JOHN 3.16: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (ESV) Jesus' reference to Israel and Moses and the bronze snake in the wilderness in verses 14 and 15 certainly establish that God's salvation through Christ provides redemption with the Jewish people as the reference point. But in verse 16 Jesus makes sure we all understand that God's work of salvation is for the entire world. Whether during the Old Testament time or now in the New Testament time, the offer of a right relationship with God has always been available to everyone who would believe. Abram (Abraham) knew God through faith. God revealed Himself to Abram and made a promise to him regarding a biologic heir, and Abram believed God. And as Genesis 15.6 says, "And he believed in the LORD, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness." (NASB) I believe that the relationship demonstrated by God making a promise to Abram and Abram trusting God was the foundation for saving faith during the Old Testament time. I believe that a right relationship with God has always been by sincerely trusting in God and taking Him at His word. God is a knower of everyone's heart and the judgment of God is according to truth (Romans 2.2), so He will sort out the hearts of all of the Baal worshippers in Israel who were at the same time following the Law of Moses — at least outwardly. There were some who didn't engage in polytheism, and only trusted in God, who had revealed Himself as Jehovah. But there were others who worshipped multiple gods in addition to participating in the worship of Jehovah. God knows what was in their heart. In any case, I believe the essential issue during the Old Testament time is whether or not someone had genuine faith in Jehovah. And so now during the New Testament time, faith in Jesus Christ the Lord is the central issue regarding our relationship with God the Father and our acceptance of the Gospel. And with faith in Christ as the foundation for the way of salvation, we come to verse 16. Back when I was a youngster in church, John 3.16 was the first verse we memorized. It is truly the Gospel set forth in one verse. In the King James Version popular at the time I was young, it says: "For God so loved the world, that He gave…..". The way this verse was verbally expressed from the pulpit at that time gave the impression that the word "so" indicated the magnitude of God's love. Certainly God's love is of immeasurable magnitude. But this word Jesus used can also be translated, "thus", or "in this manner", or "in the same manner". With the conjunction "For" tying verse 16 to the previous verse, I believe a closer understanding of what Jesus is saying would read: "For in the same manner, God loved the world, that He gave…..". And so I believe Jesus is saying that in the same way God loved the children of Israel, as shown in Numbers 21.4-9, God loves the world. The work of Jesus would not be and is not limited to a narrowly defined group of people. It is available to everyone, free from adhering in any way to the Old Testament Law of Moses, or any other set of extra-biblical teachings, or customs practiced during the time of the ancient world or today. I hope this seems obvious, but it was not so obvious in the early part of the Book of Acts, wherein we can see some of the Christian leaders were initially surprised that non-Jewish people, referred to as "Gentiles", received Jesus as Savior and Lord, and then received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Even after that, some Jewish Christians asserted that a Gentile must observe the Law of Moses. But all of the Law was fulfilled by Christ. We can now embrace 2 Corinthians 3.17: "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (ESV) So wherever you are reading this, the Gospel is for you. It is for you in today's world, free from customs and culture and geography from millennia ago. The Gospel is founded upon the person of Jesus Christ, and His mission was and is global in scope.