John 3:15-16
‘God so loved the world, that He gave His Only-begotten Son — so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life!” John 3:16.
Calvin comments: “‘God so loved.’ Christ shows the first cause and…source of our salvation…. There is no calm haven where our minds can rest, until we come to God’s free love…. Faith in Christ, quickens all…. The heavenly Father does not wish the human race that He loves, to perish….
“Christ’s words mean nothing different, when He says the cause lies in the love of God…. He ascribes the glory for our salvation, entirely to His love…. The Son was given to men, so that they should not perish…. The secret love in which our heavenly Father embraced us to Himself is — since it flows from His eternal good pleasure — precedent to all other causes…. God gave His Son to die for us, because He loved is….
“‘He gave his Only-begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish!’… Faith…is placing Christ before one’s eyes, and beholding in Him the heart of God poured out in love…. We are so very dear to God, that for our sakes He did not spare even His Only-begotten Son…. God’s love for His Only-begotten Son, is a measure of how precious our salvation was to Him — that He willed the death of the Only-begotten Himself, should be its price!….
“‘Whoever believes in Him, should not perish!’…. Faith…delivers us from eternal destruction…. Although we seem to have been born for death — sure deliverance is offered to us by faith in Christ!… We must not fear the death which otherwise threatens us….
“He is favourable to the whole world, when He calls all without exception to faith in Christ which is indeed an entry into life…. Christ is open to all, and displayed to all…. We receive Christ as He is given to us by the Father — the One Who has freed us from the condemnation of eternal death, and made us heirs of eternal life…. Faith embraces Christ with the efficacy of His death, and the fruit of His resurrection…. We live, because God freely loves us…. Curse and death are destroyed, as well as sins!”
Calvin says in his Institutes II:17:2 & III:14:17: “‘God so loved the world, that He gave His Only-begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him might not perish!’ (John 3:16)… The first place is assigned to the love of God as the chief cause…. Faith in Christ flows as the second and more proximate cause…. The efficient cause of our eternal salvation, the Scripture uniformly proclaims to be the mercy and free love of the heavenly Father towards us.”
Calvin further states in his Treatises III:118 &195: “‘Whoever believes, has eternal life!’ — as our Saviour…declares (John 3:16)…. God, therefore, Who is rich in mercy (John 3) — being unwilling that those whom He had created should perish — sent His Son into the world, so that when it was impossible for man to deliver himself he might have redemption in our Lord and Saviour through His blood!” For whoever trusts in Jesus shall not perish, but live forever! You too?
