1. God's love for us is so great that he gave his greatest gift: his one and only Son. He gave his Son in a double sense

a. God sent his Son to reveal himself to us, to show us what he is like. Christ is "the image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15). "No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only (or the Only Begotten), who is at the Father's side, has made him known." (John 1:18).

b. God gave his Son by giving him up on the cross. Christ bore our sins in his body on the tree (1 Peter 1:24). God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, or the means of turning away God's wrath (Romans 3:25). Christ's death is also the redemption, or the price paid to free us from sin, Satan and death. The Father did not spare his Son but gave him up (on the cross) for us all (Romans 8:32).

2. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Eternal life not only lasts forever (quantity); it is God's own life which he shares with us (quality!). To believe in the Son is to be convinced that Jesus is true: he is both God and Man, both the Savior from sin and the Lord of the universe. We trust him as the only Savior and yield to him as our Lord. To believe in his name is to receive him into our hearts and lives (John 1:12).

3. Whoever does not believe in the Son will perish. Only those who believe in the Son have eternal life. To perish means to be separated from God forever. It is our sin that causes this separation - or spiritual death - in the first place. Jesus came to die for sin, to put it away, by receiving the penalty of sin himself. However, only those who believe in him receive pardon, and eternal life.