What Is the Bible About? (John 3:16-17)
Is there a central message of the Bible? Learn what the true meaning and answer to the question of what it all is about.
John 3:16-17
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
What is the Bible all about?
That’s the question we’ll be answering over the next several days. But in short, the Bible is a story of God’s love for his creation.
John 3:16 says, “16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
To understand the nature of our relationship with God it’s important to understand who he is. God is one being, three persons—otherwise known as the Trinity. For many, including myself, this concept is confusing. But Christian writers Sam Allberry and Justin Taylor offer a helpful picture of what the Trinity is like. As Allberry shares, every person is both a who and a what. Who am I? I’m Ezra Byer. What am I? I’m a person. But borrowing Allberry’s example, let’s think of Optimus Prime from Transformers. Who is he? Optimus Prime. What is he? Both a truck and a robot. He is one who, and two whats.
Now, here is where it gets a bit interesting. As Allberry notes, God is three whos and one what. God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but exists as one God. This dynamic relationship is reflected in Matthew 28:19-20 when Jesus states,
19 "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Notice that Jesus doesn’t tell them to baptize in the names of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as if they are three distinct gods.
As Allberry states, “If God has always existed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, then God has always existed as love, as friendship, as community, as relationship.”[1]
For the Christian, the essence of hell is life without meaningful relationships. This is what it means to die a spiritual death. In Being as Communion, John Zizioulas offers this profound, albeit technical, statement, “Death for a person means
ceasing to love and to be loved, ceasing to be unique and unrepeatable, whereas life for the person means the survival of the uniqueness of its hypostasis, which is affirmed and maintained by love.”[2]
Here is what makes the Christian God unique. God didn’t become loving. He’s always been loving. To understand the nature of relationship God wants to have with us, we need to understand three statements: God is love. God loves me. I can know God.
A Meditation to PRAY
Praise | Thank you for being a God of love. Because of dying on the cross for my sins, when I put my trust in you, I do not need to fear death. Thank you that I can know you.
Release | Forgive me for those times I doubt your love.
Ask | Fill me with your love today. In those times you feel distant, remind me of who you are.
Yield | I give you those people in my life who feel unlovable. Increase your love in my heart to respond to others as you would.
A Challenge to Act Like Christ
God is love. God loves me. I can know God. These three powerful realities can scarcely be unpacked in a lifetime, and many people go their entire lives disbelieving one or all three of the realities.
- “God is love? Really? You want to tell me that God is love with all the pain and hurt I’ve seen?”
- “God loves me? I don’t think so. I’ve done too much. I’ve hurt too many people. I’ve said things I can’t take back. God could never love me.”
- “I can know God? Give me a break. Why would God care about my little life? Why would he even allow me to know him?”
But if you’re having a hard time believing these statements, go back to the words of Jesus in John 3:16-17.
As Timothy Keller wrote,
“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time, we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”[3]
*Unless you specify otherwise, comments and questions you ask may be featured in upcoming podcast episodes.
[1] https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=231257244820393
[2] (Being as Communion, p.49)
[3] Timothy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God
