Did you know that that well-known words of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world” can also be translated as “God thus loved the world,” or “God loved the world in this way”?

The word so is not describing the degree of love, but the method of love. And what is that method? God ”gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

How does this information affect your understanding of this verse? For me it makes me realize that God’s method of love is unique and special. It is not something that is just a greater love than the type of love we have for one another. It is a whole different kind of love. It is a love that is sacrificial, all-encompassing and meant to change things completely.

This “Gospel in a nutshell” is deeper than Nicodemus or we even imagined.