Subject One Hundred Eight

GOD LOVES THE WORLD

Scripture: John 3:16

1. God
   In this section we should prove the existence of God.
   1. Prove it from the existence of the universe.
   2. Prove it from the existence of men, that is, from the physiological and psychological aspects of men.
      1. Physiologically illustrate the wonderful structure of the human body.
      2. Psychologically explain that in men there is a hunger for God and there is condemnation in the conscience.
   3. Prove it from the heavenly principle.
      1. The universe is ruled by God. If men disobey His rule, they defy the heavenly principle. Men will then be peaceless or even die.
      2. If men walk according to the heavenly principle, they will have peace and blessing. This shows that there is a ruler in the universe. The Chinese concept of the heavenly principle emphasizes the ethics and the recompense of good or evil.
2. God loves
   1. God is love.
   2. God’s heart is love. His love centers on men and has men as its object. His creation of air, sun, and food for men proves that God loves men.
3. Men
   1. Men are lost.
   2. Men are sinners.
   3. Men are dead.
4. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son
   1. Starting from Genesis explain how that after man’s fall He came to seek and save man.
   2. God loved men to such an extent that He even gave them His only begotten Son.
5. That every one who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life
   1. God loves men, and in return He wants men to believe in Him. His love is His giving, and our believing is our receiving. Love is the issue of God’s heart, and believing is the issue of our heart. Giving is the expression of God’s hand, and receiving is the expression of our hand. Love causes God to extend His hand to give to us, while believing causes us to extend our hand to receive from God. Love compelled God to give His Son to us, and believing causes us to receive God’s Son. There are two hearts in the universe—love and believing. There are also two hands in the universe—giving and receiving. Love is God’s heart and believing is our heart. Giving is God’s hand and receiving is our hand.
   2. Originally men were all sinful and were destined to die and to perish. But since the Lord bore our sins and died for us, if we believe in Him, we shall not perish.
   3. Eternal life is the life of God. Once we believe in the Lord, we have the life of God.