Eternal Life: 'For God So Loved the World' — John 3:16-21
John 3:16-21 · Berean Standard Bible
'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.' Beyond the single most-quoted verse in the Bible, this passage explains the offer around it: God sent his Son not to condemn the world but to save it. Eternal life is presented not as something earned but received through belief, as light coming into the darkness for anyone who will step toward it.
16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
18Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
19And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
20Everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
21But whoever practices the truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what he has done has been accomplished in God.”
Read the wider context: John 3.
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Related passages
- For God So Loved the World (John 3:16-21) — John 3:16-21
- How to Be Saved — Romans 10:9-13 — Romans 10:9-13
- Paul and Silas in Prison — Acts 16:16-34
- Saved by Grace Through Faith — Ephesians 2:8-10 — Ephesians 2:8-10