F.E. Marsh :: 420. The Most Comprehensive Verse in the Bible

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

DR. A. T. PIERSON calls this verse “the heart of the Gospel.” Verily, every word is warm with the life of the love of God, for the blood of His compassion courses through every vein of it. But we have not merely the heart of the Gospel in this verse. We have also the height of the Gospel, for it takes us up to the throne of God, as we muse upon the term “God,” from whom all love emanates; and it also carries us on to the far-reaching sea of the eternal blessedness of the redeemed in glory, as we meditate on the words “eternal life.”

The comprehensiveness of this verse may be gathered if we carefully and prayerfully ponder each word, for as each leaf of the tree is a fac-simile of the tree itself, so each word of this verse portrays the love of God.

1. The association of love is found in the conjunction “for.”
2. The Embodiment of love is found in the name “God.”
3. The expressiveness of love is made known in the monosyllable “so.”
4. The fact of love is revealed in the verb “loved.”
5. The exclusiveness of love is proclaimed in the definite article “the.”
6. The object of love is seen in the noun “world.”
7. The gift of love is evidenced in the word “gave.”
8. The sacrifice of love is discovered in the word “only.”
9. The becomingness of love is unfolded in the adjective “begotten.”
10. The relationship of love is made known in the noun “Son.”
11. The purpose of love is seen in the conjunction “that.”
12. The offer of love is made in the relative pronoun “whosoever.”
13. The condition of love is stated in the verb “believeth.”
14. The power of love appears in the words “in Him.”
15. The salvation of love shines forth in the connection with the verb “perish.”
16. The assurance of love is revealed in the verb “have.”
17. The bestowment of love is preached in the words “everlasting life.”