Today, most people have learned this verse (John 3:16) — at least most church-going people. This along with I Timothy 5:23, “A little wine for thy stomach’s sake” and Psalm 23 are often all they know of the Bible, sad to say.
John 3:16 is often called “the gospel in a nutshell.” I know of one child evangelism teacher who makes each child learn it and must say it before entering her house. Some even stand outside on her steps learning it before entering. It is a popular verse and has given much assurance of eternal life to both young and old.
Most people know so little of God’s Word, so I can say it really is the most misunderstood and misinterpreted verse. Now, if you were asked to explain this verse in your own words, I am sure you would answer something like this, “for God so loved everybody in the whole wide world that He gave His only beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to come into the world, that whosoever says they believe on Him and His words that everybody in the whole world that does just that shall have everlasting life in heaven.”
But let’s check it out. John 3:16 actually reads that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that believers (not unbelievers) might not peris ...
