John the Baptizer (aka John the Witness, or JTW) is in Aenon, doing what God had called him to do. Baptizing. Witnessing about the coming Messiah. But he is being out-baptized by the Messiah. How does he feel about that?
[31 “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.”] The One coming from above. The same place where the second birth originates. Remember, Jesus told Nic twice, you must be born from above. And one might think directionally (i.e. vertically) in this case, but this “from above” is about an entirely different [realm][Tozer- see below]. [The Word was God], with God - in that realm, in the beginning, before the beginning, always was. And this Word became flesh - and “came down” to this temporal, physical realm which He made - and He tented among us. But make no mistake: He was above all, always - and always will be above all. First confession: You are Above All. You are the True Eternal God. This is not spatial. This is universal spiritual reality. True truth.
[32-34 “What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.”] JTW says that the words Jesus speaks are the very words of God. First-hand truth straight from heaven above, from the mouth of God [not just red letters but all Scripture, heaven-speaking not just earth-speaking, 2Tim 3.16]. So many are loathe to receive His Word - we question it, we doubt it, we ignore it [Did God really say…?] - but just as Jesus is above all, His Words are above all. They’re true and worthy to be received/trusted. Yes, they can be difficult to understand sometimes, much less apply - but that’s why the Lord gives His Spirit [WITHOUT MEASURE]. Because these are spiritual words. From this other realm, straight from heaven. They are spiritually appraised [1Cor. 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.]. They must be examined with the help of the Holy Spirit. He helps us to understand them [John 16:13 “But when the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.]. We need the Spirit to help us understand God’s Words - and He gives His Spirit as much as we need. And then some. Without measure. How much Holy Spirit do you need? Here you go - and have some more. And what we understand is not that we get more of the Holy Spirit but that He gets more of us. Which becomes a question of surrender… 2nd Confession: Your Words are true. I trust them. [Like a document we receive from a Notary]
Our God Who is Above All, What does His Word say? Then (we ought) listen [pay attention] to it, receive it (we take it in as true), and we trust it, we believe it —> we do it. We obey it [36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”]. [The Holy Spirit - The Helper helps us to do this!]
[35 “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.”] The Father loves the Son. Let’s not miss this. We observe multiple things about God in this passage: He is true, He exists in another realm, He is generous, He gets angry, but John also reminds us that the Father loves. And He loves the Son. Let that sink in. The eternal union between the Father and the Son is characterized by love. Amazing, everlasting love. And when we receive the Son, we are brought into this same height and depth and length and breadth of bottomless limitless love [Eph. 3:14-19 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge…]. Who wouldn’t want that?
And this surpassing incomprehensible love gives. Love gives. For God so loved that He did what? In this case He gave all things into Jesus’ hand —> which is an ideal example for us. Exactly what He wants from us [open hand]. And in the Greek, “all things” means all things. Every last one of them. So what JTW is also saying here - everything we have, that we think we own - it all comes from Jesus. Heaven above. [Surrender/Moody - see below]. All things. Everything we have. It is all His, and He distributes it to us. To put to use in ways that magnify the greatness of Jesus. All our time. All our talents. All our treasures. All of it. Open hands. He must increase. Third Confession: All things are from You. All things are for You.
[36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”] This is an unfortunate translation. The word here is not disobey. Obey is the word, hup-akouo, which means to listen under [akouō = to hear, as in acoustic, and hypō, as in hypo-dermic=under skin]. But THIS word is a-peitho. It is the negative of peitho, which means to be persuaded or confident about something/someone. So this verse is talking about someone who is NOT confident about Jesus. Not at all persuaded. This is disbelief (which of course is why we disobey). It is about persuasion. And this person is NOT persuaded. Not enough to trust in Jesus. Not yet. Although it’s never too late - until it is.
Because… wrath. God’s wrath is real. People don’t like to hear about this. We don’t like to talk about this. Wrath is so negative. Obviously, we’d all very much like to avoid wrath as much as possible. But not talking about it doesn’t eliminate it; it only ignores the inevitable [like when we ignore cracks & weeds, they don't go away, they multiply]. This IS the only verse in John’s book (or even his letters) that mentions wrath, but the modern mind is mistaken in its contention that only the God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath and that the God of the New Testament is a God of love. God is in fact both. And He is the same. Always and forever. His wrath is directed against everything that raises itself in rebellion against Him - it’s real and it is terrifying. But this isn’t the turbulent, agitated anger that people often feel and burst forth onto others. It’s a different word in the Greek. It’s not an anger of passion. This is anger of character. It describes a gradual, deeper, more settled disposition. And John is saying that God’s wrath is [abiding], or remaining, on those who are not trusting in Jesus. It’s already on them. That’s what Jesus was telling Nic - people have already been judged. The wrath, the judgment of God rightly falls on those who live in rebellion against Him. And the truth is, we are rebels from birth. Right out of the womb. It’s unavoidable. That cute little [baby] looks so innocent - but he’s gonna grow up and learn to be selfish/lie/live w God out of mind all by himself. Wrath is real - but God’s love is greater. That’s why He sent His Son, Jesus - to defeat death. To rescue us. There’s still wrath in the NT, but now God has sent the Rescuer. The God•send. It’s judgment AND love [we see examples in parents who love their kids enough to give them consequences]. In this case, it DOES literally hurt our heavenly Father more than it hurts us. Sadly, not everybody receives this. These folks, many people are not persuaded. And our job as His witnesses is to help people change their minds about Jesus [2Cor. 5:11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men][2Cor 4.4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.][1Cor 9.22b I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.] But so, the Fourth Confession: You are the only source of Eternal Life. I trust You.
It is not yet too late for you to affirm these truths if you haven’t already. You still have time. Time to allow the truth of Jesus’ Word persuade you about Who He is. You still have time - but I can’t tell you how much. Nothing is certain - tomorrow is never guaranteed. You have at least a few minutes - don’t put it off. Don’t put off trusting in Jesus.
The Confession of Aenon:
You are Above All. You are the True God.
Your Words are true. I trust them.
All things are from You. All things are for You.
You are the only source of Eternal Life. I trust You.
Referenced verses:
2Cor. 4:4 in whose case athe god of bthis 1world has cblinded the minds of the unbelieving 2so that they might not see the dlight of the gospel of the eglory of Christ, who is the fimage of God.
2Cor. 5:11a Therefore, knowing the afear of the Lord, we persuade men
1Cor. 9:22b …I have become ball things to all men, cso that I may by all means save some.
John 16:13 “But when He, athe Spirit of truth, comes, He will bguide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
2Tim. 3:16 Everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. [CEV]
When D.L. Moody was just starting in the ministry, he heard a preacher make this statement, “the world has yet to see what God can do with one man fully surrendered to Him.” Moody that night said, “By God’s grace, I’ll be that man!”
Tozer, “A spiritual kingdom lies all about us, enclosing us, embracing us, all together within reach of our inner selves, waiting for us to recognize it. God Himself is here waiting our response to His Presence. This eternal world will come alive to us the moment we begin to reckon upon its reality”
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