John 3:17-21

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 stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. ¹⁹This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

• “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world” – The reason for the Incarnation was not condemnation.
  • Some treat this statement as evidence that no one will be condemned. They just forget to read the next verse.
  • Condemnation was already a reality. People were already condemned. No need to destroy something ruined.
  • It wasn’t time for judgment yet. John 9:39-41; Matthew 10:34; Luke 2:34, 12:49 speak of Jesus coming for judgment, division, and to bring a sword rather than peace. Jesus came to unite His people to Himself and divide His sheep from goats, insiders from outsiders.
  • “the world” – Multiple uses of “the world” here – first is the Incarnation; second is “a humanity hostile to God.”
• “But to save the world through Him” – Same as above. Jesus came to save “sinners” – “a humanity hostile to God.” Not every person. His people! And His people happen to be a great multitude “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).
• “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned.” – Not “whoever,” as in an open number, but “every believing one,” as in the elect.
  • “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Praise God! IS = more than WILL BE… It’s as good as done.
• “But whoever does not believe stands condemned already” – Unbelief is the climax, the exclamation point on a life of sin and truth suppression (Romans 1:18-32). Some view “unbelief” as the unforgivable sin, and more sin is the punishment. John 5 elaborates.
  • Did Jesus pay for this sin on the cross? John 9:41; John 3:36; 1 Peter 2:8 – Jesus did not atone for all the sins of all men.
• “Because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” – Jesus is clearly the only way to the Father.
• In all who reject the life-giving Christ, there remains only death (separation from God). Life consists only in faith.
• “This is the verdict” – This is not an explanation of the sentence of the guilty, but it is how their sentence came about and is worked out.
• “Light has come into the world” – See John 1:5-11; 8:12. Jesus is the Light, the True Light, and the standard. How people in darkness respond to Him is the concern. What happens when you come out of a matinee? You close your eyes and turn your head.
• “But men loved darkness instead of light” – In our natural state, before regeneration, we prefer darkness to light.
• We love our sin as much as Jesus loves doing the will of the Father. Maybe not – but I wanted to saying something shocking. It’s our nature. Until we are transformed (regenerated) by the Holy Spirit, we have only the sin nature. There is no battle within until then. But once we are re-born, a great battle ensues (Romans 7). We are dead in sin and trespasses until God makes us alive (Ephesians 2:1-5). Seeking God doesn’t end at conversion; it begins at conversion.
• “Because their deeds were evil” – Just as a thief loves stealing and will not run to prison, so men are hypocrites who will not and cannot unmask themselves when light shines in darkness. Pride and, ironically, fear of condemnation are the reasons we don’t expose our sins voluntarily. Blame yourself if you end up condemned. You loved evil deeds more than truth, darkness more than light.
• "Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed" – We may perceive open-mindedness in the world, but the non-elect HATE the light. Notice that it’s only possible to hate the light if you have a guilty conscience. Romans 1:18-32 explains this. You know your deeds are evil, and you know the light exposes them. The irrationality is clear here: Condemnation comes as a result of not coming into the light. Fear of condemnation keeps us in the darkness. Do you see it? There is something morally wrong (spiritual deadness) with the unbeliever. Some run away from the light; some fight against the light. Saul fought against the light until it struck him blind. He was blind before being struck blind, and being struck blind, he was made to see. This is our experience as well. Pride prevents humility until the Spirit breaks our pride.
• "But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light" – Freed from bondage to the sin nature, hypocrisy, and pride, we who are reborn become not “good-doers”, rather than “evildoers,” but “truth-doers” rather than “evildoers.” Doing the truth involves the mind and body (Romans 12:1-2) in thought, word, and deed. We come into the light to avoid that condemnation we once feared. We “live by the truth” = “We live by Christ.” Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
• “So that it may be plainly seen that what he has done has been done through God” – This is the evidence of rebirth. Literally, this should read, “Truth-doers come into the light so that it may be plainly seen that God has worked their works.” Philippians 2:13 says, “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.”
• To summarize v16-21, we see the state from which men are saved – utter condemnation, because of their inherent wickedness before God, and inability to come into the light of true faith in Christ – and we see the ultimate source of application, that it is of God, who takes someone who is naturally unwilling to come to the light, and leads him to the truth. The natural hatred all men have for the light, that is, the truth of God in the Gospel, proves that whenever anyone does believe on Christ, it is only because God has done a prior work in his heart (v21).