Don’t forget John 3:18 “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.”
The term, “world” has different meanings in Scripture, depending on its context.
Oft times it refers to the value system of the world as in James 4:4 “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
Sometimes it refers to all the lost people in the world, as in John 18:6-10 “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.”
Sometimes it speaks of mankind in general, as in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Interesting note on this verse (upon which I’ve had a discussion with the author of the article that started this thread!) - the word, “so”, this verse is not an adjective modifying “much”; it’s an adverb describing the action in the phrase “he gave his only begotten son”. John 3:16 would be more properly rendered from the Greek as follows: “”For this is the way God loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Sometimes it speaks of mankind in general, as in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Interesting note on this verse (upon which I’ve had a discussion with the author of the article that started this thread!) - the word, “so”, this verse is not an adjective modifying “much”; it’s an adverb describing the action in the phrase “he gave his only begotten son”. John 3:16 would be more properly rendered from the Greek as follows: “”For this is the way God loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Precisely.
While I'm at it, here's Pink's magnificent classic on-line...
You should read this mighty Baptist, Daniel. Most of us Calvinists once would have agreed with your post. After returning to Scripture and reading guys like Pink and Calvin and Boettner and Luther and Zanchius we understood differently. And we have been blessed by the alternation in our perspective, from our work to God's work.
In fact, here's another great Biblical statement of truth...