Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
God is love, the product of God given by God because of who He is and not because of who we are. “Love is the mutual and binding grace between God and man; …” (McGarvey and Pendleton)
The gospel shows how special God is and we are not. It is not man centered. It does not begin with God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. The gospel reveals how much we need God by first convincing us of how dead we are with no ability of saving ourselves, that is when John 3:16 (Gospel, God’s pill) brings us life. “…, it is an impossibility that you bring glory to God, His Christ, and His cross, because the cross of Jesus Christ and the glory thereof is most magnified when it’s placed in front of the backdrop of our depravity!” (Paul Washer). The dying words of one ancient saint, “Grace is the only thing that can make us like God. I might be dragged through heaven, earth, and hell and I would still be the same sinful, polluted wretch unless God Himself should cleanse me by His grace.”
Men will never learn the true meaning of grace and desire it unless they are confronted with what they deserve, the wrath of God (Num 21).