Making Much of Jesus with Our Lives

Making Much of Jesus With Our Lives John 3:22-36

We continue in our series in the book of John this morning in John chapter 3. Let me put up on the screen what I suggest is the big idea for our message today.

You and I are here on earth to make much of Jesus.

Now this isn’t a new message for us. It’s an old message but perhaps it’s worded a little bit differently than we normally word it. Listen to Paul’s familiar words to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 10…… So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. That’s 1 Corinthians 10:31.

Paul, there, is saying “Let your eating and drinking bring glory to God, let you lawn mowing and gardening bring glory to God, let your parenting, your marriage, your work, your jogging, let your every one of your waking moments bring glory to God.”

So we fulfill our life’s purpose when we bring glory to God. And if Jesus came revealing God’s glory, it’s just a step away to say, “We fulfill our life’s purpose when we make much of Jesus”?

As we dip into John 3 this morning, we come to John the Baptist’s swan song, his final appearance in the book of John. And we’ll see that John does all that he can to make much of Jesus. And we’ll learn a lot from his final appearance in the book.

If you have your bible follow with me as I read the entire passage we’ll look at this morning, beginning with verse 22…John 3:22….John 3:22

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for John had not yet been put in prison). 25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” 27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me

1 witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ 29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.” 31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. ______

Since the beginning of John chapter 2, we’ve seen a repeated emphasis on the idea that Jesus fulfills and surpasses every aspect of Judaism. And that’s a key theme in the book of John. In John chapter 2 we saw that Jesus provides new wine that surpasses any ceremonial cleansing rite that Judaism had to offer. We also saw that he displaces the temple; in fact He is now the temple where God meets with men. The purpose of a temple was to point forward to a day when God himself would meet with his people. Last week, in the early verses of John 3, we saw that Jesus ushers in the regeneration or new birth prophesied in the Old Testament. And this morning we’ll see that Jesus surpasses John the Baptist and all that he represented.1 And so right off the bat we can say that John our author is giving us reasons why we should make much of Jesus.

Well in verses 22-24 we encounter an interesting situation—Jesus and his disciples are baptizing and John and his disciples are baptizing.

Look at verse 22. Jesus and his disciples, probably leaving the area around Jerusalem2 where we encountered them in chapter 3, head into the Judean countryside and were baptizing—he remained there with them and was baptizing. Now look across the page at John 4:1-2—the idea of Jesus baptizing is clarified a bit. It’s not that Jesus himself was baptizing, but his disciples were baptizing under his authority.

But that does raise a question, “What kind of baptism would it be before the death and resurrection of Christ?” I mean isn’t that what Christian baptism is meant to communicate? We’ve been buried with Christ in death and raised to walk in newness of life? Now we know John’s baptism was a preparatory baptism, a baptism of repentance. What kind of baptism would Jesus’s disciples be conducting? Well the text doesn’t tell us. We can only guess that it had a preparatory

1 Carson, page 208-209

2 Ridderbos, page 143, “After this” in vs. 22 is very general but apparently means ‘after Jesus’ stay in Jerusalem as described in the preceding section.

2 sense also.3 We know that Jesus preached the same message that John did, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”4 so it’s reasonable to surmise that their baptisms were similar.

Verse 23 tell us that John and his disciples were baptizing at Aenon near Salim. Aenon means ‘springs’5 or ‘place abounding with springs’6 and scholars suggest that this was somewhere in the region of Samaria.7 {And we could pause here and make a note that the baptisms here couldn’t have been “sprinkling” because of the phrase in verse 23, ‘because water was plentiful there.}

Now look at verse 25….25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. There’s a measure of mystery to this verse, maybe a lot of mystery over what is taking place here. John’s disciples have a discussion with an anonymous Jew—and the word discussion really isn’t a strong enough word, the word signifies a controversy or dispute8--there arose a controversy between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification.

Now we know the Jews had elaborate ceremonial purification rites. A Jew had to wash his hands a certain way before he ate. (Back in John 2, the six water pots -- the water pots that Jesus had the servants fill with water and which became wine --were there for this very purpose.) Did this anonymous Jew wonder how the baptisms of John and Jesus fit in with the Jewish guidelines for purification? 9 Did he take umbrage that John was baptizing in Samaria? 10 Was he wondering about the end times significance of John’s baptism? 11 We don’t know. But if we use verse 26 to help us interpret verse 25, we could imagine that this Jew was suggesting somehow that Jesus’ baptism may have been superior to John’s. 12

3 Lange, J.P. pages 141-147; Beasley-Murray pages 52-56, adds this: “Oriented to the coming of the kingdom, like John’s baptism it gained special significance as obedient response to him was in the process of bring the saving sovereignty” And Burge adds this: “But we must remain clear that at this point Jesus is conducting a baptism of repentance, no doubt like that of John, since, as 7:37–39 says, the Spirit (a feature of Christian baptism) has not yet been given.”

4 Ridderbos, page 143

5 Carson page 209

6 Lange, J.P. pages 141-147

7 The location of Aenon near Salim is disputed but both of the possibilities –Salim near Shechem and Salim about six miles south of Bethshan—are within the region of Samaria ( which at that time was part of the Roman province of Judea), Carson, page 209

8 Newman, B. M., & Nida, E. A. (1993). A handbook on the Gospel of John (pp. 96–97). New York: United Bible Societies.

9 Carson, page 209

10 Lange, JP. Pages 141-147

11 Talbert, C. H. (2005). Reading John: a literary and theological commentary on the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles (Rev. ed., pp. 111– 112). Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys Publishing.

12 Lenski, pages 279-296

3 Look at verse 26…. And they (John’s disciples alone probably) came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.”

There are several clues in verse 26 that John’s disciples may be disturbed, even embittered that their master’s star is sinking.

First, look how they address John…‘Rabbi’, a word meaning teacher. John wasn’t a teacher was he? But his disciples have given him the authority of a teacher. In the book of John the title ‘Rabbi’ is always used of Jesus, except here.13 Secondly, John’s disciples don’t use Jesus’ name14… he who was with you…that man over there…you know who… Mr. Perfect…the one who was with you across the Jordan15…..Now I know that none of you have ever resented somebody. So think about your neighbor, get your neighbor in your mind here. But have you ever noticed that when your neighbor resents someone they have trouble using that person’s name? “Old Mr. Shiny car over there…Old what’s his name”… have your neighbors ever said that? Third, look at the phrase, ‘to whom you bore witness’….It seems as if John’s disciples may be saying… “John you’re the one who gave him his start…You’re the one who gave him his big day in the sun…and now he’s taking over. And that suggests the fourth clue. Look at how they exaggerate when they tell John, “All are going to him!”

Rabbi, your star is sinking! Rabbi, you’re being overtaken! Rabbi, we aren’t going to let you take a backseat to anybody!16 You’re being eclipsed! You’re position of prominence is being threatened.

Often there is a regretful competitiveness in ministry.

In Numbers 11, Moses complained to the Lord that he needed help governing the people of Israel. 70 men were picked and anointed with the Spirit to help. And then two men, out of nowhere, Eldad and Medad, began to prophesy. And their prophesying must have caused quite a stir among the congregation. A young man ran to Moses and told him, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying”… as if to say, “Moses, This shouldn’t be”

13 Borchert, G.L. page 186-195

14 Lange, J.P. pages 141-147

15 Lange, J.P.

16 Hughes

4 And Moses said, “Who? Who’s prophesying? Eldad and Medad? With names like that, no need to worry!” No he didn’t really say that…. But Joshua, Moses’ right hand man chimed in, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” It’s as if they were saying to Moses, “Moses your star is sinking, you’re being overtaken, you’re being eclipsed!... Your position of prominence is being threatened! …..Look he’s baptizing and all are going to him

When Paul was in prison in Rome he heard that there were some preachers, preaching out of selfish ambition, who were taking advantage of his imprisonment.17 Couldn’t we imagine Paul thinking to himself, “My star is sinking! I’m being overtaken, I’m being eclipsed, my position of prominence is being threatened!”

You know the truth of the matter is that all of us are in one of three places. We’ve either been eclipsed by someone. We are in the process of being eclipsed by someone. Or some day in the future we will be eclipsed by someone.18 It’s the nature of life on earth that we have our time in the sun and then someone takes our place. And that inevitable process can be very painful.

The problem with John’s disciples is envy. And at times you and I, like John’s disciples, struggle with envy. We want the success the other guy is getting.

“Envy is defined as a kind of distress at the apparent success of one’s peers.”19 …that’s Aristotle

“People are especially envious of their equals, or of those once beneath them, when they feel themselves left behind and fret at the other’s upward flight.”20 ….that’s Cicero

Plutarch said, “Envy is pain at another’s good.”21 …that’s Plutarch

The cause of envy is the assumption of a limited good. 22 That’s a really key point. Let me say it again. The cause of envy is the assumption of a limited good. In other words, “If that guys getting more popular, I can only lose because there’s only so much popularity to go around.” The problem

17 Philippians 1:17

18 Hughes, Sermon, “He Must Increase and I Must Decrease”, GospelCoalition.com

19 Rhetoric 2.10.1,

20 De oratore 2.52.209

21 On Being a Busybody 6.518c.6,

22 Talbert, C. H. (2005). Reading John: a literary and theological commentary on the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles (Rev. ed., p. 112). Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys Publishing.

5 with that assumption is that God’s presence changes the assumption. Isn’t God the author of all good? When God is involved is there a limit to the amount of God that’s possible? No when God is involved there is plenty of good to go around.

Well John, in replying to his disciples, doesn’t make that point—that when God’s involved there’s always enough good to go around--He makes another point.

Look at verse 27…

27 John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.

John the Baptist’s point is simply that Jesus’ success is from the Lord and that his disciples must trust in God’s sovereignty. A person can’t receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.

You see the reality is that we humans have nothing but what we have received. 1 Cor. 4:7 says the same thing…What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? Jesus, in his trial before his crucifixion even made that same point to Pilate… Pilate said to Jesus, “Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above….23.

A person can’t receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.

“The best antidote to envy is the conviction of the sovereignty of God”24

Are you envious of someone else and what they have? Our discontentment with how God is managing the affairs of our life betrays a deep sense of unbelief in our hearts and an arrogance “that wants to be God and stand where God stands.”25

William Law in the book Serious Call for a Devout and Holy Life writes that “it is impossible to harbor animosity and jealousy for one for whom you are praying”

He goes on to say, “Is someone leaving you behind and you are becoming jealous and embittered? Keep praying that he may have success in the matter where he is awakening your envy. And

23 John 19:10-11

24 Bruner, page 220

25 Carson, page 211

6 whether he is helped or not, one thing is sure, that your own soul will be cleansed and ennobled and that you will grow a little nearer to the stature of the Baptism”26

Well John goes on verse 28… 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’

John reminds his followers that all along he had said that he was not the Christ, but the one who came before the Christ, that he was not the one who did the works of God but who gave testimony to the one who did the works of God.

He continues to make his point that what is going on is just what should be going on with a mini- parable of sorts in verse 29…

29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.

In this mini-parable, Jesus is the groom and John the Baptist sees himself as the best man or the friend of the bridegroom.

In the Old Testament Israel was regularly depicted as the bride of Yahweh.27 As one example listen to Jeremiah 2:2…. Thus says the LORD, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. So there was an anticipation that Yahweh was to be the groom of Israel the bride. And God in the flesh, Jesus, shows up on the scene and John the Baptist realizes that the bridegroom is finally present. He has a sense that the wedding that God always intended is coming together. The groom is present. And John says to his disciples, “Don’t you guys see?” I’m just the friend of the bridegroom… my joy is not in having the bride but in “watching the ceremony proceed without a problem, and in knowing that the groom and his bride were being united with great rejoicing”28 I find joy, John says, in seeing the groom united with his bride.

{Let me give you a preview of our conclusion this morning. The big idea is that we should make much of Jesus with our lives. Why is that so important? Because he’s the only groom standing at the altar! And we want the people around us to see that and know that}

26 From Kent Hughes sermon, He Must Increase and I Must Decrease

27 Is. 62:4-5; Jer. 2:2, Hos. 2:16-20

28 Carson, page 210

7 The friend of the bridegroom, according to Hebrew custom, played a very significant role in a Hebrew marriage. According to William Barclay, he acted as a “liaison between the bride and groom, he arranged the wedding, he delivered the invitations, he presided at the wedding feast, he brought the bride and groom together. And then he had one other special duty—he was to guard the bridal chamber and let no false lover in.” 29

John the Baptist’s joy was fulfilled as he saw men and women flocking to Jesus. And so it should be with us.

I was reminded as I thought about this that there is joy in heaven when sinners repent, Luke 15

So John’s joy comes from men and women flocking to Jesus. And heaven’s joy comes when men and women flock to Jesus. I’m convinced that God has so designed us so that our joy comes when men and women flock to Jesus.

It only makes sense that we would make much of Jesus with our lives. Look at verse 30… 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Jesus must increase (in importance) and I John must decrease (in importance.)

William Cary dying in India turned to a friend and said, “When I am gone, don’t talk about William Cary. Talk about William Cary’s savior. I desire that Christ alone might be magnified!”30

But how does Jesus increase in our lives? A. W. Pink in his commentary says this, “The more I stand and hear His voice, the more will He “increase” before me, and the more shall I “decrease.” I cannot be occupied with two objects at one and the same time. To “decrease” is, we take it, to be less and less occupied with ourselves. The more I am occupied with Christ, the less shall I be occupied with myself. Humility is not the product of direct cultivation, rather it is a by-product. The more I try to be humble, the less shall I attain unto humility. But if I am truly occupied with that One who was “meek and lowly in heart,” if I am constantly beholding His glory in the mirror of God’s Word, then shall I be “changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18).31

29 Kent Hughes sermon, “He Must Increase, I Must Decrease” “According to the Hebrew custom, the Shoshben, a friend of the bridegroom, was a necessary mediator both in the formation and in the conclusion of the marriage. In behalf of his friend he made suit with the bride, and was the indispensable negotiator between the bride and bridegroom in relation to the wedding. At the wedding itself he was a chief manager of the feast, a necessary functionary at the inspection of the wedding-chamber, and even after the close of the marriage a mediator in misunderstandings and dissensions.” Lange, J. P., & Schaff, P. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scriptures: John (p. 143). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

30 Kent Hughes sermon, Gospelcoalition.com; He Must Increase and I Must Decrease

31 Pink, A. W. (1923–1945). Exposition of the Gospel of John (pp. 148–149). Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot.

8 Now where does the text go from here? If you’re using the ESV you’ll see some closed quotes indicating that John the Baptist has finished his speech. But you’ll also see a note in the ESV that says, “Some interpreters hold that the quotation continues through verse 36”. 32

So the question is, “Who is speaking in verses 31-36?” I’m going to assume that it’s John, our author, who begins speaking now from verses 31-36.33 And he’s going to drive home the superiority of Jesus Christ over John the Baptist. Basically, then, he’s answering why it’s important that Jesus increases and John the Baptist decreases. Jesus must increase, Jesus must become way more important than John because Jesus is vastly superior to John.

Look at how he begins in verse 31…

31 He who comes from above (…now we assume that John is speaking of Jesus here and above is heaven) He who comes from above is above all. And the contrast… He who is of the earth (and given the context we would assume this is John the Baptist… he was … of the earth…in other words he couldn’t reveal heaven’s counsels, he couldn’t offer new birth from above like Jesus…he even spoke in an earthly way… he who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. {Notice the contrast isn’t between heaven and the world but heaven and the earth. The word earth is morally neutral}34.

Continuing at the end of verse 32… He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Again we’re talking about Jesus here. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard in heaven. No wonder it’s important that he increase and John the Baptist decrease. Jesus reveals heavenly things…John the Baptist could only reveal earthly things.

32 Who is speaking in verse 31-36? Once again the translator is faced with the problem of identifying the speaker (see comments at 3:14–21), and there are three possible choices. (1) It may be John the Baptist, since he was the last speaker clearly identified (verses 27–30). If this is the case, then John the Baptist is continuing the contrast between himself and Jesus begun in verse 30. Phps, JB, and Luther Revised (Lu) all attribute these words to John the Baptist as the speaker, but a footnote cites the problem involved and concludes “Perhaps an originally independent discourse of Jesus has been brought here by way of comment on the two preceding scenes of chapter 3.”(2) Some scholars assume that Jesus is the intended speaker, basing their conclusions on the observation that the style of this passage closely resembles the language of Jesus elsewhere in this Gospel, especially in the dialogue with Nicodemus. Attention has been called to the NAB footnote which points in this direction; Anchor Bible (Anc) accepts the same conclusion. Mft also assumes this to be the case, but he inserts verses 31–36 immediately after verse 21; making them a part of the same discourse.(3) Finally, it is possible that these words are the comments of the author of the Gospel. This is the opinion held by TEV, NEB, RSV, and dsp. If this is the case, there is a parallel between verses 14–21 (or 16–21) and the present passage. That is, the earlier section represents the author’s commentary on Jesus’ dialogue with Nicodemus, while this passage serves as a commentary on the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist. It is impossible to tell what Zür intends, since it uses no quotation marks, but it does introduce a new paragraph at verse 31.

33 It seems better to view this section (vv. 31–36) as the testimony of John the Evangelist because the theological exposition about the Father and the Son is more a feature of Christian theology than a part of John the Baptist’s testimony. Blum, E. A. (1985). John. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 283). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

9 We encountered this same idea earlier in chapter 3 when Jesus was dialoguing with Nicodemus. Look back at verse 11-13… 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. Jesus is hinting that he bears witness and speaks of what he saw and heard in heaven… 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven the son of man! Jesus came bearing witness of what he had seen and heard.

So look back at verse 32… He (Jesus) bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.

Now what does verse 33 mean? It seems that John is saying that whenever someone receives what Jesus says about God, that person basically sets his signature to the idea that “God is true.”

You see there’s God in heaven whom we don’t know. And then there’s Jesus who comes down and gives a witness about God. And verse 33 basically says, whoever receives Jesus’ witness about God essentially says, “God is true.”

“By accepting Jesus’ testimony as to what he has seen and heard, the believer certifies that God is truthful—not just that Jesus is truthful but that God is truthful.”35 For… continuing in verse 34… he whom God has sent (that would be Jesus) utters the words of God, for he (God) gives the Spirit (to Jesus) without measure.

Here’s the point in verse 34. Throughout history God has spoken through many messengers. Each of those messengers received the measure of the Spirit that was required for their assigned task. Not so to Jesus—to Him God gave the Spirit without limit.36 Why would God give the Spirit without limit to Jesus? Look at verse 35a the Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.

Now we’ve said the verses that we’re looking at answer the question, “Why is it important that Jesus increase and John the Baptist decrease?” What have we seen so far as answers to that question?

Well Jesus is from above and He is above all and John is of the earth (vs. 31). AND, Jesus bears witness of what he has seen in heaven with God (verse 32). AND, Jesus has been given the Spirit

35 Carson, page 213

36 Carson, page 213

10 without measure to tell us about God (verse 34). AND, verse 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.

I’m reading a great book on the trinity, “Delighting in the Trinity” by Michael Reeves. The author makes some startling statements:

“God is love because God is a trinity”37

Listen to this one: “The triune nature of (our) God affects everything from how we listen to music to how we pray; it makes for happier marriages, warmer dealings with others, better church life; it gives Christians assurance, shapes holiness and transforms the very way we look at the world around us. No exaggeration: the knowledge of this God turns lives around.”38

One more, …’the triune being of God is the vital oxygen of Christian life and joy’39

Now why am I bringing this up? Well if ever we are to really see and get to know our triune God in all his glory and beauty, it will be in the gospel of John. And it seems that whenever we get a trinity sighting we ought to pull the car over and take him in. Wow! Look at that would you! Well in verses 34-35 we just had a trinity sighting! Here we see the Father giving the Spirit without measure to the Son. And we see the Father loving the Son and giving all things into his hand. Now what’s going on with all that love among the members of the trinity? And why is the first person of the trinity called father and the second person of the trinity called son? Well let’s pursue that a minute.

What was our triune God doing before creation? He was a Father loving a Son. Where do we get that from? John 17:24… 24 Father, Jesus prays, you loved me before the foundation of the world. Quoting the author, “Before (God) ever created, before He ever ruled the world before anything else, (our) God was a Father loving His son40….Since God is before all things a Father, and not primarily Creator or Ruler, all his ways are beautifully fatherly. It is not that this God ‘does’ being Father as a day job, only to kick back in the evenings as plain old ‘God’. It is not that he has a nice blob of Fatherly icing on top. He is Father. All the way down. Thus all that he does he does as Father; and that means the way he rules over creation is most unlike the way any other God would

37 Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity, page 9

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11 rule over creation41… It is only when we see that God rules his creation as a kind and loving father that we will be moved to delight in his providence. We might acknowledge that the rule of some heavenly policeman was just, but we could never take delight in his regime as we can delight in the tender care of a father.42

“So what does it mean that God is a Father? Well, first of all it does actually mean something. Not all names do. My dog is named Max, but that doesn’t really tell you anything about him. The name doesn’t tell you what he is or what he’s like. But—if I can make the jump—the Father is called the Father because he is a Father. And a father is a person who gives life, who begets children. Now that insight is like a stick of dynamite in all our thoughts about God. For if, before all things, God was eternally a Father, then this God is an inherently outgoing, life-giving God. He did not give life for the first time when he decided to create; from eternity he has been life giving43…. Have you ever known someone so magnetically kind and gracious, so warm and generous of spirit that just a little time spent with them affects how you think, feel and behave? Someone whose presence makes you better—even if only for a while, when you are with them? ….This is precisely what it means for God to be Father.”44

He goes on to say that theologians have “liked to compare the Father with a fountain, ever bursting out with life and love… and just as a fountain, to be a fountain, must pour forth water, so the Father, to be the Father, must give out life. That is who he is.” More on God as a fountain of living water in John 4.

One more excerpt driving home why God must be a trinity.: “Sometime in the 1150s, a young Scott named Richard entered the Abbey of St Victor, just outside the walls of Paris on the bank of the Seine. There he dedicated himself to contemplating God and was soon known as one of the most influential authors of his day.

Richard argued that if God were just one person, he could not be intrinsically loving, since for all eternity (before creation) he would have had nobody to love. If there were two persons, he went on, God might be loving, but in an excluding ungenerous way. After all, when two persons love each other, they can be so infatuated with each other that they simply ignore everyone else—and a God like that would be very far from good news. But when the love of two persons is happy, healthy, and secure, they rejoice to share it. Just so it is with God, said Richard. Being perfectly loving , for all eternity the Father and the Son have delighted to share their love and joy with and through the Spirit. It is not, then, that God becomes sharing; being triune, God is a sharing God, a

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12 God who loves to include. Indeed, that is why God will go on to create. His love is not for keeping but for spreading. “45

So back to our text… again why must Jesus increase and John the Baptist decrease? Because Jesus is from above (vs. 31) Because Jesus bears witness to what he has seen and heard in heaven (vs. 32) Because Jesus’ been given the Spirit without measure (vs. 34) And because as the Son he is deeply loved by the Father who has given all things into His hands (vs. 35)

But there’s one more reason…

Look at verse 36…

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Jesus must increase and John the Baptist must decrease because what one does with Jesus is a life or death issue.

All of a sudden there are two groups of people…. Those who believe and those who don’t obey…

Those who believe, who put their trust in the Son …they have eternal life…don’t miss the fact that John is saying that eternal life is a present reality for them, it’s not something in the future… whoever believes in the Son has eternal life

And then there are those who don’t obey the Son….they shall not see life, but the wrath of God, the settled anger of God against sin remains…present tense…the settled anger of God remains on them. Those who don’t believe and obey the Son abide under the settled wrath of God.

Why does John seem to contrast believing and not obeying in verse 36? Wouldn’t we expect the contrast to be between believing and not believing? I suggest that it’s because in God’s economy to believe is to obey and to not believe is to not obey. A true saving faith is an obedient faith so the words are essentially interchangeable.

______

Where have we been this morning? We’ve looked at John the Baptist’s swan song, his last appearance in the book of John.

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13 Our story began with the note that John and his disciples were baptizing and Jesus and his disciples were also baptizing. And it seemed that John’s disciples didn’t like the competition. They were envious that Jesus’ ministry was more successful.

Well John would have none of that.

He reminded them that God sovereignly gives ministry as He so desires.

He reminded him that all along he had told them that he was not the Christ but the one who preceded the Christ.

He reminded him that he stood in the position of the friend of the bridegroom and not the bridegroom. And so his joy was complete in seeing Jesus the groom show up on the scene.

And then he spoke words that have echoed since…He must increase and I must decrease.

And then John our author gave us a series of reasons, in verses 31-36, why Jesus must increase in importance. Because Jesus is from above (vs. 31) Because Jesus bears witness to what he has seen and heard in heaven (vs. 32) Because Jesus’ been given the Spirit without measure (vs. 34) Because as the Son, he is deeply loved by the Father who has given all things into His hands (vs. 35)

And finally, because for everyone that has ever lived, a person’s eternal destiny is settled by what they do with Jesus. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on Him. Let’s put the big idea up on the screen again…

Isn’t it clear that He must increase and we must decrease?

Our lives are so short. James say it this way…you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes...

Job says it this way… “Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble.

14 2 He comes out like a flower and withers; he flees like a shadow and continues not.

Let’s illustrate that… this may be the most profound illustration you will ever see…

See the little white ball on the line? That’s your life or mine. And poof (mouse click—white ball goes away)…we’re gone to spend an eternity with this one we are called to make much of….this Father who is like a fountain ever gushing forth life… and Son who did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped but he emptied himself , taking the form of a servant… the one who washed the disciples feet and died to redeem us. .. and the Spirit…. Our triune God

Let’s make much of Jesus in the time we have. Let’s speak of Him as often as we can. Let’s give ourselves to His purposes. Let’s gaze on his face and be transformed into His image.

Pray with me…