Heavenly Witness
Jesus, God in the Flesh | A Study through the Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 5 viewsJohn the Apostle, summarizes the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus and the final message of John the Baptist into a single truth: In Christ there is no condemnation, but to reject Christ willing brings God’s wrath upon yourself.
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Introduction
John the Apostle, summarizes the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus and the final message of John the Baptist into a single truth: In Christ there is no condemnation, but to reject Christ willing brings God’s wrath upon yourself.
Focus Passage | John 3:31-36
Outline
Jesus Came from Heaven (v. 31)
31 “He who comes from above is above all; the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
Jesus was not sent from heaven
Jesus was not empowered by heaven
Jesus came from Heaven
As the apostle reveals through this closing summation of chapter three, Jesus testified from where He came, He who comes from above. He comes with a different authority than most.
When one mentions the city of Bald Knob, what comes to your mind? Why is this? What makes your word any different than say someone who lives in Las Angeles and has never been to Bald Knob, only heard of it?
When I speak of the delta and the heart of the delta and spiritual condition of the delta, I can do this with authority. I can do with authority, because I lived in the delta. I pastored in the delta. I served in the delta. When you have been there, you have an authority that others do not. Jesus was no different. He was, as the Message paraphrase writes, “Head and shoulders above all,” or as John writes, He who comes from above is above all.
Jesus gave a trust worthy testimony. He testified to the truth, because He was the truth. He was the truth found its life source, not the other way around. When one is from the earth, they can only speak of earthly things, the one is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. One is not saved, has no relationship with Jesus Christ, cannot testify to His truth with full authority. However, Jesus can and does come and speak with full authority of the truth of His life giving Word, He who comes from heaven is above all.
While man may reject our word, because it is an earthly word, they cannot reject Jesus’ Word for it is a heavenly word. To reject the words of the Lord Jesus Christ is to reject God Himself.
23 so that all will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
One will never truly experience God’s power and deliverance until they become doers of the Word and not hearers only (Jm 1:22). It is through faithful obedience to the Word that we truly reveal our love for the Son and in turn reveal our love for the Father.
15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
However, truth be told, many Christians today would hear the same question that Jesus posed to the apostles:
46 “Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
As Dr. Tony Evans writes, When the storms of life come, it’s what you with what you hear that determines how much Jesus you will experience. The foundation of God’s Word operating in your life will determine that stability of your future—especially when serious trails come.
Jesus’ testimony can be trusted because He came from to earth to deliver this testimony, but because it is a first hand testimony.
Jesus Delivers a First Hand Testimony (vv. 32-33)
32 What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony. 33 The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true.
Jesus’ testimony is personal, it’s first hand - ‘…What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies…’
Not everyone will accept the first hand testimony of Jesus - ‘…and no one accepts His testimony…’
Most will not accept the testimony of Christ. Most will not accept the Gospel that you and I present to a lost and dying world.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
To accept Jesus’ testimony is to accept the Father’s testimony - ‘…The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true…’
Those who accepted the message of Christ, stamped with approval, that Jesus is who He says He is. They have certified that the message that God sent through His Son Jesus is true.
What message has God sent through His Son?
The following testimonies from the Father about the Son are found within the Gospel of John and this immediate text and are listed in the Holman New Testament Commentary:
John C. Confirmation of John’s Witness (3:22–36)
• Jesus comes from above; he is sent from God (vv. 31, 34).
• Jesus is above all; he has all things in his hand (vv. 31, 35).
• Jesus speaks things he has seen and heard from the Father (vv. 31, 34).
• Jesus gives the truth to those who receive him (v. 33).
• Jesus gives the Spirit to those who trust in him (v. 34).
• Jesus is loved by the Father for he is the Son (v. 35).
• Jesus can communicate life which is everlasting (v. 36).
Jesus’ testimony is assured because He was from heaven, delivers a first hand testimony, and is commissioned by the Father.
The Father has Authorized Jesus’ Mission and Ministry (vv. 34-35)
34 For He whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly. 35 The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand.
The Father charged, commissioned, authorized the ministry and testimony of Christ
Over and over Jesus declares that the work He was doing on earth was not His will but the will of the Father.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
Over and over Jesus declares that the words He speaks are not His words but words of the Father.
24 The one who does not love Me does not follow My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
The apostle confirms this truth by writing, For He whom God sent speaks the words of God.
The Father has empowered the Son for His mission and ministry - ‘…for He does not give the Spirit sparingly…’
When God empowered the Son to come to come from heaven to earth to become the sacrifice for our sins and be our substitutionary sacrifice and the pay the penalty for our sin, He did so through the Holy Spirit and did not hold any of His power back.
Jesus testified that all power both in heaven and earth has been given to Him by the Father (Matthew 20:18). Then, Jesus, after His resurrection, empowered His apostles and eventually the church to fulfill her mission and ministry.
Jesus empowered the apostles through breathing the Holy Spirit on them (John 20:21-22)
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be to you; just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
Jesus empowered the church through the Day of Pentecost within the Upper Room (Acts 2:1-4)
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly a noise like a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And tongues that looked like fire appeared to them, distributing themselves, and a tongue rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with different tongues, as the Spirit was giving them the ability to speak out.
Not only was Jesus’ message truth worthy, it delivers a promise of freedom, victory, and deliverance. That is something that the Law could never promise eternally.
Jesus Affords a Way to Escape the Wrath of God to Come (v. 36)
36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
Eternal life is not just for the future but is for the here and now - ‘…The one who believes in the Son has eternal life…’
There is no middle ground or gray space at the foot of the cross - ‘…but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life…’
18 The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.
In Christ, there is no condemnation, but apart from Christ wrath remains - ‘…but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him…’
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.
18 The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Conclusion
Warren Wiersbe gives a good review of the relationship that one finds in Christ as he summarizes chapter 3 within his commentary:
Our relationship with Christ…
is a living relationship
is a loving relationship
is a learning relationship
