John 3:16 is thought of as the seminal sword & shield of the Christians that advocate the freewill of mankind.  It is thought that the force of this verse in favor of freewill is beyond dispute.  First, how can anyone deny that God so loved the world? Surely (we are told), this means every individual on the face of the planet.  For what monster-god would create people he never intends to love?  What monster-god would create people already condemned by some inherited sin?  What monster-god would call people to repent & believe but not give every individual that ability?  What monster-god would force someone to believe against their will?

This is the reasoning of the freewill advocates & defines their notion of “God loving the world”.  They contrast the character of God with either broken hearted & reaching for His children, but apparently helpless to snatch them from destruction unless they make the first move or God laughing manically as he lights the match of the destruction of many.  There are yet others using the name Christian who claim that God’s love for the world has indeed moved Him to redeem it all.  Every individual. These are called universalists, even though they often avoid that name & instead make up all sorts of new names to hide behind.

But we have yet to actually define what is meant by “God loving the world”.  Is it really that God loves every individual person or that He loves every type of person, whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free, male or female?

The entire Bible has this underlining tension between the “chosen” people of God & the non-chosen. The tension comes to a head in the New Testament as Christ & the apostles are forming the Church.  Many of the Jewish Christians (including some of the actual apostles) were still viewing the Gentile Christians as sort of a first-century version of “equal but separate” & maybe even that is too generous.

Further, there was always a tension that even within the Jewish community of the “chosen” there were some classes of people too vile to actually be redeemed; these included tax-collectors, ex-prostitutes, or ex-anything immoral. One of the most poignant N.T. books on this tension is the book of Galatians.

Galatians 2:6-16 details how though in the beginning different apostles were sent to different types of people, ultimately all types people would be one new united people. Paul reaches a shocking conclusion (shocking to those who were promoting distinction between the Jewish & Gentile Christians)

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Gal 3:26-29)

Here is that word “all” which should shed light on the phrase, “For God so loved the world” – meaning NOT just the Jews, but also the Gentiles (Greek), not just the free & esteemed classes but also the slave & so-called under-classes, not just the males but also the so-called subservient female.  The key to it is, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed” – meaning the “chosen” people were not made up only of a certain ethnic group, or a certain social class, or a certain gender but God so loved the world that whoso ever believes, belongs to Christ & is Abraham’s seed & heirs according to the promise.  If God promised to redeem every individual & has not, then has He broken His promise?

Those who suppose that God loving the world means every individual person rather than every type of person actually make God out to be a weak & ineffective God that has no power to help… rather save those whom He loves.  The way they portray God is like a man standing outside of a burning house, heart broken but helpless to do anything except only able to call to those inside to come out by their own ability & will.  Surely the analogy would not be complete unless we added that those inside don’t even have a desire to come out.  They are happy to be on their way to destruction, because they do not even believe they are on such a course.  They don’t see or seek the way of escape because they don’t even think they are in danger.  Yet the God who loves the world, by His own power, His own ability saves some – to show His mercy & grace & to display His glory.  And though the freewill types may object that this is done against the will of those saved, who once snatched from that death looks at their savior & the destruction from which they were saved & complains that they would have rather been left to die?

For God so loved the world that He would, dare I say impose His will upon it so that those who “belong to Christ” would not perish. 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.