3:16 x 3
3:16 x 3 isn’t a math equation but a Bible adventure, with a powerful, personal John 17 discovery.
Don’t read ahead… what book of the Bible comes to mind first when you hear chapter three, verse 16, commonly written as 3:16? I’ll give you a minute…
The Obvious One
If you took any time to think about it, surely a good percentage of you thought of John 3:16, probably the most well-known verse in the Bible. It’s on signs at big events, headbands and face paint for athletes, and the absolute best one-sentence summary of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And every corner of the Body of Christ celebrates it passionately, even if we might do almost everything else differently.
I wasn’t familiar with Jeremiah James’ Truth B Told ministries until last night, when I saw my wife watching a video and breaking down in tears. Being the always observant, good husband that I am, I eventually noticed and insightfully asked, “What’s going on?” We watched what she’d started together, and both were deeply affected. James seems to be strongly evangelical in his background and language. Yet this whole episode is devoted to a Catholic priest, Brent Bowman, who read John 3:16 and then later led the congregation in Communion (Mass.) The power of the love of God overcame him in a way I don’t know I’ve ever seen before. Bookmark this video for when you have 10-20 minutes: Jeremiah James and Fr Brent Bowman. You won’t regret it.
The Cousin
I’d noticed this one before, because its address is so beautifully similar to John 3:16. 1 John 3:16 says, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters." John 3:16 is how we know what love is. John 17 (in essence) is how we show others what love is - not just God’s love for us but our love for one another.
Once you’ve taken Jesus’ John 17 prayer to heart, and maybe prayed along with it in the easy-to-remember Biblical GPS pattern HERE, you notice it everywhere. John 17 isn’t an interesting anomaly, the unique experience of hearing Jesus pray extensively. It’s all through Jesus’ ministry, it’s how He summed it all up in John 13:34-35, and it’s prominent in almost every New Testament book. This isn’t optional! Jesus laid down His life for us, so we ought to lay down our lives for each other.
The Wildcard
What prompted this article was the 3:16 that had never caught my attention before. I was very familiar with the passage, but just didn’t notice that it starts with another 3:16. Ephesians 3:16, “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being…” Ephesians 3:14-21 is another of those texts that if you’ve not noticed before, stop everything and read it right now. This is the Apostle Paul reflecting on John 3:16 and its implications, and praying it for all of us.
The reason it caught my attention last week is that I was facing another of those days for which I felt completely and thoroughly inadequate. You might remember a story I shared in May of 2025 where I prayed, “Lord, I can’t” and He responded, “You’re right. But I can. So let’s go!” Last week was another day like that. And my Bible-in-a-year program took me to Ephesians 3:16 … and miraculously, God answered the Apostle Paul’s prayer for me on Friday, Sept 25, 2026, though He wrote it about 1950 years ago.
3:16x3
Together, the verses form another 3-in-1 in 2 ways! The three verses together reflect the love of the Father, Son, and Spirit; and all three verses join together to paint one life-changing good news story.
Dave Drum, Executive Director
