Introduction
Are you letting God’s love disciple you, reshape what you expect, what you hope for, and how you treat the world outside your “safe” circle? The central truth I want to press into your heart is this: Advent trains us to live in expectation of God’s saving work through Jesus, and John 3:16–17 reveals the love, hope, peace, and joy we are waiting for, because God’s love is wider, longer, deeper, and higher than anything we have known.
As a church, we’ve celebrated Advent for years, and there’s good reason to do it. Advent is expectation, waiting for the arrival of something great. It’s like the anticipation of new parents waiting for a child, and then holding that child in their arms. In an even greater way, Advent prepares us for what God has done in sending His Son, and what God will still do as He brings His salvation to the nations. This year, we’re anchoring the four pillars of Advent, love, hope, peace, and joy, in what is widely considered the greatest verse in the Bible. In just 25 words, John 3:16 carries the whole gospel “in a nutshell.” And paired with John 3:17, it tells us God’s heart, God’s plan, and God’s purpose:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16–17)
Today, we begin with the first theme: God’s great love, “For God so loved…”
Main Points
Are you letting God’s love disciple you, reshape what you expect, what you hope for, and how you treat the world outside your “safe” circle? The central truth I want to press into your heart is this: Advent trains us to live in expectation of God’s saving work through Jesus, and John 3:16–17 reveals the love, hope, peace, and joy we are waiting for, because God’s love is wider, longer, deeper, and higher than anything we have known.
As a church, we’ve celebrated Advent for years, and there’s good reason to do it. Advent is expectation, waiting for the arrival of something great. It’s like the anticipation of new parents waiting for a child, and then holding that child in their arms. In an even greater way, Advent prepares us for what God has done in sending His Son, and what God will still do as He brings His salvation to the nations.
This year, we’re anchoring the four pillars of Advent, love, hope, peace, and joy, in what is widely considered the greatest verse in the Bible. In just 25 words, John 3:16 carries the whole gospel “in a nutshell.” And paired with John 3:17, it tells us God’s heart, God’s plan, and God’s purpose:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16–17)
Today, we begin with the first theme: God’s great love, “For God so loved…”
Advent Trains Our Expectation in Christ
Advent is not sentimental nostalgia. It’s not pretending we don’t know the ending, as if we must “save” the incarnation until Christmas day. We already know Jesus came in Bethlehem. We celebrate that, Emmanuel, God with us.
But Advent also points forward. We are still waiting for the full reach of God’s saving love to be displayed in the world. We look ahead to the day Revelation describes:
“A great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues… crying out… ‘Salvation belongs to our God… and to the Lamb!’” (Revelation 7:9–10)
So I want you to lift your eyes. Your Advent is not the arrival of a political leader. It’s not the success of your preferred brand of church. It’s not merely your family’s moral improvement. Advent is a people waiting for the gospel to reach the world and for King Jesus to be worshiped by the nations.
God’s Love Is Not a Hallmark Version
Love is one of the most used words we have. We say, “Love you, goodbye.” We say, “I love you, but…” And our culture markets love as both the ultimate dream and the deepest pain.
Many of us carry categories of love shaped by experience: heartbreak, betrayal, overbearing control, disappointment, limits we hit, and limits others hit with us. That’s why preaching on love can be difficult, because the word comes with baggage.
But John 3:16 gives us a love altogether different. God is not offering you a movie-script love, temporary, conditional, or self-protective. He is calling you into a love that requires spiritual awakening to comprehend.
The Spirit Must Awaken Our Understanding
Even if you memorized John 3:16 as a child, you cannot truly know its love merely by familiarity. We need what Paul prayed:
“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend… what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge…” (Ephesians 3:14–19)
Notice: Paul prays for comprehension because this love “passes knowledge.” This is not a formula; it’s not a math equation. It is the Holy Spirit opening your heart so you can be rooted, grounded, and filled with the fullness of God.
So let me disciple you through John 3:16 using that four-dimensional lens: width, length, depth, and height.
The Width: Loved Beyond Our Small World
“For God so loved the world…” (John 3:16)
The width of God’s love is the whole wide world. But to feel the force of that, we need the context of John 3. Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus, a ruler and teacher of Israel, someone who has religious pedigree and a birthright identity among God’s covenant people. Yet Jesus tells him:
“Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
That’s stunning. Nicodemus was “born” into the right nation, trained in the law, and respected. Yet Jesus expands the horizon beyond birthright and religious security: God’s love is for the world.
This confronts our tendency to shrink God’s love down to my world: my family, my church circle, my comfort zone, my preferences, my political tribe. But when God revives us in His love, our vision changes. We begin to see that God loves:
- every person on the road and in the mall,
- both sides of every political divide,
- people trapped in false religions,
- believers across denominations,
- and people far outside our “safe” spaces.
Advent love widens us. It reforms what we’re waiting for: a global salvation chorus around the throne (Revelation 7).
The Length: No Limit, No Withholding
“…that He gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16)
The length of God’s love is how far He goes, what He is willing to give, what He is willing to endure, what He refuses to withhold. Human love sings about great lengths, but human love always has a line somewhere: “I would do anything… but not that.” Limits show up in betrayal, abandonment, fear, shame, and self-protection.
Even the first Christmas story shows human limits. Joseph, discovering Mary’s pregnancy, is ready to put her away quietly (Matthew 1:19). He meets a limit, until God intervenes with revelation:
“Do not be afraid… for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit… and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20–21)
God’s love goes further than ours. And Scripture states it plainly:
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all…” (Romans 8:32)
Do you see the length? God did not spare. God did not withhold. He gave the most precious gift, His only Son, to save you from your sins.
And here is Advent encouragement for your real-life waiting: if God has already gone to these lengths to save you, what good thing does He lack power or willingness to provide according to His perfect wisdom? Your prayers, fears, anxieties, needs, and unanswered longings are not bigger than the love that gave the Son.
The Depth: Grace Reaches the Darkest Places
“…that whoever believes in Him should not perish…” (John 3:16)
The depth of God’s love reaches the darkest part of the darkest heart. The qualification is not “whoever performs” but whoever believes.
We tend to live skin-deep, presentable, managed, polished. Even Christians can slip into drawing assurance from religious performance, sincerity, or “relative infrequency” of sin. But the gospel goes deeper than our self-righteous surfaces and deeper than our self-condemning despair.
A truth worth carrying daily is this: we are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe, yet more loved and accepted in Christ than we ever dared hope (a summary often attributed to Tim Keller).
And the Bible says it even more directly:
“God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
One of the scariest questions we can ask, after failure, exposure, relapse, or shame, is: Do you still love me? God’s answer in Christ is a resounding yes. His love does not stop at the surface. It goes down to the depths where sin wants to isolate you, and grace meets you there.
The Height: Everlasting Love Without Expiration
“…but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
The height of God’s love is heaven-high and forever-long. Human love breaks our hearts in part because it expires, people change, promises fail, death comes, intentions collapse. But God’s love lifts your future beyond what you can see.
Jesus tells Nicodemus that heavenly realities require Him, He is the One who came down from heaven (John 3:12–13). And that points to the stunning descent-and-ascent pattern of Christ: the Son who humbled Himself, came down, and will bring His people home.
Advent joy is not shallow cheer. It’s the deep joy of salvation and eternal life: you will not perish. You will be kept. You will be brought into everlasting life.
And this everlasting love is tied to the next Advent pillars we’ll keep unfolding from the same passage:
- Hope: “whoever believes… should not perish” (John 3:16)
- Peace: “not… to condemn the world” (John 3:17)
- Joy: “that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17)
Conclusion
I want you to leave with this rooted in your soul: God’s love is not small, not limited, not superficial, and not temporary. In John 3:16–17, He shows you love wide enough for the world, long enough to give His Son, deep enough for the worst sinner, and high enough to bring you into everlasting life.
So here is your discipleship assignment for Advent: let God’s love expand your expectations. Don’t wait merely for a date on the calendar. Wait for the world-wide worship of Jesus. And in your personal life, measure God’s love not by how you feel today, but by what He has done: He gave His Son so that whoever believes will not perish but have everlasting life.
Father, thank You for loving the world, thank You for loving me. Forgive me for shrinking Your love down to my small world and for measuring Your heart by my experiences and emotions. Holy Spirit, awaken me to comprehend the width, length, depth, and height of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. Root and ground my life in Your love.
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming, not to condemn, but to save. Teach me to trust You with my sins, my fears, my waiting, and my future. Fill me with hope that I will not perish, give me peace that You are not against me, and give me joy in the salvation You have provided. And make my life part of Your Advent mission, until every nation, tribe, people, and tongue worships You as Savior and King.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
I want you to leave with this rooted in your soul: God’s love is not small, not limited, not superficial, and not temporary. In John 3:16–17, He shows you love wide enough for the world, long enough to give His Son, deep enough for the worst sinner, and high enough to bring you into everlasting life.
So here is your discipleship assignment for Advent: let God’s love expand your expectations. Don’t wait merely for a date on the calendar. Wait for the world-wide worship of Jesus. And in your personal life, measure God’s love not by how you feel today, but by what He has done: He gave His Son so that whoever believes will not perish but have everlasting life.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for loving the world, thank You for loving me. Forgive me for shrinking Your love down to my small world and for measuring Your heart by my experiences and emotions. Holy Spirit, awaken me to comprehend the width, length, depth, and height of the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. Root and ground my life in Your love.
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming, not to condemn, but to save. Teach me to trust You with my sins, my fears, my waiting, and my future. Fill me with hope that I will not perish, give me peace that You are not against me, and give me joy in the salvation You have provided. And make my life part of Your Advent mission, until every nation, tribe, people, and tongue worships You as Savior and King.
In Jesus’ name, amen.