I) The Revelator of the Gift ("For God...")The greatest gift is being given by the one and only True God. He is the Sovereign God, the Creator God, the Triune God, the Holy God, the Omnipotent (All-Powerful) God, the Omniscient (All-Knowing) God, the Omnipresent (All-Present) God, the Eternal God, the Faithful God, the Great I Am.
"GOD, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;" Hebrews 1:1-3
II) The Reason for the Gift ("...so loved...")
God's love is an...
A- Unsurpassed Love - "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his
life for his friends." John 15:13
B- Undeserving Love - "But God commendeth His love towards us, in that while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
C- Unending Love - "...Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with
lovingkindness have I drawn thee." Jeremiah 31:3
D- Unchangeable Love - "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall
tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril,
or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are
accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things
to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35-39
E- Unexplainable Love - "But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith
He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) ... For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Ephesians 2:4,5,8,9
F - Unconditional Love - "A friend loveth at all times..." Proverbs 17:17a
"...love covereth all sins." Proverbs 10:12b
"...for charity shall cover the multitude of sins." I Peter 4:8b
" For I will be merciful in their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more." Hebrews 8:12
III) The Region of the Gift ("...the world...")
"...the whole world lieth in wickedness." I John 5:19
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:... Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God... For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:10,19,23
"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." I Timothy 1:15
"That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God... Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:9-13,29
IV) The Redemption of the Gift ("...that He gave...")
"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." I John 4:9,10
"But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;" Titus 3:4-6
"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot;" I Peter 1:18-19
V) The Rarity of the Gift ("...only begotten Son...")
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14
"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." I Timothy 3:16
VI) The Recipient of the Gift ("...whosoever...")
"For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time." I Timothy 2:3-6
"The Lord is ... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." II Peter 3:9
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men," Titus 2:11
VII) The Requirement of the Gift ("...believeth in Him...")
"...ye believe in God, believe also in me." John 14:1b
"...that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins." Acts 10:43b
"That whoseoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life... He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God... He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3:15,18,36
"But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:8-13
VIII) The Result of the Gift ("...shall not perish but have everlasting life.")
A - A Forgiveness of Sin - Ephesians 1:7
B - A Foundation of Faith - Ephesians 3:17-19/Colossians 2:5-7/II Timothy 1:12
C - A Fullness of Joy - John 15:11
D - A Freedom to Live - John 10:10 / Galatians 5:1 / Romans 6:22-23
E - A Force to Serve - Ephesians 3:16,20
F - A Family to Love - Galatians 3:26 / Ephesians 3:14,15
G - A Future in Heaven - John 14:1-3 / I Thessalonians 4:13-18
My friend, if you have never accepted the Greatest Gift offered to man, I pray that you will today. God loves you the way you are and wants to save you. You must realize that you are a sinner and repent of your sin and put your faith and trust in the saving work of Christ on Calvary. It is the blood of Christ that purifies us from sin and the only sacrifice that God will accept as a payment for our sin. The Bible says in II Corinthians 6:2, "(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)" Won't you ask Him to save you now?
Looking for that Blessed Hope,
Pastor Timothy J. Perry