(He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony as certified that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. ~John 3:31-36)
Jesus is the Son of God, the creator of all things. John Chapter 1 told us that He was in the beginning with God and that He was in fact God, and that all things were made through Him (Ref. John 1:1-6). That He became flesh and dwelt among us, that God Himself became flesh. The Holy Spirit of God came upon Mary (a virgin) and she conceived and bore a Son and that Son was Jesus. Now Jesus being God speaks the words of God and John gives witness of this. God sent John to baptize, and while he was baptizing God told John that there would be One whom John would see the Spirit descend on and remain on, and it would be He who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. (Ref John 1:32-33). So John gives testimony of Jesus speaking the words of God, that all He said was of God because Jesus is God. He also said that people were not listening to him, oh they were listening to Him speak, but they were not listening as though they were the words of God. But for those who would hear and believe certified who Jesus was.
God the Father sent His only begotten Son Jesus into a world that He knew would reject Him. At the end of John chapter 2 the Apostle John writes about Jesus and man. “He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:24-25). God the Father knew what was in man before He sent Jesus, and God the Son knew what was in man. I don’t know about you, I’m a father; I personally would have a hard time purposely sending my child into a hostile environment. The Father knew Jesus would be rejected, and knew that man would kill Him, and knew even after the sacrifice that men would continue to reject Him. The more and more I come to know my Lord, the more amazed I am that anyone could think for a minute that they could earn favor with God. The more I’ve gotten to know Jesus, the more I’ve gotten to know myself, and realize not just how sinful I was, but how sinful I am. Works cannot save a man in fact works themselves are sin when done to earn favor with God. God is a good Judge, what do good judges do to criminals that try to bribe them? You who break God’s laws (The Ten Commandments) are a criminal; if you do good works to earn favor with God, what you are in effect attempting to do is bribe the Judge. Jesus is my Master; any work, is only a good work, when it is done to bring glory to my Lord. Paul said: “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
John the Baptist finishes his dialogue about Jesus with his disciples by giving the good news; that there is a Way to have everlasting life and that Way is Jesus Christ. He tells them: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). The way to eternal life is to have faith in Jesus Christ, that His death on the cross was and is payment for all of your sins. But John is also saying here; make sure that you believe Jesus, His words. There are a lot of people in this world that call themselves Christian but when you talk with them about scripture they will deny the words of Jesus. Do you believe in Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God? Jesus said He was the only begotten Son of God. Do you believe that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life that no one comes to the Father but by Him? Jesus said this. Do you believe the things he said about Hell? Did you know that if it were not for the words of Jesus we would know little about Hell, Jesus spoke more about Hell than anyone in the bible?
Believe in the only begotten Son of God, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the only Way to the Father. Believe by faith that when He died on that cross that He paid for all of your sins; past, present, and future. And believe the scriptures, the scriptures are the inerrant, infallible, Holy Spirit inspired written word of God. Believe what they say about Jesus, and believe what Jesus said.
God Bless you;
Mike Peek
