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)
World – When I explain to people that the Hebrew word for a “human soul” is the same word for an “animal soul,” they smile and comment that Jesus didn’t come and die to save animal souls. He came only for the souls of humans. And in light of this verse from the Gospel of John, I can see how they make that determination.
If God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, then we’ll extrapolate the word “world” to mean “humanity.” God loves us humans, end of story. We know that Jesus died for us… nothing else. Or are we missing something here?
The word “world” in Greek is cosmos. Yep, that’s right. It’s the same word we use in English, and it means how you’d expect it to mean as well. Cosmos is the entire universe. Cosmos is ALL OF CREATION.
Let’s replace that word in the verse.
For God so loved the cosmos, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
That requires a mental shift, right? We need to rethink this thing about Jesus, don’t we? God loved the cosmos, the entire universe, so much that He sent His Son to do something that would affect it all. And it was all done in love. A restoration of the universe is happening and is going to be fulfilled sometime soon. This is why a new heaven and new earth are created. It’s not just about you or me… it’s about every star, every planet, and every possible life form that exists on earth or somewhere else.
I love the saying, “When God starts working with a man, it’s best to get out of the way.” Now take that saying and expand it to the whole universe. The Messiah is shaking it up, expect some fallout.
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