Chapter 3

In chapter three we have a personal attack of religion. This man seems to have been sincere in his seeking but immediately his sincerity is doubted for one reason. He starts to give Jesus a lot of lip.

Verse 1 – “Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.” He was a Pharisee, a do-gooder.

Verse 2 – “The same” is literally, “The same one.”

“came to Jesus by night” – not because he was ashamed but because his day was filled with religious activity. During the day he was too busy doing good, being religious. He was full of religiosity.

“Rabbi” – this means “Doctor.” He gave Jesus recognition, but he is being condescending; “we know” – he is emphasising his own self-importance, he is referring to “we Pharisees” and to himself in particular.

“thou art a teacher come from God” – he had to say “from God” because there wasn’t any way he could get around it. Why? Not because he recognised Christ as the God-Man -- he doesn’t.

“no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.” The word “except” is a 3^rd class condition – If God be with him, maybe He is and maybe He is not. The 3^rd class condition expresses his own doubt. So Nicodemus was a doubter. Nicodemus either on his own or sent by the Sanhedrin had come to spy out the land, had come to get further information. So far the Sanhedrin was helpless because of the tremendous volume of miracles that were being performed. Therefore it was a rather difficult situation.

Verse 3 – Jesus interrupted. Jesus broke right in with “Verily, verily,” which means here comes doctrine. Jesus gives a doctrinal answer.

“Except a man be born again.” The words “born again” mean to be born from above. The Greek adverb is a)nwqen and it really means “from above.” This is the one thing that Nicodemus didn’t get, didn’t understand. From above is obviously a spiritual birth and the word a)nwqen connotes a spiritual birth.

“he cannot see the kingdom of God” – he understood ‘kingdom of God,’ it was a theological designation for the eternal kingdom, for being the possessor of eternal life. It was a part of Judaistic theology. This was clear to Nicodemus, but that is all he understood.

Verse 4 – Nicodemus now shows what a smart Alec he is. “How can a man be born when he is old?” He isn’t even listening to that “from above.”

“can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born” – this is sarcastically said. Jesus didn’t even say anything about being born again, He said “born from above.” This man is religious and he cannot think in terms of spiritual truth.

Verse 5 – Jesus ignores his sarcasm, the fact that he is a smart Alec, and He gives him an answer to show the distinction between physical and spiritual birth. Nicodemus is an unbeliever. How are you going to tell an unbeliever that you are talking about a spiritual birth? The only way to do it is to make a distinction, and so Jesus takes this man’s vocabulary – this man is religious and has ritual, and in his ritual he has water. Water is used in the laver and water was used in the tabernacle and later on in the temple as a ritual purification. So water has a spiritual connotation to a Pharisee. So Jesus has to think of a term that connotes something spiritual – water.

“Except a man be born of water” – water is used to alert this man to the fact that this is a spiritual birth, not a physical birth. Water has a spiritual connotation to the Pharisees.

“and of the Spirit” – the Holy Spirit; “he cannot enter the kingdom of God” – so we have to be born of water and of the Spirit. The water has three spiritual connotations: a) for salvation – Isaiah 55:1; b) the water of the Word – Ephesians 5:26; the water of the Holy Spirit – John 7:39.

Since the word “Spirit” is mentioned it is the water of the Word that is involved here. We know it is the water of the Word because in 1 Peter 1:23 we are said to be born again or regenerated by the Word. So by comparing Ephesians 5:26 with 1 Peter 1:23 we know that the word “water” here refers to the Word, and specifically in the Word, the content of the gospel. Jesus has an immediate purpose for using the word “water” – to make him realise that this is a spiritual birth.

Verse 6 – an illustration to show that He is talking about a spiritual birth. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” That takes care of being born from the mother’s womb; “and that which is born from the Spirit is spiritual.” Two births illustrated. Titus 3:5 also indicates the Holy Spirit also has a part in regeneration.

Verse 7 – “Marvel not,” an aorist imperative which means don’t be shocked, “when I tell you, You must be born from above.”

So here is Jesus dealing with religion. What does religion need? Religion needs a spiritual birth.

Verse 8 – Jesus illustrates once more by showing that a spiritual thing is not something you can see” “so is everyone that is born from the Spirit.” Titus 3:5, the Holy Spirit is the agent of regeneration.

Verse 9 – “How can these things be?” Literally, “How are these things able to come to pass?” The word for “be” is actually ginomai which means to come to pass. In other words, he has just said “I don’t know anything about the plan of God.

Verse 10 -- Jesus is going to give him some mechanics. He starts out with a little bit of sarcasm. In effect, “Did you graduate from a theological seminary and you didn’t learn this?” “Master of Israel” is his degree which he received when he graduated from one of the seminaries.

Verse 11 – the point of doctrine, “Verily, verily.”

“We speak” – you didn’t have a seminary professor who could speak with authority. When He says “we” He is identifying Himself with the disciples when the disciples learn after the resurrection. In the meantime He speaks for everyone. The word for “speak” means to communicate, present linear aktionsart of the verb lalew.

“what we know” – you have to know something to communicate something. To communicate doctrine you have to know doctrine.

“and testify [witness] what we have seen” – this means to see in the Word. Perfect tense: keep on testifying, keep on speaking.

“and you receive not our witness” – He accuses religion of negative volition, and for that reason His explanation of the gospel will be short and to the point.

What does this do to Nicodemus? He pricks up his ears, his eyes bulge, and he begins to listen.

Verse 12 – “If I tell you things on the earth, and you do not believe them, how shall you believe if I tell you things in heaven?” Notice the difference in that translation from one in the KJV. The first “if” is a first class condition – if, and it is true. The second “if” is a third class condition – maybe yes, maybe no. If He tells them in heaven is maybe He will and maybe He won’t.

The point of that verse is: “You are hearing now how to get to heaven but you may not make it.”

Verse 13 – at the time Jesus spoke no man had ascended up to heaven; “but he that came down from heaven [virgin birth], even the Son of man who keep so n being in Heaven.” What he is saying to Nicodemus is that while He is standing there talking to him He was in heaven right now. What is He saying? “I am the God-Man. I am a human being talking to you but I am also deity and omnipresent.”

Verse 14 – He doesn’t go into a detailed explanation of the gospel, He doesn’t have to because He is talking to a theological graduate who knows all about Moses and the serpent and the implications of it. The people who looked up at that serpent of brass lived; the people who didn’t died. They died of snake bite. The venom of the snake represents sin. The solution to sin was the cross and those who looked up [illustration of believing] were saved/delivered.

Verse 15 – “That whosoever” – any member of the human race – “believeth,” the present active participle of the verb pisteuw to indicate that faith in Christ is always the way of salvation.

“should not perish” – aorist subjunctive. It means in a point of time when the judgement takes place. The subjunctive means that this is a potential thing depending upon faith.

“but” – present tense, linear aktionsart, “keep on having eternal life.” Eternal life is not something you get at the point of faith; it is something you keep on having.

Verse 16 – Jesus is still talking to Nicodemus. “For God” – o( qeoj refers to the first person of the Trinity who is the author of the divine plan, operation grace. A perfect plan comes from the perfect character of God. Everything that we will ever need in time is comprised in this one phrase in the Greek, “the God.” He knew in eternity past every sin we would ever commit. He made provision for all of these sins by sending His Son who was judged for these sins on the cross. He knew every failure we would ever have in phase two and therefore He provided the technique of rebound. He knew every suffering, every frustration, every heartache, every difficulty which we would ever encounter and therefore He made in His perfect plan provision for every situation in this life, so that there will never be a trial, a testing, a suffering or adversity which is too great for the plan of God.

“so loved” – aorist active indicative of a)gapaw. The aorist tense refers to eternity past when “the God” loved you. He had a mental attitude love which preceded the action, which is the cross. The active voice: the Father produces the action of the verb – mental attitude love. The indicative mood is the reality of God’s love. But God’s love for the unbelieving human race is centred and focused on the cross. It is true that God is love, and because God is love the cross exists. When a member of the human race bypasses the cross or rejects Christ as saviour he is the object of divine wrath, not love.

“the world” – kosmoj. God loves those who are incapable of loving Him. We are born without the equipment to love God.

“that” introduces a result clause. When God has a mental attitude the mental attitude always produces a result; “he gave” – mental attitude love gives. This is the aorist active indicative of the verb didomi, the basic verb of grace. The aorist tense is a constative aorist, which means it is a point of time that covers 33 years, from the virgin birth to the ascension. Active voice: God did the giving because God did the loving. The indicative mood is the reality of this giving.

“his only begotten Son” – it doesn’t say that at all. A literal translation is: “the Son, the only born.” The word for “only born” is monogenhj. Christ is the only member of the human race born without a sin nature. Adam was created minus a sin nature; he is called the first Adam. The last Adam was born minus a sin nature.

“that” introduces a purpose clause. God had a purpose in giving us His only born Son. God had to give us Jesus Christ by way of the virgin birth, by way of the cross.

“whosoever” means any member of the human race; anyone – doctrine of unlimited atonement; “believeth” – present active participle of the verb pisteuw. Pisteuw means a non-meritorious system of perception. This is a dramatic present tense. The most dramatic moment in your life is the moment you are born again. The active voice: you have to believe for yourself. No one else can do it for you. This is also a participle of precedence. The participle means that since the beginning of time every person who has ever been saved in the history of the human race was saved in exactly the same way – by faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is always the object of faith in salvation.

“in him” – “him” is the pronoun referring to Jesus Christ, the gift. He is the object of faith in salvation – Acts 16:31.

“shall not perish” – the word “perish” is a)pollumi [a)po = preposition of ultimate source; ollumi = to die or to destroy] which means to destroy from the ultimate source of yourself. This tells us that every person who goes to hell goes to hell from the ultimate source of himself, not from the source of God. God never sent anyone to hell; man goes to hell because he rejects Christ. In other words, all members of the human race have a chance. This is an aorist middle subjunctive. In this case “shall not perish,” to destroy yourself from the ultimate source of yourself, here means the final judgement. It means standing at the last judgement because you have rejected Christ. There is a negative mh here which says you won’t do this. The aorist tense refers to a point of time, the last judgement – the great white throne judgement of Revelation 20. The middle voice indicates benefit. You are benefited by not destroying yourself from the ultimate source of yourself. This is a subjunctive mood and the subjunctive mood generally indicates a potential. In this case the subjunctive mood is the mood which is used with a purpose clause, and it indicates that it is God’s purpose never to judge with the lake of fire any person who accepts Christ as saviour – Romans 8:1. That is the negative side. You will never destroy yourself from the ultimate source of yourself; it is impossible. You are in the plan of God now.

“but have everlasting life” – the word for ‘have’ here is e)xw. It is in the present tense which means you keep on having everlasting life. The active voice: you have everlasting life for yourself. Subjunctive mood: it is God’s purpose for you to have everlasting life; this is a part of the purpose clause. This means you are in the plan of God forever.

Verse 17. Again this verse begins with the phrase “the God” – God the Father, first person of the Trinity; “sent not” – the verb is a)postellw which means to send. God the Father sent the Son from the ultimate source of Himself. It was a sovereign decision in eternity past; “to condemn” – aorist active indicative. He didn’t send Him in a point of time to condemn you, He sent Him in a point of time to save you. Active voice: the Father sent the Son not to condemn but to save. The indicative mood: the reality of the Son coming not to condemn but to save. This is literally, “The God sent not the Son,” and “the Son” simply refers back to the uniqueness of Christ, the God-Man. The word “condemn” means to judge – krinw. Jesus Christ was not sent to judge, He was really sent to save. Present active subjunctive: to keep on judging.

“but”— conjunction of contrast, “that the world [kosmoj – reference to people born with old sin natures, spiritually dead] through him [through the instrumentality of Him] might be saved” – aorist passive subjunctive. Aorist tense: point of time when you believe. Passive voice: we receive salvation; we do not earn it or deserve it. The subjunctive mood goes with the purpose clause, and it is God’s purpose that we might be saved.

Verse 18 – “He that believeth” is a present active participle again to indicate that salvation is always the same; “on him [on Christ] is not judged” – present passive indicative: “does not receive judgement [at the last judgement].”

“but” – conjunction of contrast, “he that believeth not has been judged already.” Notice: “is not judged; has been judged.” The words “has been judged already” is perfect passive indicative. This is the perfect tense, so we have a point of time which starts something. He went on negative signals at this point and that negative signal, if it continues until his death, means he will be earmarked for the last judgment. The passive voice: he receives this judgment. The indicative mood is the reality of that judgment.

“because he has not believed in the name” – the word “name” stands for the person – “of the only begotten [monogenhj = only born] Son of God.”

Verse 19 – “And this is the condemnation [judgment]. The word for “judgment” is krisij. Nouns have suffixes; ij means the act of judging.

“that light is come into the world” – the reason that He is called light is because He is manifest as the saviour and everyone can see the light. Perfect tense: has come in the past with the result the light is always there – salvation, gospel message.

“men loved darkness rather than light” – “men” is the Greek word a)nqrwpoj which is generic man, man and woman, man born under the kosmoj system; “loved” here is a)gapaw used for the unbeliever. This is a mental attitude love; “darkness” is not the ordinary word for darkness, it is skotoj and it means moral darkness. But it means more than moral darkness, it means the old sin nature. This really refers to the lust pattern and the human good. It is their “deeds” that they love, and these deeds come from the old sin nature’s area of strength.

“because their deeds” – the deeds that come from the old sin nature “are evil” – reference to something that comes from the old sin nature, ponhroj. Human good comes from the old sin nature.

So mankind rejects the work of Christ because it prefers its own work, it what this says.

“And this is the condemnation.” The word “condemnation” has an active suffix; this is the act of judging.

“that light is come into the world” – literally, “the light,” referring to the Lord Jesus Christ – John 8:12. Generally speaking light refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, but it also refers to Bible doctrine. In 1 John 1 it says that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. In John 3:19 it is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. The light “is come” is a perfect tense, it has come in the past with the result that it is always here.

“and men” – this is the generic term for men [mankind], “loved darkness rather than light.” The word for darkness refers to moral darkness. The word skotoj is used for the manifestation and activities of the old sin nature.

Verse 20 – “For every one that doeth evil.” It doesn’t say “do,” [poiew] it says “practice” [prassw]. To practice evil means to be out of fellowship and under the control of the old sin nature. The word prassw means to operate or practice and it refers to the modus operandi of the old sin nature.

“hateth the light” – means they hate Christ. This is the unbeliever religious man in Jesus’ day. Application: He hates doctrine, he hates the grace principle.

“lest” – i.e. “that.” It introduces a negative purpose clause; “his should not be reproved.” In other words, his human good is not acceptable. His deeds refers to his human good. He doesn’t come to the light because he doesn’t want his human good to be reproved. This is why in witnessing for Christ the most difficult people to reach are self-righteous people and religious people, people who are practicing human good. This is why believers whose idea of the Christian way of life is simply a system of morality. They never get with doctrine, never understand grace, and never grow up. They are childish as long as they live for this reason: the dynamics of phase two – knowledge of doctrine plus the filling of the Holy Spirit equals the production of divine good. Ignorance of doctrine plus carnality equals the production of human good. The legalistic believer is steeped in human good.

Verse 21 – “But he that doeth truth.” Truth is something you do. “But” is a conjunction of contrast. How does one do truth? The word here is no longer prassw, it is now poiew which means to produce. To produce goes right back to the principle that knowledge of doctrine plus the filling of the Holy Spirit equals the production of divine good. So doing the truth is being filled with the Spirit (rebound when necessary), learning doctrine – the more doctrine you know the more you grow, the more you grow the more concentrated becomes your divine good. “Truth” is a word for doctrine. Doing the truth is doing doctrine or the production from doctrine. This is a present active participle to indicate that this is the Christian way of life.

“cometh to the light” – the preposition here makes it very clear how he comes: proj plus the accusative means face to face with the light, which means doctrine is built upon doctrine.

“that” is a result clause; “his deeds may be made manifest [exposed as to their true character – divine good], that they are wrought.” The word “wrought” is e)gazomai, meaning to produce. Perfect tense: this good is performed in a point of time but it stands forever and is the basis of reward for the believer in the future.

“in God” – they are produced “in the sphere of God.” Divine good is produced in the sphere of God, all divine good in the believer’s life is produced by the power of God, namely the power of the Word and the power of the Spirit. The passive voice: the subject receives the action of the verb. This is the voice of grace; all divine good is produced on the basis of the grace principle. The indicative mood indicates the reality of the production of divine good on the part of the grace believer.

Verse 22 – “After these things.” This is the end of the talk with Nicodemus who at this point has been put down.

“Jesus came and his disciples into the land of Judea; and there he tarried with them” – the word for “tarried” is diatribw which means to wear away by friction, to spend time. During the discourse with Nicodemus the disciples were resenting what Jesus did to that “nice” Pharisee. The disciples admired the Pharisees; they respected them they had been taught to do so. And Jesus had clobbered this one. They didn’t like it really, so there is friction. And Jesus is going to wear away the friction by teaching them doctrine. He takes them aside and He teaches them Bible doctrine. So the word means to take away the friction. It is the imperfect active indicative, which means He kept on teaching them.

“and baptised” – the imperfect active indicative indicates that He kept on performing acts of baptism.

Verse 23 – John the Baptist answering religion. The background for the rest of this chapter is simple. The ministry of John the Baptist is diminishing and the ministry of the Lord Jesus is increasing. The disciples of John the Baptist are guilty of jealousy. Apparently they have let their jealousy be known to the religious crowd -- the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin. Therefore the Sanhedrin sends some representatives to John to try to start a rift between John and Jesus. In their attempt to do so it is brought out very clearly that John the Baptist is one of the greatest believers of all time because he refused to succumb to the very subtle temptation and the very obvious attacks of the religious crowd to start a rift between himself and the Lord Jesus Christ. He refused to succumb to the mental attitude sin. He was not jealous or envious or bitter toward the Lord Jesus Christ; he rejoiced in Him.

John answers religion by his life, the stability of his soul. He answers religion by his words, words of divine viewpoint. And while he is answering religion he is also straightening out his disciples.

“in Aenon near Salim” tells us that now John and Jesus were now many miles apart. John is obviously having a continuing ministry though quite obviously a diminishing ministry.

Verse 24 – the reason he was still doing this is because he was not yet cast into prison.

Verse 25 – the religious attack. “Then there arose a question.” The Greek word for question zhthsij which means a ridiculous dispute. A theological debate. It means a dispute about something that is more or less inconsequential. It means a meticulous dispute. The words “there arose” is ginomai which means “there came to pass.”

“some of John’s disciples and the Jews” – the word “some” is not found in the original. It simply means that the Jewish members of the Sanhedrin, the religious leaders got into a very meticulous argument with the disciples of John and the subject was purifying. The Jews had developed over a period of some 400 years a series of rituals in which there was water. They had been practicing these things though they were not authorised by the Old Testament scriptures. This sprinkling ritual could only be accomplished by the clergy who had a theological degree. The one who had the degree was called Rabbi. These theologs did not want to lose some of the benefits of the clergy, and since they were not teaching doctrine they were enslaving the people through systems of ritual called purifying. They would charge for the service of being “cleansed.” It had become quite a money-making gimmick.

Now we find Jesus baptising and John baptising, and later on the disciples of Jesus baptising, and this is cutting in on their clergical income! Naturally there was a challenge from religion and there was quite an argument going here about purifying.

Verse 26 – “they” refers to the religious leaders, the so-called clergy.

“and said unto him, Rabbi” – this is sarcasm. Rabbit means a theological degree and John does not have one, but they do this in order to develop a very subtle approach to their attack here.

“he that was with thee beyond the Jordan” – they won’t even mention Jesus’ name because to mention His name is to acknowledge Him as Messiah.

“to whom thou barest witness” – marturew in the perfect tense: permanent results. It means to communicate in a way whereby the information is understood.

“the same is now baptising, and all” – this means he has a growing and successful ministry. The present tense here means that the crowds are growing. He is having a very successful ministry body-wise. John, on the other hand, is having a dwindling ministry. The objective here is obvious. It is to get John jealous, to bring in mental attitude sins, to cause a rift between John the Baptist and Jesus.

Verse 27 – “John answered” – a)pokrinomai [a)po = preposition of ultimate source; krinomai = to give a discerning answer] means to give an answer based on knowledge. Krinw means to judge; krinomai means to be discerning in an answer. So it means to give a discerning answer from the ultimate source of one’s self. We must look at John to see how he could give a discerning answer from the ultimate source of himself. Two things are important with regard to John. He had Bible doctrine in his human spirit. He had divine viewpoint minus mental attitude sins. John answers from the ultimate source of himself. He answers not only the religious Jews but he also answers his own frustrated disciples. He is going to cool off their jealousy and he is going to put down religion.

“A man” – the word for man is a)nqrwpoj, homo sapien, a generic term, and this means that this applies to anyone, including the religious crowd. Therefore, when a generic term is used in the sentence a principle is about to be stated which is a general principle regarding mankind.

“can receive nothing” – the general principle. There are two verbs, “can” and “receive” – can is dunamai which means to have the power, ability. A man has the ability to receive nothing. This is a present tense, which means this is always true. A man does not have the ability to receive anything except from God – “unless it is given to him from heaven.” The principle of being given from heaven is the principle of promotion. For every believer in phase two John’s words have a very direct application. If God doesn’t promote you then you are to be relaxed and free from mental attitude sins, and have inner happiness, inner peace, inner power, and inner blessing. God isn’t going to promote all believers and if God doesn’t promote you, you are not promoted.

“except it be given” – perfect passive subjunctive. The perfect tense means that divine promotion is permanent and has great spiritual repercussions. The passive voice: divine promotion is based on the principle of grace. The subjunctive mood says that divine promotion is potential, depending upon God. There are two verses of scripture that deal with the principle of promotion: Joshua 3:7; 1 Peter 5:5,6. John says to the religious crowd that they are complaining about the type of success that Jesus is having but no one has this type of success unless it comes from heaven. The source of divine promotion is the sovereignty of God. If the ministry of Jesus in increasing and the ministry of John the Baptist is decreasing this is God’s business, not John’s, not the religious crowd’s, and not that of John’s disciples. John’s job is to remain faithful and to be stabilised in doctrine, oriented to grace. Promotion is in the hands of the Lord. It is always based on grace; it is a sovereign decision; the believer must avoid seeking to promote himself and the mental attitude sins of jealousy toward those whom God has promoted. The believer’s job is to be faithful.

Verse 28 – “Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said.” He has communicated it many times; “I am not the Christ, but I am sent before him” – this is a perfect periphrastic when means I have been sent before Him in the past with the result that I have been faithful in my job, and I am still doing my job. And I am only to do my job, I am a member of the team.

Verse 29 – “He that hath [keeps on having] the bride.” The Greek word numfh is the word for “bride.” The word for bridegroom is numfioj. Who has the bride? The groom. John is saying he is not the groom; he is a friend of the groom. The friend of the groom is just going to stand around and rejoice. It is the groom who owns the bride. At this point John shows us that he has learned a lot of doctrine. The bride is the Church. Jesus Christ is going to have an increasing ministry. The bride is still being developed today, every person who receives Christ as saviour is the bride. And Jesus Christ is the groom. So here is John anticipating the Church Age. John is only a friend of the groom which mans he is only a minister in the Jewish Age.

“but the friend of the groom [John the Baptist] which standeth” – perfect tense, which means he stands there faithfully doing his job; “and heareth” – John is listening to the groom; he learns from Jesus. Doctrine is the mind of Christ.

“he rejoices greatly” – with great joy, present linear aktionsart for inner happiness based on doctrine. He is a relaxed person.

“because of the groom’s voice” – the groom’s voice is the groom’s teaching; “this my joy therefore has been fulfilled in the past with the result that it is completed; I am coming to the end of my ministry.

Verse 30 – the Greek says, “He must keep on growing, but I must keep on declining [in importance].” This anticipates the Church Age. The word for “decrease” is e)lattow which means to decline in importance – present tense, linear aktionsart. Passive voice: grace, something he receives from God. This is God’s plan; he is oriented to God’s plan. Therefore declining in importance is a part of the plan and he is with it. John is a product of the Jewish Age; the Jewish Age is on its way out. John’s is a dwindling ministry in keeping with the anticipated change of dispensation. The ministry of Jesus Christ is coming and will grow and grow.

In verses 31-35 we have the message of John the Baptist. John’s entire message has to be gleaned from the study of Matthew and John, Acts 19, and other passages where John is mentioned.

Verse 31 – “He that cometh from above” is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. The present active participle of the verb to come means that He has always been from above and even while He is on the earth He is still from above. It introduces the principle of the hypostatic union. Jesus Christ is the God-Man, undiminished deity and true humanity in one person forever. In His deity He is always in heaven; His humanity was on the earth at that time. John recognises the principle of the hypostatic union or the uniqueness of the person of Jesus Christ.

“is above all” – literally, “keeps on being above all,” and by that John the Baptist is saying “He is greater than I am.” He is greater than anyone. He is the unique person of the universe in the sense that He is greater than any humanity. He is minus the old sin nature, free from any person sins, in no way has failed God in His humanity. His deity, of course, makes Him infinitely superior to any member of the human race. He is the creator of mankind.

“he that is on the earth is earthly” – John is speaking of himself; “and speakest from the earth” – John is indicating the fact that he speaks in terms of being on the earth only. Jesus Christ and John the Baptist were both speaking at this time. Remember that the whole background of this passage is the jealousy, which arose, and the attempt to start a rivalry between the ministry of Jesus, which was increasing, and the ministry of John the Baptist, which was diminishing. Actually, Jesus speaks as the unique person because He speaks [e)k = from the source of] from above. He is on the earth but He speaks from above. John is on the earth and he speaks from the earth only. Jesus Christ is the God-Man; He is in heaven while He is on the earth. Therefore, He is unique in His message and in His ministry.

Verse 32 – “And what he hath seen” is a perfect active indicative from a verb which means to observe: o (raw, which means to observe something by being present. Jesus observed the plan of God by being present. So this refers to the fact that Jesus Christ in eternity past saw the plan of God because He was there when it was formulated. The plan of God was designed in eternity past – every aspect of it, every principle connected with it, every need that you would ever have in time. Remember that your life, operation phase two, has been provided for totally in the plan of God in eternity past. Perfect tense: He saw it in the past with the result that He provides it for you today.

“And heard” – an aorist tense which indicates eternity past. He heard the Father’s design, the Father’s plan.

“That he testified” – communicates, present active of the verb maturew. It means to communicate Bible doctrine. So Jesus Christ has a greater ministry than John the Baptist. John was born in time, he is a mere mortal; Jesus Christ is from above and therefore above all. Jesus Christ came from heaven but He is still in heaven at the same time. Jesus Christ saw the plan of the Father in eternity past while it was being designed, He heard it, and He communicates from being on the scene. Everything we have in the Word of God, which is Bible doctrine, is the mind of Christ. All of these things were actually in the mind of Christ in eternity past and now they are put in writing for our benefit.

“No man [no one of you]” – he is obviously looking at the religious crowd. In other words, “none of you religious people.” The religious types would not accept Jesus Christ as saviour. The most difficult people in the world to whom to witness are religious types. They are the stuffiest, the most self-righteous, and so full of human good and their own self-importance that to communicate the grace of God to them is virtually impossible. Were it not for the ministry of the Holy Spirit nothing would ever get through to a religious person.

“and no one [of you]” – John is pointing to the religious crowd; “receiveth his communication.” The religious crowd always turn it down.

Verse 33 – “He that hath received his communication hath set to him seal that God is true” – literally, “the God,” God the Father is true. To set the seal here means to sign on the dotted line. It is an idiom. In the ancient world they had signet rings by which to imprint a signature in wax. So he is saying here that people who accept Jesus Christ have signed, as it were, that God is true. “The God” refers to God the Father, the author of the divine plan. By “true” it means that God has a plan from here on out, and that God will take care of everything as far as time and eternity is concerned; He has made full provision for it.

Verse 34 – “he whom God hath sent [Jesus Christ].” The word to send here means to send in order to take charge. The Father sent the Son in order to take charge of the situation.

“speaketh [keeps on speaking] the words of God” – Bible doctrine.

“for the God giveth not the Spirit by measure” – Jesus Christ was also given the Holy Spirit in order that His communication might have the power and the stamp of the Spirit. “By measure” is an idiom that means that there was no limit to the Spirit’s control of the humanity of Christ. This is due to the fact that He did not have a sin nature and He did not commit any act of personal sin, therefore He could never grieve or quench the Spirit.

Verse 35 – “The Father loveth [keeps on loving] the Son, and hath given” – perfect tense, has given in the past with the result that He keeps on making this a true part of the plan; “all things into his hand.” When Jesus Christ returns again all things will be in His hand. This will be fulfilled. This is the ultimate plan of God the Father that Jesus Christ will rule in eternity.

Verse 36 – a dividing line between the failure of the religious man, Nicodemus, and the success of the woman of Samaria. At the same time this is a very clear delineation of the message of John the Baptist.

“He that believeth” is a present active participle of the verb pisteuw, a mental attitude, a mental system of perception. It is the only non-meritorious system of perception. It is in the present tense for the most dramatic moment of life, the moment of belief in Jesus Christ as saviour. The active voice: the believer must use his faith to accept Christ, and there is no merit in that faith. There is no merit in believing, the merit is in the object. The object of faith is the Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12.

“hath” is a present active indicative and it means to keep on having – “always has everlasting life.”

“and” is “but” in the original, it is a conjunction of contrast; “he that believeth not the Son” – here is the person who rejects Jesus Christ as saviour. Here is the reason people go to hell, the reason why people never get in the plan of God; “shall not see life” – never has eternal life.

“but the wrath of God keeps on abiding on him” – present linear aktionsart.