and there is more
love from thayers lexicon
ἀγαπάω, (ῶ; (imperfect ἠγάπων); future ἀγαπήσω; 1 aorist ἠγάπησα; perfect active (1 person plural ἠγαπήκαμεν,
1 John 4:10 WH text), participle ἠγαπηκῶς (
2 Timothy 4:8); passive (present ἀγαπῶμαι); perfect participle ἠγαπημένος; 1 future ἀγαπηθήσομαι; (akin to ἄγαμαι (Fick, Part 4:12; see ἀγαθός, at the beginning));
to love, to be full of good-will and exhibit the same: Luke 7:47;
1 John 4:7f; with the accusative of the person, to have a preference for,
wish well to, regard the welfare of:
Matthew 5:43ff;
Matthew 19:19;
Luke 7:5;
John 11:5;
Romans 13:8;
2 Corinthians 11:11;
2 Corinthians 12:15;
Galatians 5:14;
Ephesians 5:25, 28;
1 Peter 1:22, and elsewhere; used often in the First Epistle of John of the love of Christians toward one another;
of the benevolence which God, in providing salvation for men, has exhibited by sending his Son to them and giving him up to death,
John 3:16;
Barnes' Notes on the Bible- a Calvinist
For God so loved - This does not mean that God approved the conduct of men, but that he had benevolent feelings toward them, or was "earnestly desirous" of their happiness. God hates wickedness, but he still desires the Happiness of those who are sinful. "He hates the sin, but loves the sinner." A parent may love his child and desire his welfare, and yet be strongly opposed to the conduct of that child. When we approve the conduct of another, this is the love of complacency; when we desire simply their happiness, this is the love of benevolence.
The world - All mankind. It does not mean any particular part of the world, but man as man - the race that had rebelled and that deserved to die. See
John 6:33;
John 17:21. His love for the world, or for all mankind, in giving his Son, was shown by these circumstances:
1. All the world was in ruin, and exposed to the wrath of God.
2. All people were in a hopeless condition.
3. God gave his Son. Man had no claim on him; it was a gift - an undeserved gift.
4. He gave him up to extreme sufferings, even the bitter pains of death on the cross.
5. It was for all the world. He tasted "death for every man,"
Hebrews 2:9. He "died for all,"
2 Corinthians 5:15. "He is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world,"
1 John 2:2.
That he gave - It was a free and unmerited gift. Man had no claim: and when there was no eye to pity or arm to save, it pleased God to give his Son into the hands of men to die in their stead,
Galatians 1:4;
Romans 8:32;
Luke 22:19. It was the mere movement of love; the expression of eternal compassion, and of a desire, that sinners should not perish forever.
and calvin said this about the world Jesus died for in John 3:16
" because the Heavenly Father loves
the human race, and
wishes that they should not perish "
" And he has employed
the universal term whosoever, both to invite all indiscriminately to partake of life "
" The word world is again repeated,
that no man may think himself wholly excluded "
John 3 Calvin's Commentaries
literal meaning:
For God so
loved ( was full of good will, benevolence ) the
world ( the inhabitants of the world, the human race ) that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever(
universally for everyone: calvin ) believes in Him shall not persish but have everlasting life.
b
. of all mankind, but especially of believers, as the object of God’s love
J 3:16, 17c; 6:33, 51; 12:47. 5B
William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature : A Translation and Adaption of the Fourth Revised and Augmented Edition of Walter Bauer’s Griechisch-Deutsches Worterbuch Zu Den Schrift En Des Neuen Testaments Und Der Ubrigen Urchristlichen Literatur (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 446.
which references several key passages- John 3:17, 17; 6:51; 12:47
1 John 2:2-He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of
the whole world.
1 John 2:15-17-Do not love the world or anything in
the world. If anyone loves
the world, love for the Father is not in them.
16 For everything in
the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from
the world.
17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
1 John 4:3-6- but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in
the world.
4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in
the world. 5 They are from
the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of
the world, and
the world listens to them.
6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.
1 John 4:14- And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of
the world
1 John 5:19- We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
Now its very clear from the Lexicon definition and in 1 John that the cosmos/world does not mean Gods elect (that is Calvinism) not what John means in his epistle.
It clearly means everyone not exceptions in this world, all of its inhabitants who make up the ungodly multitude. It is clearly all inclusive of everyone, all, the entire world that lies under the evil one in opposition to God from the context of 1 John. Its this love for the world (
for God so loved the world ) that He gave His only Son for them.
Truth is a beautiful thing just like Gods love is for the entire world- its a beautiful thing to see woven through the Bible.
hope this helps !!!