John 3:31-36

HOUSE OF PRAYER

06 Aug 2017

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

· Prayer Cards – leave one and take one

· Outreach – Next Saturday

· GospelCentric

Focus Question (What does…?)

Has Jesus called you…because you are perfect for Him?!

Timeless Truth (Truth of God’s Word)

His redemptive power, and His deity - This Gospel has taken the Creation account and connected the re-creation of the believer moving from darkness to light.

Background / Context (Context: Theme, Date/ Time, Speaker, Audience, and Situation)

Written in a time subsequent to 70 A.D. but believed to be between 70-100 AD

I. THEME

o Christ’s Deity (THE LIGHT)

II. DATE / TIME

o 70 AD was the date of the destruction of the temple, John dies before 100 AD – so we can be sure that it was not any later than 100 AD.

o We can discern this because this was during a time that the Sea of Tiberias was the name typically used for the Sea of Galilee (6:21, 21:1)

III. SPEAKER

o John (The Apostle that Jesus “loved”)

IV. AUDIENCE

o Different from the synoptic gospels as it is written to everyone (Greek and Jew)

V. SITUATION

o John focuses on events that are not found in the synoptic gospels to prove one thing to the reader – JESUS IS GOD IN THE FLESH, that the eternal WORD came to earth, had been born of a virgin to die as God’s perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. Not discussing: genealogy, birth, baptism, temptation, casting out of demons, parables, transfiguration, communion, sweating blood in Gethsemane, or His ascension.

TODAY’S TEXT

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

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.

Cross-Reference

Test yourself

I. Elijah – Nicodemus – John the Baptist - JESUS

the fi

II. The Wedding of Weddings

III. THE DOCTINE

Penal substitutionary atonement

Penal substitutionary atonement refers to the doctrine that Christ died on the cross as a substitute for sinners. God imputed the guilt of our sins to Christ, and he, in our place, bore the punishment that we deserve. This was a full payment for sins, which satisfied both the wrath and the righteousness of God, so that He could forgive sinners without compromising His own holy standard.

IV. Illustration (Optional, note: This is not an embellishment, it must be directly applicable to the theme being communicated by the text.)

V. Application (Most important part of message. Within this section, the following questions are answered using the focal text covered: “SO WHAT?” Why is this important to me…? How do I apply this to my life?)

VI. Invitation (Challenge question: So what decision will you make today?)

So, what are you going to do about it? HE wants you, HE wants you to be HIS…HE is obviously drawing you to Himself…cry out to HIM, beg HIM to be the Lord of your life. Repent (about face) from whatever sin has a stronghold on you and cry out to HIM.

© Andre Mooney

7. the testimony of john the evangelist (3:31–36)

3:31. Here John the Evangelist developed the theme about the supremacy of Jesus, which John the Baptist spoke of to his followers (vv. 28–30). Since Jesus has come from heaven, His words surpass those of any religious teacher. Each human teacher is limited by his earthly boundaries (he belongs to the earth and is from the earth). But the Logos from heaven is above all; He is preeminent ().

3:32. What Jesus spoke came from His previous vision of and communion with the Father in heaven (cf. 1:1, 14). Yet in spite of this clear reliable witness, mankind as a whole has rejected His message (cf. 1:11).

3:33. The message of Jesus has not been universally rejected as verse 32 by itself might indicate. One who receives it gives his attestation or certification to the fact that God is truthful (cf. v. 21). To reject this testimony is to call God a liar ().

3:34. Jesus gives the perfect truth of God as He speaks the words of God, because He has the full endowment of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit without limit. The Old Testament prophets had the Spirit only for limited times and for limited purposes.

The Apostle John referred to Jesus as the One whom God has sent. Thirty-nine times the Gospel of John refers to Jesus being sent from God (vv. 17, 34; 4:34; 5:23–24, 30, 36–38; 6:29, 38–39, 44, 57; 7:16, 28–29; 8:16, 18, 26, 29, 42; 9:4; 10:36; 11:42; 12:44–45, 49; 13:16, 20; 14:24; 15:21; 16:5; 17:3, 18, 21, 23, 25; 20:21). This affirms Jesus’ deity and heavenly origin, as well as God’s sovereignty and love in initiating the Son’s Incarnation (cf. ; , ).

3:35. The relationship between the Son and the Father is one of loving intimacy and complete confidence. The Son is endowed with all authority to accomplish the Father’s purposes (5:22; ).

3:36. Man has only two options: trust in the Son or reject the Son (cf. vv. 16, 18). Unbelief is tragic ignorance but it is also willful disobedience to clear light. God’s wrath is mentioned only here in the Fourth Gospel (but cf. ; ; ; ; ). “Wrath,” God’s necessary righteous reaction against evil, remains (menei) on the unbeliever. This wrath is future but it also exists now. Endless sin and disobedience will result in endless punishment ().