God & Savior

John 3:17

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
John 3:17
Read chapter

Study notes

God sent His Son into the world not to condemn it but to save it.

Explanation

Verse 17 explains verse 16 from another side. The purpose of the Son's coming was rescue, not condemnation. The word "world" appears three times, keeping the focus on the whole world as the place God's love reaches.

Theology

The Son's mission is saving. Judgment is real (3:18-19), but it is not the reason He came (compare 12:47).

Original language
  • ἀπέστειλεν (apesteilen): to send
    Greek · Verb, aorist, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · Strong's G0649 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Sent.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 3:17, word 3

  • κρίνῃ (krinē): to judge
    Greek · Verb, present, active, subjunctive, 3rd person singular · Strong's G2919 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Judge or condemn.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 3:17, word 12

  • σωθῇ (sōthēa): to save
    Greek · Verb, aorist, passive, subjunctive, 3rd person singular · Strong's G4982 · text: NA28 (as recorded in TAGNT)

    Be saved.

    Source: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, Cambridge), TAGNT: Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament, STEPBible-Data commit ed476a8, John 3:17, word 17

Cross-references
  • John 12:47 · Same theme

    I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.

  • 1 John 4:14 · Same theme

    The Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

  • Luke 19:10 · Same theme

    The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.

Connected events
  • Nicodemus visits Jesus at night
    This verse is part of it · jerusalem

    This verse is part of the conversation.

    John 3:1-21

Sources

Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Greek)

οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι᾽ αὐτοῦ.

  1. οὐou“Not”
    Particle, negative · “no” · Strong's G3756
  2. γὰρgar“for”
    Conjunction · from γάρ · “for” · Strong's G1063
  3. ἀπέστειλενapesteilen“sent”
    Verb, aorist, active, indicative, 3rd person singular · from ἀποστέλλω · “to send” · Strong's G0649
  4. ὁho“<the>”
    Article, nominative, singular, masculine · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  5. θεὸςtheos“God”
    Noun, nominative, singular, masculine · from θεός · “God” · Strong's G2316
  6. τὸνton“the”
    Article, accusative, singular, masculine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  7. υἱὸνhuion“Son”
    Noun, accusative, singular, masculine · from υἱός · “son” · Strong's G5207
  8. εἰςeis“into”
    Preposition · “toward” · Strong's G1519
  9. τὸνton“the”
    Article, accusative, singular, masculine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  10. κόσμονkosmon“world”
    Noun, accusative, singular, masculine · from κόσμος · “world” · Strong's G2889
  11. ἵναina“that”
    Conjunction · “in order that/to” · Strong's G2443
  12. κρίνῃkrinē“He may judge”
    Verb, present, active, subjunctive, 3rd person singular · from κρίνω · “to judge” · Strong's G2919
  13. τὸνton“the”
    Article, accusative, singular, masculine · from ὁ · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  14. κόσμον,kosmon“world,”
    Noun, accusative, singular, masculine · from κόσμος · “world” · Strong's G2889
  15. ἀλλ᾽all᾽“but”
    Conjunction · from ἀλλά · “but” · Strong's G0235
  16. ἵναina“that”
    Conjunction · “in order that/to” · Strong's G2443
  17. σωθῇsōthēa“may be saved”
    Verb, aorist, passive, subjunctive, 3rd person singular · from σῴζω · “to save” · Strong's G4982
  18. ὁho“the”
    Article, nominative, singular, masculine · “the/this/who” · Strong's G3588
  19. κόσμοςkosmos“world”
    Noun, nominative, singular, masculine · “world” · Strong's G2889
  20. δι᾽di᾽“through”
    Preposition · from διά · “through/because of” · Strong's G1223
  21. αὐτοῦ.autou“Him.”
    Personal pronoun, genitive, singular, masculine · from αὐτός · “he/she/it/self” · Strong's G0846
  • Prepared by the God & Savior team. Not yet reviewed by an editor.
  • Greek words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)