John 3:31-36
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Introduction:
We are closing up John 3 this morning. Hopefully you see just how much is packed into John 3. This chapter contains the most popular verse in the Bible in our day (John 3:16). In this chapter Jesus tells us what we must happen for us to be saved (we must be born again). Remember, it doesnt tell you what you must “do”…it just says, “you must be”. This chapter tells us 4 things that “MUST” happen and we went over those last week.
you MUST be born again
the Son of Man MUST be lifted up
He MUST increase
I MUST decrease
And that brings us to our text this morning: John 3:31-36
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. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 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.
Prayer:
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.
In light of what is going on in our nation today and what has been slowly, for decades, been building in our nation today this is one verse that the church needs to be reminded of. This verse is a verse that a professing Christian needs to know.
Everybody is familiar with John 3:16…but I believe that this verse right here is the one the Christian needs to understand and take to heart.
“He who comes from above is above all”.
I want to first look at the context of why John wrote this and then the application for us.
FIRST: Why John wrote this:
John was just confronted by some of his loyal followers/disciples and they saw Jesus as their leaders competition…remember?
They saw their leaders ministry decreasing and Jesus ministry increasing.
John’s response was that this is the very reason he came. To see the Son of God, the Lamb of God, come into the world. He came to be the bridegrooms friend. He came to make sure that there was good communication and understanding between the bride and the bridegroom and to be filled with joy when he saw them come together.
Now, he sees that they have come together and it gave him joy.
And now, because of that…he said “He (Christ) must increase” and that he (John the Baptist) must decrease.
Here is why: Because “He who come from above is above all”.
John is telling his followers and the Apostle John is telling us that He is the one we must follow because He (Jesus Christ) is ABOVE ALL!
John tells us in chapter 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
and in verse 14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
See…its this man, the God-Man, who is above all…
HE COMES FROM HEAVEN!
Look back at verse 31…ON THE SCREEN
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.
Don’t listen to me…go listen to him.
And here is the APPLICATION for all of us.
Do you want to know about:
SALVATION
WHAT GOD REQUIRES OF OUR LIVES
HOW WE SHOULD LIVE
WHAT WE SHOULD STAND FOR
WHAT WE SHOULD STAND AGAINST
Then go to Christ…LISTEN TO HIM....LISTEN TO HIS WORD!
I really believe I was so blessed and fortunate to go to a seminary and learn from some of the best theologians we have today. I mean some pretty big names who learned from bigger names...
John Frame was one of my professors
Michael Allen
Brian Chappell
(you may have never heard of them but they are some great teachers)...
But see, they learned from men that came before them, who learned from men that came before them.
When I am explaining Scripture or telling you something…let me be clear…it is not my material. Im not that smart.
I might put, what our buddy “Mims” calls, “the FishDaddy Sauce” on it but its not my material.
I learned it from someone else…or read it from someone else.
And this is true for all of us.
We do not have any original knowledge.
Truth comes from God and His Word and that Word came and dwelt among us.
Truth is not relative…Truth is and MUST be rooted in Christ Jesus.
So…when the United States Government tells you that gender neutrality is the right way to go...
the Church should stand up against that and tell the government, “NO”
When the United States Government is preaching to you about “Critical Race Theory or Intersectionality
The Church MUST stand up to them and say, “NO”
Why? Because God made them Male and Female and He said it was “GOOD”.
Why? Because God says that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”
When the United States Government tells you that homosexuality is okay and you are wrong if you do not accept it as right and good...
The Church/the Christian should stand and say, “NO”…it is an abomination to our God
When the United States Government tells you that abortion is a woman’s right...
the Church/the Christian should say, “NO. ITS IS NOT” Because the murder of an image bearer of God is always wrong to our God.
These are the things that the world teaches.
They are ideas from a fallen Earth.
But if you want to know the things of Heaven then go see what the one who came from Heaven has to say about these things.
Its time for men of God to ACT LIKE MEN OF GOD!
Its time for Men of God to LEAD .... and it starts in the homes. Teach your children! Teach your children and train them to be MEN!
ONE OF MY FAVORITE VERSES…HERE YOU GO…THIS IS JUST EXTRA
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
Look at verse 32:
He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.
See…Christ bears witness to what he has seen and heard…in Heaven…from the Father.
But the REAL Question is…do you receive / ACCEPT His testimony?
He deals with everything…
morality
gender
marriage
sex
And He also deals with RELIGION! But do you accept his testimony?
See…every religion in the world that is not Christian is a religion based on works. Only Christianity is based on faith.
Every professing Christian wants the benefits of God but the question is do they want God…do they really want Christ.
f you do..then you will receive/ACCEPT his testimony.
And He just gave it to you regarding religion. It was the conversation he had with the most religious man in Israel…with Nicodemus.
Jesus said that it is those who look upon the son by faith that will receive eternal life.
There is nothing you can do for it, you can not earn it in any way what so ever.
We learn later through the Word of God this right here:
For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
and
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
But do you ACCEPT his testimony?
do you Accept that you are saved by FAITH ALONE?
Many do not!
Many believe it is:
Faith + Baptism = Salvation
Faith + Baptism + Good works = Salvation
Faith + Baptism (in Jesus Name) + Speaking in tongues +Good Works = Salvation
IM telling you today to BELIEVE the ONE who came from Heaven…Believe HIS WORDS and NOT YOUR MOMMAS, YOUR DADDY’S, YOUR PASTOR YOU GREW UP WITH, YOUR AWESOME LEADERSHIP AT YOUR CHURCH...
Believe Christ’s Words! It was CHRIST WHO SAID,
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
When you do not BELIEVE God’s Word you are calling Him a liar.
But…look at verse 33...
Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.
Its pretty simple isn’t it? You either believe His Word…the One who came from Heaven…or you DON’T.
verse 34
For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.
God didn’t give little doses to Christ as he went along.
Jesus never ceased to be God as well as man.
Think of it this way… “The Spirit dwelt in Him, not as in a vessel, but as in a fountain, as in a bottomless ocean”. More of that in chapter 4.
Verse 35-36
The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 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.
the first thing to remember here is how much the Father loves the Son.
I think we get taught so much that God loves me, God loves you…and that is true but it is only true because of how much He loves His Son.
We are not the natural children of God…we are the adopted children of God
And you know how you know that you are an adopted son or daughter of God…one who will be a co-heir with Christ, the Son of God? If you accept his teaching…if you believe in Him.
And if you believe in Him…look what you have…right now…present tense...
Look on the Screen:
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.
Whoever BELIEVES in the Son HAS eternal life!
Believe the One who came from Heaven...
False religion will tell you that you can’t truly KNOW that.
“you don’t know if you are going to go to Heaven until you die”
“you could lose your salvation”.
Nope…if you believe in the Son…accept his testimony…then you HAVE eternal life.
God is not an Indian giver.
What saved Noah?
His faith
And His faith in God’s Word, his TRUST in the Truth of what He heard caused him to do what?
Build an ark
Look at Hebrews 11:7 on the SCREEN
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
Think about this…write it down for the times you are doubting…Remember this:
Charles Spurgeon: “Noah fell many times in the Ark but he never fell out of the Ark”.
But...
“whoever does not obey (refuse to go along with, refuse to follow, or be disobedient to) shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him”
The Wrath of God:
Many professing Christians and churches do not like the thought of the WRATH of God.
It’s too mean for our Politically Correct culture isn’t it.
It’s much nicer to say, “Hey, if you don’t want to bow the knee to King Jesus…no problem. I know you have heard that you will go to Hell and that it is a place of eternal punishment but it really isn’t. God would never do that to people. That would be too mean and He is LOVING. All Hell really is, is a place you go to be annihilated. You just do not exist anymore.”
YOU KNOW WHAT THAT DOES: It gives people a license to live how ever they want.
I don’t have time this morning but I want you to know something and we will talk about Hell here at POTR. You know why?
Because Jesus talked more about Hell than Heaven.
Jesus talked more about Hell than any other person in the Bible.
Let me give a little run down:
ON THE SCREEN...
If you aren’t a believer in Christ…if you do not accept his testimony...
If you do not TRULY Believe in Christ Alone…you’re life is hell right now
Because the ‘WRATH OF GOD REMAINS” on those who do not believe.
The wrath of God “REMAINS”…ITS ALREADY ON THOSE WHO DO NOT BELIEVE…and it is only going to get worse.
THE GOSPEL!
Believe the Word…Believe in Christ today…and LIVE!
Then John goes on to tell us:
“He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.