Church Fathers Commentary John 3:16-18

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him. He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God." — John 3:16-18 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: After saying, Even so must the Son of man be lifted up, alluding to His death, He prevents His hearer from being cast down by these words. So that the listener would not form a merely human notion of Him or think of His death as a tragedy, He corrects this by stating that the One given up to death was the Son of God and that His death would be the source of eternal life.

Thus, He says, So God loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. It is as if He said, “Do not be surprised that I must be lifted up for your salvation, for this is what seemed good to the Father. He has loved you so much that He has given His Son to suffer for ungrateful and careless servants.” The phrase God so loved the world shows an intense love, for the distance between the two is indeed great and infinite. He who is without end or beginning—Infinite Greatness—loved those who were of earth and ashes, creatures burdened with countless sins.

The act that springs from this love is equally a sign of its vastness. For God did not give a servant, an angel, or an archangel, but His Son. If He had many sons and gave one, this would have been a very great gift; but as it is, He has given His Only Begotten Son.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: If it were only a creature given up for the sake of another creature, such a poor and insignificant loss would be no great evidence of love. Precious things must prove our love; great things must demonstrate its greatness. God, in His love for the world, gave His Son—not an adopted son, but His own, His Only Begotten. Here is true Sonship, birth, and truth, not creation, adoption, or falsehood. This is the test of love and charity: that God sent His own and only begotten Son to save the world.

Theophylact of Ohrid: As He said above that the Son of Man came down from heaven—not meaning that His flesh came down from heaven—He attributed to man what belonged to God on account of the unity of person in Christ. So now, conversely, He assigns to God the Word what belongs to man. The Son of God was incapable of suffering; but being one person with man who was capable of suffering, the Son is said to be given up to death, since He truly suffered, not in His divine nature, but in His human flesh. From this death follows an exceedingly great and incomprehensible benefit: namely, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The Old Testament promised length of days to those who obeyed it; the Gospel promises eternal and imperishable life.

The Venerable Bede: Note here that the same thing He previously said of the Son of Man being lifted up on the cross, He now repeats of the only begotten Son of God: namely, That whosoever believes in Him... For our same Maker and Redeemer, who was the Son of God before the world existed, was made the Son of Man at the end of the age. In this way, He who by the power of His divinity had created us to enjoy the happiness of an endless life, also restored us to the life we had lost by taking our human frailty upon Himself.

Alcuin of York: Truly, through the Son of God the world will have life, for He came into the world for no other reason than to save the world. God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Why is He called the Savior of the world, if not because He saves the world? The physician, as far as his own will is concerned, heals the sick. If the sick person despises or will not follow the physician's directions, he destroys himself.

St. John Chrysostom: However, because He says this, lazy men, in their great number of sins and excessive carelessness, abuse God’s mercy and say, “There is no hell, no punishment; God forgives all our sins.” But let us remember that there are two advents of Christ: one past, and one to come. The first was not to judge but to forgive us; the latter will be not to forgive but to judge us. It is of the first coming that He says, “I have not come to judge the world.”

Because He is merciful, instead of judgment, He grants an inner forgiveness of all sins by baptism. Even after baptism, He opens to us the door of repentance; if He had not done this, all would have been lost, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Afterwards, however, something is said about the punishment of unbelievers to warn us against deceiving ourselves that we can sin without consequence. Of the unbeliever, He says, he is judged already.

But first He says, He that believes in Him is not judged. He says the one who believes, not the one who merely inquires. But what if his life is impure? Paul very strongly declares that such people are not true believers: They confess that they know God, but in works they deny Him. That is to say, such a person will not be judged on account of their professed belief, but will receive a heavy punishment for their works, even though unbelief will not be the charge against them.

Alcuin of York: He who believes in Him, and clings to Him as a member of the body clings to the head, will not be condemned.

St. Augustine of Hippo: What did you expect Him to say about the one who does not believe, other than that he is condemned? Yet notice His words: He that believes not is condemned already. The Judgment has not yet appeared, but the verdict has already been given. For the Lord knows who are His—who are awaiting the crown, and who are awaiting the fire.

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, the meaning is that disbelief itself is the punishment of the unrepentant, since to be without light is itself the greatest punishment. Or, He is announcing what is to come. Though a murderer may not yet be sentenced by the judge, his crime has already condemned him. In the same way, he who does not believe is already dead, just as Adam died on the day that he ate from the tree.

St. Gregory the Great: Or consider this: in the last judgment, some perish without being judged, and it is of these that it is said, He that believes not is condemned already. The day of judgment does not try those who, because of their unbelief, are already banished from the sight of a discerning judge and are under the sentence of damnation. Instead, it tries those who, while retaining a profession of faith, have no works to show that are suitable for that profession.

For those who have not even kept the sacraments of faith will not hear the curse of the Judge at the final trial. They have already received their sentence in the darkness of their unbelief and are not considered worthy of being convicted by the rebuke of Him whom they despised. Consider an analogy: an earthly sovereign, in governing his state, has a different rule of punishment for a disloyal subject than for a foreign enemy. In the first case, he consults the civil law. Against the enemy, however, he proceeds at once to war and repays his malice with the punishment it deserves, without regard for the law, since one who never submitted to the law has no claim to be judged by it.

Alcuin of York: He then gives the reason why the one who does not believe is condemned: namely, because he believes not in the name of the only begotten Son of God. For in this name alone is there salvation. God does not have many sons who can save; the One by whom He saves is the Only Begotten.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Where, then, do we place baptized children? Among those who believe? This is acquired for them through the power of the Sacrament and the pledges of their sponsors. And by this same rule, we count those who are not baptized among those who do not believe.