I must decrease

Introduction

Have you ever overestimated yourself? For me this happened a lot growing up. I am the youngest of four which is to say that I was the favorite in my parents eyes and the bane of my siblings’ existence. I had two older brothers and an older sister, and everyone had their thing, you know? Ryan grew up to be the hulking strong brother. Brett robbed every athletic gene in the gene pool. He ran like a deer. He was a three sport athlete, and everyone seems to think that he is the living embodiment of a Ken doll. Rachael was always a brainiac, super smart… And then there’s little ole me.

Now I followed in my siblings footsteps. I played sports. I kept up with my grades. Minded my p’s and q’s but nonetheless I had three representations ahead of me who excelled at their thing. This was only highlighted whenever me and Brett would race. Now remember, he’s the fast one, but I had in my mind that if I just race him enough, eventually I’ll get him. Mind you that day never came. Brett would spot me a head start to the lamp post only to blow right past me, turn around and give me the most cocky grin.

This is a silly illustration no doubt but I want to ask you, have you ever had a puffed up and overestimated view of yourself? That was me from time to time growing up and it’s still me today.

Main Idea: The only way to true life is to make much of Jesus.

I just graduated from seminary and one of the best pieces of encouragement I’ve received from my preaching professor is, “you know Eric, you’re probably never as bad as you think you are. But then again, you’re likely never as good as you think you are either.”

He said this to humble me. It’s a bad habit of a greenhorn like me to climb into a pulpit, quote a bunch of smart dead guys, quote a bunch of high brow theology and think that it impresses anyone.

But no, as God’s people, we are to be a humble people. I want you to keep that in mind as we open up to , stand with me in honor of God’s Word.

Proclamation

Hear the word of the Lord,

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

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 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.

x ver. 26; ch. 4:1, 2

y [ch. 5:35]; See

z ch. 2:6

a ver. 2

b See ch. 1:7

c ch. 12:19

d ;

e ch. 6:65; []

f See

g See ch. 1:20

h ; ; ;

i See

j ;

k

l

10 Some interpreters hold that the quotation continues through verse 36

m ch. 8:23

n ;

o []

p See ver. 13

n ;

q ver. 11

r [ver. 19; ch. 1:11; 5:43; 12:37]

s [ch. 6:27; ; ; ]

t []

u See ver. 17

v [, ]

w See ch. 5:20

x See

y ver. 15, 16; ch. 5:24; 6:40, 47, 54; , ; [ch. 11:25, 26; 20:31]; See

z [; ; ]

a ver. 3

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

English Standard Version Chapter 3

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and xwas baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for yJohn had not yet been put in prison).

25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over zpurification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, a“Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, bto whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and call are going to him.” 27 John answered, d“A person cannot receive even one thing eunless it is given him ffrom heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, g‘I am not the Christ, but hI have been sent before him.’ 29 iThe one who has the bride is the bridegroom. jThe friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, krejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 lHe must increase, but I must decrease.”10

31 mHe who comes from above nis above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and ospeaks in an earthly way. pHe who comes from heaven nis above all. 32 qHe bears witness to what he has seen and heard, ryet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony ssets his seal to this, tthat God is true. 34 For he whom uGod has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit vwithout measure. 35 wThe Father loves the Son and xhas given all things into his hand. 36 yWhoever believes in the Son has eternal life; zwhoever does not obey the Son shall not asee life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

John the Baptist Exalts Christ

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and xwas baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for yJohn had not yet been put in prison).

25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over zpurification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, a“Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, bto whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and call are going to him.” 27 John answered, d“A person cannot receive even one thing eunless it is given him ffrom heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, g‘I am not the Christ, but hI have been sent before him.’ 29 iThe one who has the bride is the bridegroom. jThe friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, krejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 lHe must increase, but I must decrease.”10

31 mHe who comes from above nis above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and ospeaks in an earthly way. pHe who comes from heaven nis above all. 32 qHe bears witness to what he has seen and heard, ryet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony ssets his seal to this, tthat God is true. 34 For he whom uGod has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit vwithout measure. 35 wThe Father loves the Son and xhas given all things into his hand. 36 yWhoever believes in the Son has eternal life; zwhoever does not obey the Son shall not asee life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and xwas baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for yJohn had not yet been put in prison).

25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over zpurification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, a“Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, bto whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and call are going to him.” 27 John answered, d“A person cannot receive even one thing eunless it is given him ffrom heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, g‘I am not the Christ, but hI have been sent before him.’ 29 iThe one who has the bride is the bridegroom. jThe friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, krejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 lHe must increase, but I must decrease.”10

31 mHe who comes from above nis above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and ospeaks in an earthly way. pHe who comes from heaven nis above all. 32 qHe bears witness to what he has seen and heard, ryet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony ssets his seal to this, tthat God is true. 34 For he whom uGod has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit vwithout measure. 35 wThe Father loves the Son and xhas given all things into his hand. 36 yWhoever believes in the Son has eternal life; zwhoever does not obey the Son shall not asee life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

This is God’s Word,.

This is God’s Word.

Thanks be to God...

Intercession

Father,

What we know not, please teach us. What we have not, please give us. What we are not please make us.

Intercession

We thank you for this Lord’s day as we come together as your bride. We pray Lord that as we sit under your word that you would wash us and make us pure.

Father, we lift up the needs of your people to you today. Hear our cries. Humble us, oh Lord that we might see your glory m ore and more every day.

We long to be with you. Remain with us here this morning. It’s in your Son’s matchless name we pray.

Amen.

Transition

There truly is nothing new under the sun. As we set the scene here for what is going on we see that we have a situation where John the Baptist, this wild man for God, this hero of the faith is baptizing many, carrying on in his prophetic ministry and many respond. However some of his followers hear of another performing similar duties, attaining similar results, and they return to warn John the Baptist.

“He’s gathering followers, as many as you! What are we going to do about it? We’re losing marketshare!”

We live in a dog-eat-dog world. How many of you can personally relate to an office rivalry? A sibling rivalry? How many of you have been in a position where you feel your back is against the wall and its either you or the other guy who is going to come out on top?

That is the feeling of John the Baptizer’s followers here, but what we see in his response sums up the entire point of this text today. And that is:

Main Idea: The only way to true life is to make much of Jesus.

There are a lot of advertisers, influencers, public figures who want to tell you what this life is really about. What it is that you need to do to live successfully and fully, but brothers and sisters hear me this morning that unless we first and foremost commit our lives to living for the one true God, we will be cramming things and stuff in our lives that leaves us hungrier and thirstier than ever before, like we are gulping saltwater trying to quench our thirst.

The renowned author, C.S. Lewis famously said, “if I find myself with desires with which this world cannot satisfy, it must mean that I was made for another world.” And isn’t that the truth? This is not our home, brothers and sisters. Our eyes have been distorted along the way and our understandings, confused.

That is why I’d like us to focus on three corrections in the text this morning. We must have a right view of ourselves. We must have a right view of Jesus. And we must have a right view of salvation.

Transition

If we jump back into the text starting back at verse 25 we see that we must have a right view of ourselves.

vv. 25-30 - A right view of self

A right view of self

Exposition

… And we see that here with John the Baptist. We must rightly understand who we are, what we need, and how we are to live.

Before I get too tripped up here, let me delineate that I’ll be referring to two different Johns here. We have John the Baptist who is one of the key characters in this story, and the Apostle John, the author of this book and the follower of Jesus.

John the Baptist is confronted with a question from his followers about purification. This is not some small mention. One of the reasons that I love The Gospel of John is how he arranges his telling of the life and ministry of Jesus. , we have Jesus and the wedding at Cana where he takes these 30 gallon pots full of water, provided for ritual washing and replaces them with wine. This is for more than to just keep the party going. Jesus takes the means by which Jews would make themselves clean, these laws of purification and replaces them with wine, the sign of Christ’s blood. An encouragement no doubt for us today that we should lay down anything else that we think makes us worthy and clean and be washed by the blood of Christ.

the famed verse that is planted right smack dab in this story with Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a jew of jews, where Jesus in so many words tells him that all your toil and effort to obey the law is for nothing unless you are born of water and spirit which is offered through the Son who was given to this world out of love by the Father, so that whoever would believe in Him would have eternal life. This is how you achieve holiness, He says. This is how you achieve righteousness, through the Son.

, the woman at the well. Jesus offers living water that will eternally flow, that will never leave you in thirst again. How does one become pure? How does one find fulfillment? Through the Son.

This was not the understanding of John’s disciples. They come to him and say, “Rabbi!” Which would have been a common way to refer to your teacher in this day. To be a disciple in this era meant more than maybe we understand today. A discipler or teacher would take on the role of mentor and he would select for himself his followers, that they would come under him, listen to his teaching, live with him, dwell with him and so on and so forth.

Illustration/Application

However what is interesting is that this is a term in John’s gospel that is otherwise only used to refer to one other person, Jesus. So the author, John, is telling us with this specific mention that these followers of John the Baptist are coming to him and placing him at a place of extreme importance, perhaps too much importance. These impassioned followers are trying to rally to the defense of their master saying, “this guy is stealing your thunder. We have to do something!”

And what is John’s response? Verse 30, “He must increase, I must decrease.”

What a world this would be if we all lived according to .

But we live in a world of rivalry, deceit, backbiting and strife.

Application

Do you know anything of the sort? Do you battle such things? Things of pride? Self-importance? We know that Christ came to this world not to be served, but to serve so I ask you this morning? Are we following in the example of our Lord? Are we taking the low place and counting others more significant than ourselves? Maybe you could as yourself this of a family member, a co-worker, someone who has stolen your thunder from time to time. We see here that there is no room for rivalry in the family of God. That was true between John the Baptist and Jesus but more importantly we see it lived out in the very life of Jesus, as he delighted to do the will of His Father as he prayed in the garden before laying down His life, “not my will, but your’s be done.”

He must increase, I must decrease…

Expostion

Verses 27-29 are John the Baptist’s testimony explaining to his followers that he is not the one they need to look to. He echo’s his testimony from where he says “I am not the Christ,” the messiah. Or where John the apostle speaks of the John Baptist and says, “He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.

John was garnering a very successful ministry for himself. He had many followers. Many people who wished to defend him. But he rightly corrects them in saying, “a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.” Translation… this is not my ministry, it is a gift in which I am to steward and take care of. It’s all His.

Now not many of us are prophets like John the Baptist, so what does this mean for us? While we are not prophets we if you are in Christ you are called to be his disciple, and a disciple makes disciples. That much is clear in Jesus’ final marching orders given in , the great commission, “go therefore and make disciples among all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them all that I have commanded you. and

John emphasizes this point with an illustration, that of a wedding celebration. God has been making a people for himself since the beginning of time, from Adam and Eve to the Hebrews, to Israel, and now to the church, commonly referred to as the bride of Christ. This should point us to Paul’s letter to the Ephesians where he says “that a man will leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife.” And continues to say, “this mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”

This bride and bridegroom imagery is more than just a warm and fuzzy. It is more than just a pleasantry. Christ will not be kept from His bride. We can rest and rejoice in that truth today as Christ is surely near to His bride, His church, you and me, but we will know a far sweeter day, that which is described in Revelation 19:7-8.

“Let us rejoice and exult

and give him the glory,

and give him the glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and his Bride has made herself ready;

it was granted her to clothe herself

English Standard Version Chapter 19

Let us rejoice and exult

and give him the glory,

for athe marriage of the Lamb has come,

and bhis Bride has made herself ready;

8  cit was granted her to clothe herself

with fine linen, bright and pure”—

with fine linen, bright and pure”—

a ; ; ; ; ; []

b ch. 21:2, 9; [; , ]

c [; ]

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

And John the Baptist’s responds rightly when he expresses that his role is not that of the bridegroom, nor is it ours, but he is one who delights in the union of Christ with His people.

He must increase, we must decrease.

Illustration/Application

This is why this is so important, the church, not that you would check a box and feel good that you came to the 11 o’clock service on a weekly basis, but that you would truly be a part of a body of believers, brothers and sisters, bound together and that you would be a local outpost of a reality that we will know for all eternity, and that is the reality of all of God’s people, unified with Him, forever, in perfect union.

Application

Transition

We live in a day and age where you might hear something like, “All I need is my Bible and me. I don’t need the church.” or “I’d rather be out in nature, or maybe fishing, thinking about God than in church thinking about fishing.

Christ cares about the church. Christ loves the church. Christ died for the church. To say that you love Jesus and not the church is like someone coming to me and saying, “you know, Eric, you’re alright. I like you. But that wife of your’s, jeez.”

You can’t say that! Love the church, be unified. Serve the church. Be active in the church.

Transition

As John the Baptist delighted in Jesus and his coming for His bride, I want to ask you, do you delight in the same things? How do you serve the church? How do you rejoice in the church?

Transition

In the same way that we must have a right view of ourselves, we must also have a right view of Jesus.

vv. 31-35 - A right view of Jesus

Exposition

John rightly situates Christ as Almighty and so too should we follow suit. He says in :

“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. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.”

John gives us a brief treatment of the trinity here when talking about Jesus. He is speaking as John the apostle did in when the apostle says, “In the beginning there was the Word and the word was with God, and the word was God.”

That is John’s meaning when he says, he who is from above is above all. That Jesus is this sent one, the eternal Son of God. He bears witness to things of eternity, things otherwise beyond our comprehension, the way to life. But to those with a hardened heart, this testimony is rejected.

The prophet Isaiah long before Jesus echoed this sentiment of a divide between the heavenly and the earthly when he prophesied of the Lord,

Illustration/Application

8  For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

John also speaks of the

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

“‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”

Illustration/Application

9  pFor as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

This is why truth can come in the incarnation of the Son and the world rejected Him. Isn’t it true still today? Believer, we have received the ultimate of treasures, the way to eternal life by salvation through Jesus and much of the watching world scoffs. That is why truth can confront the most intelligent of minds, like that of Nicodemus and cause frustration and misunderstanding, and not but one chapter later that same incarnate truth can confront a shamed woman by the side of a well and salvation comes to her immediately.

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

p

This is what Paul would explain later in his letter to Corinth when he would say, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

18 For the word of the cross is bfolly to cthose who are perishing, but to us dwho are being saved it is ethe power of God.

b ver. 21, 23, 25; ch. 2:14

c ; ;

.John echoes the divide between the heavenly and the earthly form in this statement. He who is from above is above all and he who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way.

This is the work of the gospel, that it is a stumbling block for the haughty and prideful, but life everlasting to the humble.

d ch. 15:2; []

e ; [ver. 24]

He must increase, I must decrease.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Illustration/Application

Illustration/Application

Are you afraid Christian? Are you embarrassed to speak about faith? It is true that many may hear your testimony about the light and scoff, but brothers and sisters let me remind you that your responsibility is not to save, its not even to devise a smart enough argument to convince someone into belief. No, your responsibility is to be faithful to the ultimate lover of your soul, the one who came and died that we might be the righteousness of God.

So as a point of application brothers and sisters. Are you ready to testify to the light as John the Baptist? If you have been saved from sin and eternal separation from Christ. You have a story to tell. And it is not a boring one! You were bought with the highest of prices. Jesus came to this earth and made himself known. He lived and died for you and me that we might eternally reside with Him.

At some point today, we’re all going to go home. We’ll hopefully enjoy a wonderful lunch with some loved ones and enjoy a beautiful remainder of our Sunday. But at some point, when the day winds down and the night gets a bit more still, put pen to paper or words to a screen and write out your testimony.

I’m not talking about anything lengthy or super in depth, but something that would take you about 5 minutes to speak out. Because brothers and sisters, you have a story to tell and you have been given power from on high from a God who gives to you without measure. I want you to do this because I want you to remember your salvation. I want you to do this because others need to hear of salvation...

Transition

vv. 36 - A right view of salvation

And what you go with is an account of

And the beauty of our faith, brothers and sisters is that our stories are vastly different. My story is not your story nor is yours, mine. And that is cause for great celebration. Because wherever

vv. 36 - A right view of salvation

Exposition

… And the beauty of our faith, brothers and sisters is that our stories are all vastly different. My story is not your story nor is yours, mine. And that is cause for great celebration. Because wherever you come from, whatever you have done, whatever lies in your past, for those who are in Christ, we all arrive at verse 36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,”

This is a right view of salvation. “That 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.”

This is an echo of John the apostle’s central idea of his entire gospel found in ,

18 nWhoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not obelieved in the name of the only Son of God

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

n ch. 5:24; []

Many may respond to statements like this saying that it is cruel to hold wrath over anyone. That surely it isn’t true that a loving and high God would deal wrathfully with anyone. That is the thought of many false profits that have spanned throughout all of time and I say to you that brothers and sisters, it is not an unjust wrath that we are confronted with. God is holy and we are not. And if there is one thing that we can know it is that something that is spotless and pure cannot coexist with the dirty, the sullied, the stained.

o See

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

Illustration

Don’t believe me? In 2014, Flint, MI, changed the source of their water from Lake Huron to the Flint River, the only problem is that the water from the Flint River was far less clean. Water treatment processes were not properly set up for this switch, and they even travelled through lead pipes to eventually arrive in people’s homes.

People were expected to consume and bathe in this water. Can you imagine? Could you do that? Could you day in and day out wash yourself with that water and truly call yourself clean? No, we know that in and of ourselves that we are incapable of living lives that achieve the holiness and purity required to dwell with God.

Conclusion

So what is our response? Believer, if you are here today and you have trusted Jesus as your Lord and your Savior, rest in assurance that when the Father looks at you, He does not see sin and shame, He sees His Son. That is what happened at the cross, the Father did more than look past your sin. He dealt with it once and for all and purchased you with something of the greatest cost, the precious blood of His very own Son.

But if you have made your way here today and you have not trusted the Jesus as Lord, if you have not accepted His gift of the cross, I don’t speak of these things to hold your feet over the flames but instead I hope that I have conveyed to you the ferocity with which you are loved and desired by God Himself.

Illustration

I am convinced that the book that we cling to, this Bible is divinely inspired, inerrant, and perfect for every good work. There is an old famous story of Charles Spurgeon, a famous English preacher form the 1800s who once visited a venue where he would preach the following day. In those days there were no microphones, no sound systems, so he visited to test the natural acoustics of the auditorium, where he bellowed from the stage , “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Unbeknownst to him there was a janitor in the balcony making preparations for the following day. And upon hearing this one verse, he returned home, fell to his face in repentance, and professed Jesus as Lord, then and there.

So brothers and sisters, in the same vein I want you to close your eyes.Go ahead. I want you to get quiet. And simply want to read to you a verse that you’ve undoubtedly heard many times before, but if you are a believer I hope that you hear it with new ears and a new heart today. And again, if you have never professed Jesus as your Lord, I hope that you would let these words wash over you today as Jesus extends to you an offer of new and eternal life.

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

16 “For hGod so loved ithe world,9 jthat he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not kperish but have eternal life. 17 For lGod did not send his Son into the world mto condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him

i See ch. 1:29

9 Or For this is how God loved the world

j

k ch. 10:28

l ch. 5:36, 38; 6:29, 57; 7:29; 8:42; 10:36; 11:42; 17:3; 20:21; ; , ,

m ch. 5:45; 8:15; 12:47

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .