He Must Increase...(Part 3)
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Scripture Reference:
Context
Context
We have finally made it! Today will be our last message on John 3. This will be our 7th message on this chapter, but we are finally here. I don’t know about you, but for me it has been a wonderful time going through this chapter.
So, for the last two weeks, we have been teaching on this topic of He Must Increase. The disciples of John the Baptist come to him upset because Jesus seems to be stealing his disciples.
John begins teaching them the truth of what is happening by first explaining his own ministry. He explains what God has called him to do.
He then shifts from his ministry to that of Christ’ ministry, and right as he makes that transition, we see this verse:
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
Last week, we began breaking down these last verses into the different descriptions John uses to exalt Jesus and His ministry.
We looked at two reasons of why Jesus must increase, which were: He comes from where God dwells (He is from heaven/He is the Son of God) & He speaks the truths of God/ the Words of God.
We dove into that idea of truth and explained our desperate need for it in our lives.
Now, let’s see what we are going to be discussing today:
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.”
Content
Content
He Operates In The Spirit Of God
He Operates In The Spirit Of God
34 For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.
Reason #3 for why Jesus must increase, is that He operates in the Spirit of God.
What does this mean concerning the Holy Spirit? What does it mean that God gives the Holy Spirit.
Before we accept the truths of God’s Word, we are walking through life at 2/3 capacity. Let me explain.
The human nature is designed by God to be a trichotomy. This simply means that we have three parts to our nature. We have a body. We have a soul. We have a spirit.
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our body is the flesh. Our soul is our conscience, our mind, our personality. It was makes us…us.
But our spirit is that part of us that God designed to be in unity with Him.
So before we come to know who He is, that part of us is empty in a sense. The Bible says that it is dead.
6 But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.
Once we hear the Word of Truth, acknowledge the Word of Truth, and believe the Word of Truth, God sends the Holy Spirit to give life to that part of us that was dead. He unites with our own spirit in a way that we are now made alive through the Spirit.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
When the Holy Spirit comes and unites with the spiritual part of our nature that was dead, we are now made alive through Him, which in turn opens our understanding to the things of God. It now breaks open this realization that we are created by God to be sons of God. We now long for spiritual things. We now yearn for God in our spirit.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
But He does not just come, touch us, and then leave again. He dwells within us.
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
Once we have become children of God, His Spirit now comes to dwell, or to live, within us. From that moment forward, for the rest of our lives, He begins the work of God within us. This means He begins to lead and guide us, showing us those things in life that are pleasing unto God, as well as those things in life that bring dishonor to God. It is what we call the process of sanctification.
17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
We saw this verse last week, but we need to understand that this process of sanctification is not an overnight process. It takes time. Matter of fact, it will take the rest of your life. As long as you are alive, God will be working on you, through the presence of His Holy Spirit within you, to make you more like Him.
Now it is the truth of God that shows us these things, but what helps us to understand the truths of God, so that we can apply these truths to our lives?
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
So, we can now see that these three Godly attributes that John the Baptist ascribes to Jesus, are not totally random things, but rather that they are building blocks. They all work in perfect unison with one another to make Him who He is.
He speaks the truth of God. We looked at that last week. But what makes Him able to fully understand and apply the truths of God to His life? It is that He walks in full measure with the Holy Spirit.
Notice that it says, “God does not give the Spirit by measure.”
In other words, God does not give the Holy Spirit in portions. He gives the Holy Spirit fully.
When you get saved, God does not give you a small portion of the Holy Spirit; then wait for you to reach some higher spiritual level in your life to give you another portion of the Holy Spirit; then wait for you to reach another higher spiritual level in your life to give you another portion of the Holy Spirit.
No, no. He gives the Holy Spirit in full measure, all at once. Now we may not be able to perceive the fullness of the Holy Spirit all at once, but it is there nonetheless.
The thing that separates Jesus from all the rest of us, is that He walks in perfect unity with the Holy Spirit, where you and I struggle to do so.
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
So the Spirit of God is living inside of us, if we are indeed the sons of God. As He does so, we are drawn toward the things of God. But there are things that we do in life that suppress that moving of the Spirit. It grieves, or hinders, the work of the Holy Spirit.
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
As we walk in unrighteousness, we hinder the work of God within us. This is grieving the Holy Spirit.
See we struggle to walk in perfect unity with God, because we struggle to let go of these worldly things in our lives. Just because this is a reality, does not mean it is ok, but it is reality nonetheless.
Jesus, on the other hand, walked in perfect unity with God.
So John is telling his disciples, Jesus must increase because He is doing something you and I could never do. He is the Son of God. As the Son of God, He speaks the truths of God. He speaks the truths of God because He is in perfect unity with the Spirit of God. And because He is and does all of these things, He also operates in the power of God.
He Operates In The Power Of God
He Operates In The Power Of God
35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.
The last reason John gives for why Jesus must Increase, is that He operates in the power of God.
The power of God cannot be underestimated.
When we think of power, we think of a lot of things.
The world’s strongest man.
The world’s best fighter.
The world’s most dangerous individual.
Someone who is extremely patient. They never reach a breaking point.
Someone who can freely forgive, regardless of the nature of one’s sin.
Someone who can love without limitation, knowing that there is a good possibility for disappointment.
Regardless of what we think of, the power of God is on a whole other level. God is omnipotent. That means He is all powerful. There is nothing He cannot do.
He spoke and creation just leapt into existence. We can’t even fathom that.
See, God created everything, so everything is in submission to Him.
The nature obeys Him. We see plenty of examples in Scripture of earthquakes, fire storms from the heavens, lightning, even the rain were all in submission of Him.
Infirmities. At the sound of His voice, blind eyes are healed, deaf hears now hear, crippled people get up and walk, and even dead people get out of the grave. What power!!!
Demonic forces. The same ones we spoke about last week from Ephesians 6. You know the ones we battle every day in our lives. Demons fell at the feet of Jesus, begging mercy of Him. The only one in all of Scripture that dared to challenge Him was Satan, and even Satan came when Jesus had fasted for 40 days and was at His weakest. Even then, Jesus still overcame.
That is what omnipotence looks like. God has given all things into his hand. Everything that must obey God, must also obey Jesus. There is nothing He cannot do.
There is power in His presence, because His presence is that of almighty God, full of the Holy Spirit.
There is power in His preaching, because He speaks the truths of God.
There is power in His purpose, because though He is God in the flesh, He has willingly been born of a woman, make like unto man, so that He could die like men, only to be raised again beyond corruption, and did it all so that we might follow suit and have life eternal.
If this world needs anything, it needs the powerful hand of God upon it. Those throughout Scripture who leaned into God were able to accomplish things unimaginable through the power of God. Those throughout Scripture who chose to move against God, suffered horribly under the power of God’s hand.
How are we to overcome the sin in our life? Through Jesus.
How are we to live lives worthy of God? Through Jesus.
How are we to be forgiven, redeemed, and made worthy of God’s presence? Through Jesus.
Yet again the words of John echo throughout the text: He must increase.
Commitment
Commitment
You Must Believe That He Is God!!!!
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.”