We bloat the verse with extra meaning into something like this:
For God so (oh so, so very much) loved the world (and all the people in it, or at least the elect) that he gave (in death on the cross) his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him (and therefore excluding individuals who do not believe in him) may not perish (in the flames of hell forever) but may have eternal life (in heaven, which replaces earth once it’s destroyed).
That’s a lot. That’s a lot more than John probably intended for his readers to hear.
What John 3:16 DOES Tell Us
Having dug through the verse more in-depth and having re-considered the surrounding context in light of what is stated rather than what is assumed, this is how I’ve come to understand John 3:16 (my interpretation, not a translation):
God loved (unconditionally) the world (the cosmos – all of creation and everyone in it) in such a way that he gave the world his Son (the person called Jesus Christ, not simply the event of his crucifixion) so that when people believe in him (trust in and rely on him), they would experience life (of the highest, renewed quality) and not death, during their lives, and beyond.
And it’s very important not to disconnect verse 16 from verse 17, which says,
Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (NRSV)
God is saving the world — the entire cosmos and everything and everyone in it — through the person and work of Jesus Christ. He considered everything and everyone he ever created as worth saving and redeeming.
Instead of imposing the idea of individual salvation from hell to heaven upon the text when it isn’t there, I choose to take these truths from what was written:
God, who made the world,
and who loves the world he made,
including everything and everyone in it,
is saving the world he made and loves,
by sending his Son, Jesus Christ,
rather than leaving the world to die.
