John 3:17 (KJV)

Passage

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Nearby Context

John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "condemn", "saved", "sent", "through", and "might". 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 loved the world that..." into verse 18's "He that believeth on 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.