John 3:26-35

26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified—behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him!” 27 John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.  28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’  29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. 31 He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. 33 He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true. 34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. 35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. 36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

“He Must Increase, I Must Decrease”  HE > ME

“Teacher, you know the man who was with you earlier…..beyond the Jordan River? The man that you testified about? Look! He is baptizing, and everyone is going to Him now instead of you!” What a panic they seem to be in! They believe that they are standing by John by letting him know this. They don’t truly understand John’s mission. The humility of John in these next few verses is so inspiring. John’s disciples were very disturbed because more people were going to Jesus’ disciples to be baptized than were going to him. But John was not in competition with Jesus. John was all about glorifying Jesus. His mission was not to try and outdo the Son of God. His statement in verse 27 says everything we need to know about John’s character…..no one receives anything unless it comes from heaven (God). God gave the increase in any success that John had while on earth. John achieved success in his mission when everyone began to leave him and go to Jesus. That was success in John’s eyes, and it came from God. John’s example teaches us a valuable lesson in the church today. We are all working towards the same goal of getting ourselves to heaven, and saving lost souls along the way. We should never be worried about who is doing more than us, or who is not doing as much as us. We should just be doing everything we can do for God’s kingdom. Christianity is not a competition. When one person in the church has success in teaching someone the gospel, then it is success for us all. Most of all, it is success and glory for God. We all have different talents that we can use in the kingdom, and all are equally important. John said to his followers, “You heard me say that I am not the Christ, but I was sent before Him.” John was paving the way for Jesus. Like John illustrates so beautifully in verse 29, he was not the bridegroom. John was more like the best man. The best man does not get the bride. The best man doesn’t compete with the groom for attention from the guests. He stands by the groom, and rejoices with him. And that last statement from John in verse 29 says so much about the kind of person he was, “Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.” Seeing all those people go to Jesus instead of him…..that is what fulfilled John’s joy. 

In verse 30, John makes a seven word statement that should sum up how we view our lives. John says that Jesus must increase and he must decrease. This should be our attitude. Jesus is the mission of our lives. Jesus is the focus. We are bringing other people’s attention to Jesus through how we live, and how we treat them. Then John explains why Jesus has to increase. He says, paraphrasing in my own words, “Jesus is from heaven, and was sent here by God. I am just a man from this earth. Jesus has an eye-witness account of heaven, and can speak about things that we humans here on earth can only wonder about. Jesus speaks the words that come straight from the mouth of God. I can only speak things that God allows me to speak. Jesus is from above, and he has authority over everyone here on earth, whereas I have no authority at all. Jesus is who you need to be listening to. It is my purpose to tell you that you need to listen to Jesus!” What a message from John the baptist! The sad thing in these verses is that John says in verse 32 that the world will not accept what Jesus says or who He is. We see the same thing in the world today. The Bible is so readily available for people to open it, read it, or listen to it in order to get to know Jesus, hear His words, and learn how to be saved, but they won’t. And some think they know Him, but they don’t…..which is equally sad to me. 

In verse 33, we find an amazing truth…..if we receive Jesus’ words as truth, then we have received God’s words as truth. They are one and the same. The words of Jesus are the direct words of God Himself. The word “measure” in the Greek is metron which means “limited portion”. Verse 34 says that God gave Jesus the Spirit “without measure” (metron) or without a “limited portion”. No limitations! God gave Jesus full access to the Spirit of God. Verse 35 says that God loves Jesus, and has given Him all authority over everything. Think about the mission of John the baptist. His mission from God was to prepare people for the coming of Christ. He was put on earth to showcase Jesus so that people would go to Him. John gave Himself fully to that mission until he was martyred for it. John obviously loved God/Jesus very much. It shows in the fulfillment of his purpose. Think of Jesus’ mission. God sent Jesus to earth with a mission to save humankind. (John 3:16) Oh….if only people could have their eyes opened to this gospel. God loved His Son immensely, but….do we realize that the love God had and still has for His Son, Jesus, is the same love that He has for us? The Bible says we will be “joint-heirs” with Jesus someday if we “suffer with Him”. (Romans 8:17)  Someday we will share in the inheritance with Jesus if we stay faithful to Him until death. He sent the Son that He loved, and gave all authority to….to die for us. But the best part comes next…..Jesus conquered death three days later….. so that we can someday also conquer death, be raised up to meet Him in the air, and forever be with God. (1 Thess. 4:17). If that is not love, then I don’t know what love is. Jesus is the manifestation of God’s love in the flesh. When we see Jesus showing love, we are seeing how God shows love as well. When we see Jesus showing compassion, we are seeing how God shows compassion. Jesus has given us a picture of the love of God in human form. Verse 36 is a warning….cause and effect. Belief in Jesus, which we know includes obedience, equals eternal life. What causes us to live forever with God in heaven? Our belief, obedience and lifelong commitment to Christ is the cause. The effect of our efforts is eternal life. Unbelief in Jesus equals condemnation. We cannot escape the wrath of God without Jesus interceding for us. What causes the wrath of God to be upon us? Our unbelief in His Son is the cause. Condemnation is the effect of unbelief. Some people don’t like God’s plan. They don’t see it as love. Why did He let His Son die? It doesn’t make sense to people in darkness. But it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about His plan. We are created beings in His creation. Who are we to question the Creator’s plan? 

God means for everyone to learn what the Bible teaches about how to be saved. It only takes an open heart for Jesus, and a willingness to put away what we’ve been taught in the past, and truly read what God’s Word says for ourselves…..and then accept what it says and obey it. If I can help you in any way, I would love to! 

Are you walking in the light? Are you in Christ? If you aren’t, I’d love to help you. Are you a member of the Lord’s church, but are struggling spiritually in your walk with Christ? If you are…..believe me, I’ve been there many times, and I’d love to help you. If you have any questions, please reach out. 

God’s Plan of Salvation

Below is the plan that God has set forth in His Word, for humankind to receive His grace that leads to salvation and an eternity with God in heaven. This plan is straight from the Bible. 

We have to hear His word. (Romans 10:17) 

Upon hearing the message of Jesus, we believe it. (Mark 16:16) 

Then, we confess Jesus’ name before men. (Matthew 10:32) 

Next, we repent of our sins. (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19) 

Finally, we are baptized into Christ for the remission of our sins.  (Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:16, Romans 6:3-4, Acts 22:16, 1 Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:26-27) After baptism, God adds us to His church. (Acts 2:47)

Then, we remain faithful in our commitment to Christ until death. (Revelation 2:10, 2 Peter 2:20-22)