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GOSPEL COMMENTARY JN 3:16-18

Living in divine love

Fr. Robert Wagner

Nowhere in Scripture do we find the word “trinity” in reference to God as three divine persons. Of course, it is in Scripture where this divine truth is revealed, for the Gospels distinguish the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in many passages. For instance, when John baptizes Jesus in the Jordan River, the voice of the Heavenly Father announces Jesus as His Son, while the Holy Spirit descends in the form of a dove (Mt 3:13–17, Mk 1:9–11, Lk 3:21–22, Jn 1:31–34).

By calling God the Holy Trinity, we identify Him by his divine characteristics. This is nothing new. We say that God is omnipotent, omniscient, holy, perfect, merciful, and just because God has shown us these attributes through the ages. This helps us relate to God, to pray to Him, to place our faith in Him. Yet while adjectives like “omnipotent” and “perfect” are easily understood with regard to God, describing God as a trinity of three persons provides a characteristic that requires further reflection to grasp its importance with regard to our relationship with God and, in turn, our understanding of ourselves.

It is the incarnation of God, Jesus Christ, who not only shows us the face of God, but also reveals the Holy Trinity to us. The Gospel of John is the source of much of this teaching, especially in the Last Supper discourse found in chapters 14 through 16. As we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, we hear another passage from John's Gospel where Jesus reveals, “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life,” (Jn 3:16). This well-known passage, while brief, is a source of great fruitfulness in our reflection on the Holy Trinity.

Before the world was created, God existed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with each divine person distinct from the others yet sharing the same divine nature, no one person greater than the other, all three united eternally. This divine union lacks nothing, for what can be added to perfect perfection? However, the love of God is so abundant it becomes a creating force, flowing outward from the loving union of the Holy Trinity and filling the universe with all things, visible and invisible. Yes, God did not need creation, but in His abundant and overflowing generosity, He created and continues to create all that is.

Among His creation, humanity holds an honored place. Not only are we creatures formed in the image and likeness of God, but the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, took on our human nature. Yes, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, who took our flesh and offered Himself on the cross for us. Each of us is created out of the divine love of the Holy Trinity. Each of us is redeemed by the love of the Holy Trinity.

Not only that, but when we are baptized “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19), each of us becomes a partaker of the divine nature of God, members of the body of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit (cf. Catechism, No. 1265). As baptized Christians, we are swept up into the intimate union of the Holy Trinity as Jesus promises: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (Jn 14:23); “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, … it remains with you, and will be in you” (Jn 14:16,17).

When we remain in God's grace, we are united to the Holy Trinity in an undeniable reality. Not only that, but also we are united to the whole church, the mystical body of Christ, because of the divine love of God. In this way, we also imitate the Holy Trinity, for we are made for communion, with God and with others. God is love (1 Jn 4:8). We are the result of that love and the dwelling places for that love. Let us live that love abundantly in this life, that we may share in its fullness for all of eternity.

Fr. Wagner is Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde’s secretary.","serif"'>

The Work of God

Year A - The Most Holy Trinity

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son

John 3:16-18

16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
17 "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.
18 Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (NRSV)

Inspiration of the Holy Spirit - From the Sacred Heart of Jesus

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, He also created man and woman in his image for His own glory.

God the Father willed this creation, which was accomplished through my word as God the Son, by the power or our Holy Spirit. This is the first manifestation of God as trinity, a mystery that has puzzled men for thousands of years.

God is pure spirit; God is one. Yet this mystery cannot be comprehended completely by human beings until they become one with God in the Spirit.

The whole of creation is the first compelling witness of the presence of God the Father, creator of everything that exists. No one can deny the existence of the creator, but men, instead of praising God for having brought them into existence, go about their lives offending Him and denying themselves the rights that He has offered them as His children.

Sin has become a wall between God and men, the darkness of evil stops the light of God reaching them.

God so loved the world that He sent his only Son, so that anyone who believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life.

I came into the world to give my testimony as the Word of God. This word is the emanation of the spirit that brings the clarity of truth; the light that dispels the darkness, the purity that takes away sins, the life of God given to men so that they can obtain everlasting life.

I did not come to condemn but to save. You condemn yourselves to eternal death when you live in sin, but I offer eternal life to you if you believe in me and follow me.

I am the truth, and I came to witness the truth about God. Those who acknowledge me acknowledge God the Father, and those who live in the truth live in me and in my Father.

I came to the world to awaken everyone to the realities of the spiritual connection between God and men. Being created in the image of God you are his children, but sharing the spirit of God you must live a godly life.

When evil enters man, the Holy Spirit of God has to leave. Then the evil spirit reigns in that soul until repentance comes and the door is opened back to God for Him to enter and purify. If men don’t repent and change their evil ways, they are despising the truth that calls them to live the way God has disposed, in fact, they are condemning themselves.

I suffered and died in order to pay for the sins of the whole world, to manifest the mercy of God that desires everyone to be saved.

As a token of reconciliation between God and men, the Father and I have sent the Holy Spirit into the world to accompany and to advise, to purify, to heal and to sanctify.

The Holy Spirit is the third testimony of God in the world since creation; it is the fire of our love, which enters the soul to give witness our presence.

Blessed are those who yearn for the Holy Spirit, they will be rewarded for their good desire.

Fire will cleanse the world, the Holy Spirit will purify with holiness, and the fallen creation will rise in the presence of the Lord.

Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary