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.  (John 3:16)

The reason this is arguably the world's most well-known sentence is because it is the best known line in the best-selling book of all time–the Bible. Read on to see how this special message is intended for individuals just like you and me.

God's message to us–

The sentence is one of the most famous statements in the world. It has been called “the Bible in a nutshell” because it plainly gives us God’s basic message.

It tells the story of a thrilling space mission unlike anything undertaken before or since.
This rescue operation was so remarkable that it dwarfs the amazing accomplishments of humanity.

How clear and simple! The sentence contains only twenty-five words (in our English translation). The first twelve have to do with God; the last twelve are about us; and the middle word is the “Son.”

God’s love moved him to provide a way to save us from our sin and from death, its consequence, requiring his Son to travel through space in the other direction, entering our world as a man. Why?

Because sin had separated us from God, the source of all life. We were doomed to perish, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

How was this gift provided? The Lord Jesus volunteered to take the sinners’ place and die for us. By agreeing with God that we deserved the death which Jesus died, and accepting his salvation simply as a gift from God, this sentence says we will not perish. But what does it mean to perish?

Tragically, it means you will never fulfill the purpose for which you were created, and be forever separated from God. But there is no need! “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31).