<p>3:16 <i>For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life</i>- The having of eternal life in John usually refers to something right now. The context is how stricken Israel looked upon the serpent and were given life; but he who looks in faith upon the lifted up Lord Jesus shall receive <i>eternal </i>life. In its present sense, this means that through the Spirit we can begin to live now the life we shall eternally experience in God's Kingdom. But that life is based upon our comprehending in faith the crucified Lord Jesus. He there becomes the practical inspiration for the new life. For 'seeing' Him there means we can no longer be passive; every aspect of daily living and thinking is affected.</p><p>&ldquo;God <i>so</i> loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son&quot; implies that the love of God for the world was channelled through the work of Christ. Note the import of the word &quot;<i>so</i>&quot; - not 'so much', but 'so, in this way...'. There are many connections between the love of God and the death of Christ, and it is easy to overlook them. For example, &quot;God loved us, and sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins... hereby ('in this') we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us&quot; (1 Jn. 4:10; 3:16). The love of God is &quot;<i>in </i>Christ Jesus&quot;. Likewise, the love of Christ is so often linked with His death. Christ &quot;Loved us, and washed us from our sins&quot; (Rev. 1:5). He gave His life so that the world might have life (Jn. 6:51); and yet He gave His life for <i>us</i>. My conclusion is that the love of Christ was paraded for the whole world, especially the Jewish world, just as the serpent was available for all Israel. But only those who look to Him there in faith shall receive the life eternal. We thereby become &quot;the world&quot;, we who <i>to God</i>, from His perspective, constitute &quot;the world&quot; with which He deals. &quot;The world&quot; in John's Gospel often means the Jewish world. The Lord died for <i>their</i> salvation fundamentally (Gal. 4:5), and we only have access to this by becoming spiritual Israel through baptism.&nbsp;See on 1 Jn. 2:15.</p>