John 3:16 - FreeGrace

John 3:16 says

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

As this verse clearly states, the purpose of God giving His Son was to save the particular group of people known only to God referred to here as "whosoever believeth in him."

FreeGrace, an internet poster, has challegened this view, claiming that John 3:16 indicates that God has made salvation possible for everyone (his exact words were: "God has made a way for all men to be saved").

FreeGrace is welcome to comment here and defend his view against the brief Scriptual exegesis presented above.

-Turretinfan

UPDATE:

FreeGrace seems to think I have mistaken him for an internet poster with the handle "Ezra."

I have not: Here's FreeGrace's comment: "There was no error. It has always been your understanding of the text that doesn't agree with the plain words of the text. Ezra's point that God has made a way for all men to be saved through Christ is true, although that contradicts your pov. "
Here's a link as proof of FreeGrace's amnesia:
http://forums.crosswalk.com/fb.aspx?m=2312201

FreeGrace continues:

What TF doesn't mention here is his view that the first part of Jn 3:16 refers to "the believing ones" in the second part of the verse, yet he gives no exegetical reason to do so.

I respond:
Well, actually, as far as the comments above, go, FreeGrace is right.
Allow me to remedy with the same exegetical reason that I've provided before:

The "For ... that ..." is what ties the two halves the of the verse together.

FreeGrace continues:

IOW, he thinks "world" refers only to believers, and that God doesn't love everyone in the world.

I respond:

On the contrary, I just think that God loves the elect in a particular, special way that is different from the way in which he loves the rest of His creation. Nevertheless, here, "world" which can mean lots of different things in Scripture, is referring to the world generally (i.e. elect from both Israel and the Nations). This becomes clear when it is seen what God does based on the love: he sends his Son to save all the believing ones ("whosoever believeth").

FreeGrace continues:

For him, it's just "fact". Yet, every English translation has captured the essence of the verse in translating "the believing ones" as "whosoever believes", indicating that whoever in the world that believes will be saved.

I respond:
Obviously, I do view the sense of the passage as a fact. Furthermore, the English translation "whosoever believeth" is exactly correct, for it means the same thing as "all the believing ones," which is a more direct, but awkward, translation.

Furthermore, it is not true that every English translation renders it the same way - or that every English translation uses "whosoever" instead of "every one" or "everyone" or "all." One wonders whether FreeGrace will need proof of this statement.

FreeGrace wrote:

This verse does demonstrate that God has made salvation available for everyone who believes in His Son.

I respond:
This is a classic quasi-Arminian assertion - but it simply is not true. God did not make salvation "available" to them, and it was not His purpose to do so. Christ SAVED His people from their sins, and God's purpose in sending Jesus was to SAVE, not to make salvation "available" or merely possible.

-Turretinfan