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3. The Baptist testifies to Jesus the Bridegroom (John 3:22–36)
After witnessing humbly and expressing his joy at the growth of the Christian movement, the Baptist testified to the greatness of Christ and his matchless message, and he said,
JOHN 3:31
31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
Men are worldly, needing a rebirth. Jesus alone was heavenly, and became man to draw near to us and redeem us. Jesus, the Nazarene, excels all prophets, philosophers and leaders, as heaven is higher than earth. Men’s inventions are staggering, but are from matter that God made. The Son is life and light and the reason for our being. There is no comparison between him and all else. The Son is begotten of the Father before the ages. He is perfect surpassing all creatures.
JOHN 3:32–35
32 What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies; and no one receives his witness. 33 He who has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.
The man Jesus is eye-witness to heavenly truth. He truly saw the Father and heard His words. He knows His thoughts and plans. He is God’s word, springing from the bosom of the Father. His revelation is perfect. The revelation that came with the prophets is incomplete. Jesus reveals God’s will as final and complete. He is the faithful witness, who became a martyr for that testimony, because he glorified his Father an declared himself the Son. Sadly, most people still refuse His witness. They do not want a God who is near, for that would require a change of life. They reject Sonship and deny God’s Fatherhood.
Praise God that not all hate God and His Spirit. There is a select group who see the Father in the Son and accept his perfect sacrifice. He who believes His revelation and redemption honors God. God cannot lie; the Son is the truth. The Father did not reveal the substance of His thoughts in a constitution or book, but in the person of Jesus. Whoever is open to the Spirit of His words is renewed. Christ calls you not just to speak the truth, but to live it and do it. His Gospel is then embodied in you.
Jesus did not speak of imaginary things or uncertainties or wishful desires; his words are creative, mighty, yet clear. God Himself spoke in His Son. The Spirit in Him is limitless. The Father bestowed on him complete wisdom and authority.
The Father loved the Son, and handed him all things. God’s love is a gift, and the Son honors his Father. The question is not, who is greater, the Father or the Son? Such questions come from Satan. Each Person of the Holy Trinity magnifies the other and honors the other. He who ignores this principle ignores the Lord. The Father had no fears of the Son usurping His sovereignty, for God knew the Son’s meekness, obedience and total submission. Jesus rules over all as he says, "All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth."
JOHN 3:36
36 One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
John the evangelist teaches us the saving formula: He who trusts in the Son has life eternal. This brief sentence enshrines the gospel. Whoever draws near to this unity of love exemplified in the Father and Son, nears God’s love, revealed on the cross. He relies on the Lamb of God knowing that the Lamb has removed our sin. With this relation to Christ we experience the current of his mercy in everlasting love. That faith in the crucified Son transfers to us his true life. Eternal life does not begin after death, but now. The Holy Spirit comes upon the believers in the Son. He who rejects the words of Christ and refuses his Sonship and cross, grieves the Holy Spirit. He will not find rest for his conscience. He who does not submit to Jesus opposes God himself and abides in spiritual death. All religions that contradict the doctrine of the Son and his cross offend God’s truth. He who rejects His love, chooses His wrath.
Paul too affirms John’s position: God’s wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and wickedness. For all have sinned and opposed the truth by their iniquity. Realize that God’s wrath that destroys, is poured on mankind.
Like the serpent lifted up in the desert, so the Crucified has become the symbol of our salvation from God’s anger. The Son has opened the dispensation of grace. Anyone who averts His grace from the cross deliberately abides in judgment. Satan finds a foothold in him. People without Christ are wretched. When will you begin praying for individuals so that they may believe in the Son and be saved? When will you talk to your friends patiently, in order that they may receive God’s life by means of your witness?
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we praise you for your love and truth. We worship you, asking for an obedient heart, fixed in faith and honoring the Father. In our confidence we declare that you and the Father are one. Have mercy on those who reject you ignorantly. Grant them the witness of your word. Help us to find those to whom you send us, and tell them about you and your work for us.
QUESTION:
- How do we receive eternal life?