More people have been led to eternal life through John 3:16 than perhaps any other verse in Scripture. It is a familiar, moving, and powerful declaration of the greatness of God's love for sinners and the saving provision he has made for them through his Son Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, the power of this verse is generally weakened by two popular treatments. One weakens its force by universalizing its message to apply to all men without exception, while the other weakens it by restricting the divine love to the elect. It will be seen that John 3:16 does not directly touch upon the issues that divide Arminianism from Reformed and Biblical Christianity. The great theme of John 3:16, that which must govern our interpretation and application of the • verse to our lives, evangelism, and our overall theology, is the amazing nature of God's love for a world that lay in rebellion against him, It is this that must capture our imagination, even as it did John's, if we are to avoid the following two errors and properly conceive of the love of God our Savior.