For You And Me

 

 It is one of the most well-known and popular verses in all of the New Testament. Fans hold up signs with this verse on posters during sporting events. Athletes write it on their uniforms.

 It is from the gospel of John chapter 3 verse 16: " For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever should believe in Him may have eternal life.

Because this verse is so well known, its power and meaning can sometimes be lost on us. So let us listen to it again:

 God loved you and me so much that He gave His Son to save us.

God saw how lost we were and what danger we were in because of our sin. He loved us so much that He refused to leave us in such a state. To rescue us, He sent not only prophets and other people of faith, but He sent His Son. And He sent Him not only to teach us, but ultimately to suffer a cruel death for us. He loved us so much that He did not spare His only Son to save us. It is an awesome thought that the God who created the universe with all its wonders would care so much about you and me who have so often gone astray and betrayed Him. Yet God shows how great His love for us is through Christ Jesus our Lord.

 It is important for us to understand exactly what we mean when we say that Jesus is the Son of God. He is not simply a good man who obeyed God and helped others. He is not merely a powerful prophet and wonder-worker. When we call Jesus, “Son of God”, we are saying that He is God. That is what we mean when in the creed we say that Jesus is “consubstantial” with the Father. We are saying that He shares the same nature with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Like them, He existed from all eternity. Along with the Father and the Holy Spirit, He created the world. Whatever we can say about God, we can also say about Jesus.

That is why God the Father proclaims in last Sunday's gospel account of the Transfiguration, “This is my Beloved Son. Listen to Him.” When Jesus speaks, it is God Himself speaking. When Jesus heals, it is God Himself healing. And to bring it up to our day, when we receive the Body of Christ in Communion, we are receiving God Himself.

 Therefore, when God gives us His only Son to save us, He is giving Himself. He is giving all that He has to give. He has nothing else left to give us.