How? Jesus says, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you," JOH 15:12.

"No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world," 1JO 4:11-14.

Do we live in that mind and spirit? Do we show evidence that we dwell in Him and He in us? Do we have the self-sacrificing Spirit of Christ? Can we so love our brother as the Father has loved us?

As we learn to see the plague and corruption of our own hearts we must gain a glimpse of JAM 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

Think about a person sentenced to death or a notice that a person is terminally ill with only a week to live; a countdown of days begins. Every day lived brings that person closer to death. Now consider that the Lord says in His Word that one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.

The Lord Jesus has been sentenced to die. The Father from His bosom and heart has given His Son; He watches His people continue in their sin against Him. They provoke Him; He sends His prophets only to have them stoned. This continues for thousands of years after He has committed to give His Son.

With God there is no variableness or shadow of turning. Nothing you or I have ever done has ever altered His love. Is that the kind of love we have for our brethren? No matter what another may do to us, does it alter our love? We need the Spirit of Christ.

For four thousand years, every time a burnt offering was made, the blood of the burnt offering pointed to that blood of His only begotten Son to appease the wrath of God against those who gave the sacrifice. All of the burnt offerings pointed to the perfect atonement that Christ would make.

For four thousand years the blood of Christ was ever before the Father; from before the foundation of the world, Christ was slain in the eyes of the Father, but with Him there "is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

In the Old Testament He pleads, "...As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?" EZE 33:11. His unspeakable love was unaltering.

Our heavenly Father spared not His only begotten Son; it was not on a spur of the moment, but from eternity that the blood of Christ was ever before Him as the propitiation of our sins.

ROM 8:31-32 says, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"

Think of the consolation in the unchangeableness of the Father. Our heart should smite us when we turn from Him because we have sinned against such love. He could have justly cast us all off forever. It is the love He has had from all eternity, which spared not His Son that spares us.

Oh, how often we find ourselves falling so short of His rightful glory. ISA 53:6 says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Stop now to ponder the bitter thoughts, which enter our minds. Think about our gross sins: bitterness and hatred that dwell in our hearts. Think of the evil things we have done in any shape, way, or form. We must see the sinfulness of our sin. All of this was laid upon our Saviour. Now we must see the grievousness of sin; it should cause us to repent.

Our blessed consolation when we see our shortcomings is found in 1JO 2:1-2, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. [That makes good logic doesn't it? Shouldn't the goodness of God lead us to repentance?] And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

We have an advocate with the Father; that means our Advocate is our legal representative, our attorney before the court of heaven. Satan is the prosecutor and will have the first round. The word Satan means, "The accuser of the brethren." When he comes with all his accusations, what can we do but plead, "Guilty, guilty, guilty?"

We will not be able to come before the court of heaven as our own attorney, but we have an Advocate, Jesus Christ, the righteous, as our legal representative. He will present our case with His hand raised before the Father, and therein is the print of the nail.

The Father sees that it was His own love wherein HE "so loved the world..." that put those scars there! It is the satisfaction of our sin. The penalty is paid! Justice is satisfied!

Now His justice demands our acquittal. He cannot punish the same sin twice. We have an Advocate; He presents our case for us; He presents His own perfect finished work; He pleads His own Father's love. The Father's wrath is appeased by the blood of His Son; He is the propitiation for our sins. Not for ours only, He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world.

Our text says in JOH 3:16, "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."

Amen.