Dr. Dan Hayden •
What in the world is God doing? That’s our word for today – “world.”
When the Bible says in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world…” it is referring to the world of people—all the men and women that have ever lived on the earth.
Actually the word for “world” is the Greek word cosmos. It is from this word that we get such English words as cosmic, cosmopolitan – even cosmetic.
Originally the word was used to refer to an ornament or something ornate. You see, it carries with it the idea of order, or arrangement, or beauty as reflected in something that is arranged well.
The first Greek person to ever use this word cosmos to refer to the material universe was the famous mathematician, Pythagoras. He was so impressed with the beauty and orderly arrangement of the universe that he felt that “cosmos” was a perfect word to describe it. So the word “cosmos” became a word with a lot of applications. It can refer to ornamental beauty and orderly arrangement or, the world we call “planet earth,” or the people themselves who live in the world.
Now in John 3:16 it is clearly the world of people— “For God so loved the world…” means that God loves people. And when it says, “…that whosoever believes in His only begotten Son, shall not perish but have eternal life,” that “whosoever” – includes you. That’s the good news.
Hey—did you know that God loves people – like you?