“...That he gave his one and only Son...” God paid the ultimate price because God treasures us as the ultimate prize. As one song says, God “... didn’t want heaven without us...” Jesus taught Nicodemus the necessity and the possibility of being born again (see John 1:12-13). The Pharisees based their system on the assumption we need to earn God’s favor. Jesus taught that life isn’t about what we can give to God, but about what God gives to us. Some people assume God is primarily concerned with getting something from us. God gives new life through the power of the Holy Spirit, not through our own achievements (Romans 8:31-32).
