He gave key words in John 3. 16 that we’re going to drill into. Five messages on one verse, one sermon on two words. I’m looking forward to this, all right? He gave, and what a gift he has given. I would imagine a lot of you have been a part of a white elephant gift exchange. Those are fun, aren’t they? Uh, you know, where you bring an unopened, an unopened, it’s a wrapped gift, and you draw numbers, and you go around the circle by numbers, and you have a choice. You can go up and grab a new unopened gift and open it up, but once the first one’s opened, when it’s your number, you’ve got the option of exchanging it or stealing it from someone else, and then they go up and take another gift, right? At a church that I served formerly, the youth group had their annual Christmas party, and the White Elephant Gift Exchange was always kind of a highlight. One year, I remember, like, the most sought after gift, the one that was stolen, you know, or taken the most, it was this beautiful couch throw of a buck. And, uh, this was in rural Minnesota, and the guys and the gals, they were all avid fans. And that was a, that thing was exchanged as many times as it was allowed. Contrast that with this one gift. It was a 1 bill wrapped in a roll of toilet paper. And that thing was not sought after, exchanged, or anything. I mean, it was, it was kind of pathetic. But you know, it, it was just, it reminds me for this message, isn’t it something how the value of a gift, sometimes it’s in the eye of the beholder, but it’s almost always determined.

Today, in this message in John 3. 16, we’re going to unpack, unwrap, this phrase, He gave. God gave what? Better put, God gave whom? And while you probably know the answer, it’s my prayer that your understanding of the value of this gift And if God’s love for you will grow substantially. So let us read our sermon text out loud together. It’s one verse. It’s up on the screen. John 3, 16. Say it with me. 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. Let’s pray as we continue. Father in Heaven, You have given us something so great. You And maybe we know it, or maybe we feel like we know it too well. So Holy Spirit, come and lift up the value of this gift, the Son, Jesus Christ, who was given for us. And may we know the, in a greater way, the depths of your love for us, and may it fuel our lives, bring us comfort and strength, to the honor of Jesus, in whose name I pray.

Dear friends, grace to you, and peace from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. He gave. You know, it’s kind of almost a blank canvas. There’s so many different ways I could approach this. God gave. Whom did God give? At what cost? Well, our verse says God’s gift was his one and only begotten son who was given as a living sacrifice, the Bible would teach. A sacrifice through whom we are made pure, righteous, and holy. It’d be like an atoning sacrifice. John writes about it this way. He, that’s Jesus, is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. And not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. An atoning sacrifice. That’s one way we could go. Another is that because God gave His one and only begotten Son, we are now children of God. Adopted into God’s family. And, because of that, we have this priceless, vast inheritance promised to us. Paul writes about it this way in Galatians 4. But when the set time had fully come, God sent his son, or you could say God gave his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those under the law that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the spirit of a son into our hearts. The spirit who calls out Abba, Father. It’s that tender relationship. So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child. And since you are his child, God has also made you an heir. I mean, I mean that deserves a whole sermon if not a whole series on it right there.

So this morning I want to focus on one other aspect of God’s greatest gift to you and to me. And that being God gave his one and only begotten son as our ransom. A ransom. The biblical context of this word ransom, it refers to a price or sacrifice. paid to redeem, to rescue, to save someone. It specifically describes Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross through which He was given as ransom. He paid the penalty for our sins, freeing us from the bondage to sin and its penalty. Mark records Jesus saying this about Himself. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve And to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus knew full well why he was given as a gift. And that was as a ransom. Liberating humanity through his sacrifice. And to try to put it as personally as I can, Jesus Christ gave his life in exchange for yours. The Bible puts it this way in 1 Timothy 2. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. If you think about it, something’s not right. Doesn’t it sound unfair? Actually, singularly astounding in this exchange. Yes, God so loved the world that He gave, and we say that so readily. He gave His one and only Son, but think of this gift exchange. Here’s how the Bible puts it in 2 Corinthians 5. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us.

There’s one exchange. So that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God. There’s another exchange. God gave the perfect gift. Jesus, God’s one and only son. Pure, holy, powerful, precious. And in exchange for what? For people twisted and marred and marked by sin. I mean, it’s like exchanging that beautiful throw with the buck on it for that roll of toilet paper. I mean, it’s, it’s the most unimaginable gift exchange possible. And it should be, it should be riveting, shocking for us. I’ve been thinking about trying to find a way to help us understand the heart of God in this matter. There’s a story I was reminded of. It’s, uh, It’s, um, of a man who worked as a, a, a bridge master for, remember those lift bridges? They’d be raised up so that like a boat could go through on a river and then it would be lowered so that a train could cross. And the story goes that his father had a son whom he loved so much, so precious. The son loved to go with the father, his father, to work, see the people on the train, then of course, uh, see the lift bridge at work and he’d do some fishing. Uh, to pass the time and I realized as I was trying to write this out, I really couldn’t write it as powerfully as it deserves. So instead, there’s a movie called Most. It’s Polish for the word bridge. It’s a 35 minute international film. Here’s a brief clip to show you the heart of the father and the choice that he made.

What a choice. The salvation of all required the sacrifice of one most dear. The sacrifice of one actually gave life and bought hope. For the future of people riding the train oblivious to the sacrifice just made. Just continuing to live their lives. Now, of course, God the Father did not give. He did not make this gift as a last minute choice. Rather, this exchange that He gave was an intentional decision with the father knowing full well what it would cost him and his son knowing full well what he would give. Martin Luther calls this the great exchange. It’s a profound transaction where Christ takes upon himself the sin of humanity and in return grants believers his righteousness. Through this exchange believers are seen as righteous. in God’s sight, not because of who they are or what they’ve done, nothing of their own merits, but all and only because of Christ’s righteousness imputed to them. Now I just use this word imputed. I don’t know if you’ve even used that. verbally in your life before.

Now, we don’t say it much around here, but it’s a key tenet of our faith. Imputed in theological terms refers to the concept of attributing or crediting something to someone by virtue of a, of a legal or metaphorical transfer. And this is a particularly significant word in our Christian faith because of sin and righteousness. Here are two ways primarily that the word imputed bears meaning on this. The first is imputed sin, credited sin. Along with what is known as original sin, it’s the understanding that because of Adam’s sin, In Adam, all have sinned. And so we are already guilty and culpable before a holy God because of Adam’s disobedience. It’s credited, in this case a negative entry in the ledger, credited to all humanity, making all people inherently sinful from birth. This is a key belief, and it’s in John 3, 18. Just two verses after our key verse, the Bible says that apart from Christ, we are condemned already. And so, imputed sin is the problem we all have inherited. And of course, we all sin also, naturally. No one has to teach you how to sin. We see the results of our fallen nature. Live out in our day to day lives. So there’s this problem with sin. Because it’s there, that’s where imputed righteousness can come in as the complete antidote. This is the righteousness of Christ imputed, being credited to believers through faith in Christ Jesus.

In His obedience and sacrifice, His righteousness is then imputed to believers such that God treats us as righteous. in his sight. And again, not because of who we are, anything we’ve done or haven’t done, but solely and only because of Christ’s righteousness. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us. There’s that imputed sin being taken by Christ so that in him, we might have imputed righteousness. We might become the righteousness of God. So, imputation, it’s this key understanding, biblically, of explaining how God can justify how He can declare sinners to be righteous simply through faith in who and what Jesus Christ is and has done. And because of Christ, then treating us as if we’ve never sinned. And even more, as if we’ve always obeyed, solely on the basis of Christ’s righteousness, credited. End. Isn’t that just the best news ever? The best! The greatest gift exchange ever! This doctrine underscores the heart of the gospel, revealing that through faith alone, we are justified and reconciled to God, completely transforming our spiritual standing in the life we now live, and the promise of everlasting life.

Have you let it soak in that here at Victory, we’re not teaching you a spiritual self help to better yourself doctrine. That’s religion. We are here to let you know all that God has done for you in Christ Jesus and how that is entirely sufficient for the forgiveness of all your sins and how God sees you as righteous as He sees Jesus. What an exchange. What a gift. As Billy read for us earlier, Jesus stepped down from the glory of heaven and entered our messy Broken world, just like that train filled with people tangled up in, in sin and misled by shadows of deception. People who are far from God. Jesus came, the Father sent his Son for people who think in ways that clash darkly with God’s divine wisdom. Who live lives grounded in empty philosophies. Jesus came on a mission to rescue the world, to rescue you. Swapping his righteousness for your own waywardness. Literally the holy for the unholy. And thereby reconciling you to God forever. And at the heart of this divine exchange is the father himself. Who orchestrated this profound plan of salvation. Where he sent his son to reclaim a people for his own. Here’s how Paul writes about it in Romans 5. But God demonstrates His love. This is the love that John writes for God so loved. Here’s how Paul writes it. God demonstrates His own love for us in this. And get this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. I mean, think about that. I mean, it’s radical, it’s, it’s downright outrageous, a flawless God trading his perfect son for a people who opposed him, who keep sinning against him, who aren’t even looking for him. If you’re honest, this exchange, it should seem lopsided, beyond belief, sinful people gaining everlasting life without any merit of their own, and Jesus, who by all rights belongs in heaven. giving it all up. In any other setting, you would think, I believe, that this, there’s an error in judgment here. But here’s the kicker.

A perfect God does not make mistakes. God knew exactly what he was doing and why. And through this gift, God not only demonstrates the value of humanity, But I pray that through faith in Christ Jesus, you can see the value God has of you as well. I mean, just take a moment. Let that sink in. Absorb it. God traded Jesus for you. And not just for you, but for all who come to Him in faith. Remember, the value of something is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it. And my dear friends, God has marked your value with the highest price. His one and only begotten Son. That’s what ransom has achieved. That’s what redemption really means. God bought you at the cost of His Son, Jesus. Praise His name. Join me in prayer. Heavenly Father, we come before you with profound gratitude for the unspeakable gift of your Son, Jesus Christ, who became our ransom and has redeemed us from sin and death. And we thank you for adopting us into your family, making us heirs of an eternal, everlasting inheritance. And may our hearts always recognize the magnitude of yourself, of your sacrifice, and of your gift, and then respond with lives devoted to your glory, I ask in Jesus name.