What Does John 3:16 Mean?

[MatthewG]

Young's Literal Translation
for God did so love the world, that His Son -- the only begotten -- He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during.

What does loved mean?

Strong's Concordance
agapaó: to love
Original Word: ἀγαπάω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: agapaó
Phonetic Spelling: (ag-ap-ah'-o)
Definition: to love
Usage: I love, wish well to, take pleasure in, long for; denotes the love of reason, esteem.

HELPS Word-studies
Cognate: 25 agapáō – properly, to prefer, to love; for the believer, preferring to "live through Christ" (1 Jn 4:9,10), i.e. embracing God's will (choosing His choices) and obeying them through His power. 25 (agapáō) preeminently refers to what God prefers as He "is love" (1 Jn 4:8,16). See 26 (agapē).

With the believer, 25 /agapáō ("to love") means actively doing what the Lord prefers, with Him (by His power and direction). True 25 /agapáō ("loving") is always defined by God – a "discriminating affection which involves choice and selection" (WS, 477). 1 Jn 4:8,16,17 for example convey how loving ("preferring," 25 /agapáō) is Christ living His life through the believer.​

What does world mean?

Strong's Concordance
kosmos: order, the world
Original Word: κόσμος, ου, ὁ
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: kosmos
Phonetic Spelling: (kos'-mos)
Definition: order, the world
Usage: the world, universe; worldly affairs; the inhabitants of the world; adornment.

HELPS Word-studies
2889 kósmos (literally, "something ordered") – properly, an "ordered system" (like the universe, creation); the world.

[The English term "cosmetic" is derived from 2889 /kósmos, i.e. the order ("ensemble") used of treating the face as a whole.]​

What does Son mean?

Strong's Concordance
huios: a son
Original Word: υἱός, οῦ, ὁ
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: huios
Phonetic Spelling: (hwee-os')
Definition: a son
Usage: a son, descendent.

HELPS Word-studies
5207 hyiós – properly, a son (by birth or adoption); (figuratively) anyone sharing the same nature as their Father. For the believer, becoming a son of God begins with being reborn (adopted) by the heavenly Father – through Christ (the work of the eternal Son). In the NT, 5207 /hyiós ("son") equally refers to female believers (Gal 3:28).

5207 /hyiós ("son") emphasizes likeness of the believer to the heavenly Father, i.e. resembling His character more and more by living in faith ("God's inwrought persuasons," see 4102 /pístis).

5207 /hyiós ("son") highlights the (legal) right to the Father's inheritance, i.e. as the believer lives in conformity with the Father's nature (purpose).​

What does begotten mean?

Strong's Concordance
monogenés: only begotten
Original Word: μονογενής, ές
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: monogenés
Phonetic Spelling: (mon-og-en-ace')
Definition: only begotten
Usage: only, only-begotten; unique.

HELPS Word-studies
3439 monogenḗs (from 3411 /misthōtós, "one-and-only" and 1085 /génos, "offspring, stock") – properly, one-and-only; "one of a kind" – literally, "one (monos) of a class, genos" (the only of its kind).​

What does believing mean?

Strong's Concordance
pisteuó: to believe, entrust
Original Word: πιστεύω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: pisteuó
Phonetic Spelling: (pist-yoo'-o)
Definition: to believe, entrust
Usage: I believe, have faith in, trust in; pass: I am entrusted with.

HELPS Word-studies
4100 pisteúō (from 4102 /pístis, "faith," derived from 3982 /peíthō, "persuade, be persuaded") – believe (affirm, have confidence); used of persuading oneself (= human believing) and with the sacred significance of being persuaded by the Lord (= faith-believing). Only the context indicates whether 4100 /pisteúō ("believe") is self-serving (without sacred meaning), or the believing that leads to/proceeds from God's inbirthing of faith.​

What does perishing mean?

Strong's Concordance
apollumi: to destroy, destroy utterly
Original Word: ἀπόλλυμι
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: apollumi
Phonetic Spelling: (ap-ol'-loo-mee)
Definition: to destroy, destroy utterly
Usage: (a) I kill, destroy, (b) I lose, mid: I am perishing (the resultant death being viewed as certain).

HELPS Word-studies
622 apóllymi (from 575 /apó, "away from," which intensifies ollymi, "to destroy") – properly, fully destroy, cutting off entirely (note the force of the prefix, 575 /apó).

622 /apóllymi ("violently/completely perish") implies permanent (absolute) destruction, i.e. to cancel out (remove); "to die, with the implication of ruin and destruction" (L & N, 1, 23.106); cause to be lost (utterly perish) by experiencing a miserable end.

[This is also the meaning of 622 /apóllymi dating back to Homer (900 bc.]​

What does life mean?

Strong's Concordance
zóé: life
Original Word: ζωή, ῆς, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: zóé
Phonetic Spelling: (dzo-ay')
Definition: life
Usage: life, both of physical (present) and of spiritual (particularly future) existence.

HELPS Word-studies
2222 zōḗ – life (physical and spiritual). All life (2222 /zōḗ), throughout the universe, is derived – i.e. it always (only) comes from and is sustained by God's self-existent life. The Lord intimately shares His gift of life with people, creating each in His image which gives all the capacity to know His eternal life.
​

What does Age during mean?

Strong's Concordance
aiónios: agelong, eternal
Original Word: αἰώνιος, ία, ιον
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: aiónios
Phonetic Spelling: (ahee-o'-nee-os)
Definition: agelong, eternal
Usage: age-long, and therefore: practically eternal, unending; partaking of the character of that which lasts for an age, as contrasted with that which is brief and fleeting.

HELPS Word-studies
Cognate: 166 aiṓnios (an adjective, derived from 165 /aiṓn ("an age, having a particular character and quality") – properly, "age-like" ("like-an-age"), i.e. an "age-characteristic" (the quality describing a particular age); (figuratively) the unique quality (reality) of God's life at work in the believer, i.e. as the Lord manifests His self-existent life (as it is in His sinless abode of heaven). "Eternal (166 /aiṓnios) life operates simultaneously outside of time, inside of time, and beyond time – i.e. what gives time its everlasting meaning for the believer through faith, yet is also time-independent. See 165 (aiōn).

[166 (aiṓnios) does not focus on the future per se, but rather on the quality of the age (165 /aiṓn) it relates to. Thus believers live in "eternal (166 /aiṓnios) life" right now, experiencing this quality of God's life now as a present possession. (Note the Gk present tense of having eternal life in Jn 3:36, 5:24, 6:47; cf. Ro 6:23.)]​

 

[Truman]

Back in 1973, someone read John 3:16 to me.
As I watched him with my eyes, my mind's eyes saw this: I was somewhere else.
In front of me, no more than a meter, was a curtain, apparently split in the middle.
In one thrust, a hand holding a sword came through the curtain and sunk it deep into my belly.
Instantly, in my center, I knew it was true.
We prayed after that, and I had my first snot-ministry time. Lol!
It means what it says...by revelation from God!
Praise Jesus!
For all who are thirsty, there is water to drink.
For all who hunger, there is a food that satisfies.
For all who are dirty, there is a cleansing flood.
For all who are needy, there is a loving God.
For there is a King, who left His throne.
There is an awesome God, who will never, never, leave us alone.
He came to this earth and He died on a cross.
For you and me, His very life was lost.
But the power of death and the keys of hell,
Could not hold Him down and He's alive and well.
At the right hand of the Father, He is seated forevermore.
He's the King of glory, He's the Jesus we adore! - by David Ruis

 

[MatthewG]

Back in 1973, someone read John 3:16 to me.
As I watched him with my eyes, my mind's eyes saw this: I was somewhere else.
In front of me, no more than a meter, was a curtain, apparently split in the middle.
In one thrust, a hand holding a sword came through the curtain and sunk it deep into my belly.
Instantly, in my center, I knew it was true.
We prayed after that, and I had my first snot-ministry time. Lol!
It means what it says...by revelation from God!
Praise Jesus!
For all who are thirsty, there is water to drink.
For all who hunger, there is a food that satisfies.
For all who are dirty, there is a cleansing flood.
For all who are needy, there is a loving God.
For there is a King, who left His throne.
There is an awesome God, who will never, never, leave us alone.
He came to this earth and He died on a cross.
For you and me, His very life was lost.
But the power of death and the keys of hell,
Could not hold Him down and He's alive and well.
At the right hand of the Father, He is seated forevermore.
He's the King of glory, He's the Jesus we adore! - by David Ruis

It is good to know you are okay, Truman. Thank you for sharing your post.

 

[MatthewG]

bump

 

[amigo de christo]

The love that comes from GOD would offer up no false hope to anyone .
Rather it would remind them of the dire necessity to believe on JESUS CHRIST to be saved .

 

[MatthewG]

Thank you for your comment, Amigo.