John 3:16 (LSB)

Passage

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Nearby Context

John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;

John 3:15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

John 3:18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "world", "only begotten Son", "loved", "gave", "whoever", "believes", and "shall". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "world" and "only begotten Son", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "so that whoever believes will in Him..." into verse 17's "For God did not send the Son...", so "world" and "only begotten Son" 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 "only begotten Son" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.