John 3:16 -- God so loved, that He gave ... that whosoever ... might have ... LIFE!
How could God love so much that He gave so much? This verse reveals the total abandonment of God; He gave Himself for us absolutely, without any calculation or reservation or qualification!!! Do we understand that the salvation of God is deliverance out of self entirely, into union with Himself and our whole life is taken up with Him?!?!
In Job, where the Lord questions Satan, (Job 1:6-7, Job 2:1-2) it's not because He didn't know already but because He is the Sovereign Authority and Satan MUST answer to Him.
I wondered why the Lord would bother to speak to Satan at all; why He even let him continue to exist; why He did not crush him into nothing. I don't even begin to fully understand the big picture of good and evil. Since God alone is All-Powerful, evil could not exist unless He allowed it.
But I think it has something to do with the awesome responsibility, privilege and purpose of the power of choice.
God gave that privilege to angels and one-third of them chose to fall with Lucifer. The Lord gave that privilege to man and he sinned away his God-given dominion and thereby, he made Satan the prince of this world.
God breathed into Adam the breath of life (Genesis 2:7). The sinless life which, Adam enjoyed, was the Life of God. He was energized by the Life of God and filled with the Light of God. But he deliberately made a wrong choice and the Light went out and the Life was withdrawn.
Why didn't God simply wipe out fallen angels and humans, and do without them or start over with something else?
GOD NEVER WASTES ANYTHING!
God could see all the wars, bloodshed, cruelty and diseases which would besiege this planet, He knew about the awful cost of Calvary; yet He still thought that freedom of choice for angels and mankind was worth it. All of this, somehow, ties in with God's unconditional love for those who trust Him. So highly does He value His Elect, that even the powers of darkness are used to train and equip us for magnificent positions of authority, now and throughout eternity.
Why was God willing to suffer so much? Man disappointed God at every turn, he spoiled everything, he ruined every opportunity. And God's answer was to become Man. In a sense, the Lord did start over, with a Second Adam. The first Adam gave up the title deed to this world but the Second Adam made redemption possible for the whole creation.
(1 John 4:2) Truly we believe that nearly 2000 years ago, God became Man through the miracle of the one and only virgin birth; and that Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh. But there is more to this verse. Jesus told the disciples that He was leaving (John 14) and that the Father would send the Holy Spirit. Then He said, "I will come to you." Do you realize that when you received the Saviour and were regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God, Jesus Christ came in the flesh; IN YOUR FLESH?!! When the Holy Spirit comes in, it is God, again, breathing His Life into you, just as He did for Adam. No wonder that "Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world." You are indwelt by Almighty God, Who became Man and as Man defeated the prince of this world and triumphed over all principalities and powers. This is not achieved by a process or by our earnest striving; it is a once-for-all act, realized by faith, through our union with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, and the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit. Think of the amazing miracle of God's grace. Because Jesus Christ came in the flesh then, He comes now in the flesh of every born-again believer. Greater is He that is IN YOU, in your flesh; Jesus Christ has come now in your flesh!!! How sad that many believers fail to recognize this liberating truth. And of course Satan will do everything possible to keep them from believing it. That is why it is essential for us to know God's Word and put on the whole armour. In his own strength, a Christian is a pushover for evil powers. In the radiant atmosphere of faith in his union with his crucified, buried, risen and ascended Lord, the believer's every thought, word and deed becomes a terror to the enemy.
We are delivered and Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. We have the sovereign privilege of choice. When we make the right choices to obey God, we are energized by the very Life of God. That's how much God gave because that's how much He loved.