John 3:17 (GNV)

Passage

For God sent not his Sonne into the world, that he should condemne the world, but that the world through him might be saued.

Nearby Context

John 3:15 That whosoeuer beleeueth in him, shoulde not perish, but haue eternall life.

John 3:16 For God so loued the worlde, that hee hath giuen his onely begotten Sonne, that whosoeuer beleeueth in him, should not perish, but haue euerlasting life.

John 3:17 For God sent not his Sonne into the world, that he should condemne the world, but that the world through him might be saued.

John 3:18 Hee that beleeueth in him, is not condemned: but hee that beleeueth not, is condemned already, because he hath not beleeued in the Name of that onely begotten Sonne of God.

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that that light came into the worlde, and men loued darknesse rather then that light, because their deedes were euill.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "condemn", "sent", "sonne", "should", "condemne", and "through". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "condemn", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "For God so loued the worlde that..." into verse 18's "Hee that beleeueth in him is not...", so "world" and "condemn" belong inside that flow. In Jesus Explains God's Saving Love, the local focus is new birth, eternal life, belief and unbelief, and God's saving love.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "world" and "condemn" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.