John 3
Eternal Reality
John 3:22-36
John 3:28
You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.' (use)
John 3:25
Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. (use)
God makes us pure by an act of His sovereign grace, but we still have something that we must carefully watch. It is through our bodily life coming in contact with other people and other points of view that we tend to become tarnished. Not only must our "inner sanctuary" be kept right with God, but also the "outer courts" must be brought into perfect harmony with the purity God gives us through His grace. Our spiritual vision and understanding is immediately blurred when our "outer court" is stained.
Chambers, O., 2017. My Utmost for His Highest.
chambers-2017-upmost~mar-26
Mark 2:18
Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, "Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" (use)
Leviticus 20:7
Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. (use)
Deuteronomy 23:14
Because the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and to give up your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy, so that he may not see anything indecent among you and turn away from you. (use)
1 Peter 1:15
but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, (use)
John 1:20
He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." (use)
John 1:23
He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said." (use)
John 3:27
John answered, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven." (use)
In this discourse here, the first minister of the gospel (for so John was) is an excellent pattern to all ministers to humble themselves and to exalt the Lord Jesus.
Henry, M., 1896. Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible. UK. John
mhcom-john~3-27
How comes it then, that every man exalts himself more than is proper, but because we do not depend on the Lord, so as to be satisfied with the rank which he assigns to us?
Calvin, J., 1555. Commentary.
calvin-1555-com~john-3v27
Ephesians 4:11
And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, (use)
If God calls you to be a preacher don't stoop to be a king.
Spurgeon, C., nd. ut.
spurgeon-nd-ut~a3
1 Peter 4:10
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: (use)
John 3:29
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. (use)
Luke 2:29
Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; (use)
Luke 2:30
for my eyes have seen your salvation (use)
John 3:30
"He must increase, but I must decrease." (use)
My baptism and teaching, as pointing out the coming Messiah, must cease; because the Messiah is now come, and has entered publicly on the work of his glorious ministry.
Clarke, A., 1831. Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible.
clarke-1831-com~john3v30
1 Corinthians 1:12
What I mean is that each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow Apollos," or "I follow Cephas," or "I follow Christ." (use)
John 1:29
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (use)
Matthew 22:2
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, (use)
John 3:35
The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. (use)
Jesus hath all things in his Almighty hand. May I then Lord look to thee for all things, in grace, mercy, pardon, peace, and every New Covenant blessing here; and all the fulness of glory in Jesus, and from Jesus, to all eternity!
Hawker, R., 1805. Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary.
hawker-1805-poor~john-3v35
our Lord and yours, the Lord of heaven and earth, and all things in it;
Gills, J., 1748. Exposition of the Bible Commentary.
gills-1748-exposition~mk11-3
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (use)
Matthew 28:18
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." (use)
John 3:31
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. (use)
Christ was not only a Prophet proclaiming God's love and a Priest making atonement for sin. He was also a King conquering Hell.
MacLeod, D., 2016. A Faith to Live By: Understanding Christian Doctrine, Reprint edition. ed. Christian Focus Adult Catalogue. pg.147
macleod-2016-a-faith~a9
John 3:34
For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. (use)
The final testimony of John the Baptist takes us beyond the cross. Blessed assurance! He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.--Solemn declaration! He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Gaebelein, A., 1922. Arno Gaebelein Annotated Bible.
gaebelein-1922-ann~john-3v35
John 3:36
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. (use)
Who{Jesus} is a proper object of faith and trust; which, if he was not truly and properly God, he would not be: and this is to be understood not of any sort of faith, a temporary, or an historical one; but of that which is the faith of God's elect, the gift of God, and the operation of his Spirit; by which a man sees the Son, goes unto him, ventures and relies upon him, and commits himself to him, and expects life and salvation from him; and who shall not be ashamed and confounded...
Gills, J., 1748. Exposition of the Bible Commentary.
gills-1748-exposition~john-3v36
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (use)
Now, if you trust the Savior, you are saved. I will repeat again that declaration of Christ, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." But if you will not believe, I know of nothing whereby I can comfort you. If you will not have Christ, there remains nothing but condemnation for you. There can be no other sacrifice for sin. You have insulted God by rejecting His Son and you must go before your God unsaved and unforgiven. Beware of such a doom as that.
Spurgeon, C., 1889. When Can We Find Comforters?.
spurgeon-1893-comforters~a3
He{John Baptist} plainly declares the privileges of the believer, he saith he hath even now eternal life; and with equal decision he testifies to the sad state of the unbeliever "he shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." John the Baptist might usefully instruct many professedly Christian preachers.
Spurgeon, C., 1871. The Unbeliever's Unhappy Condition.
spurgeon-1871-unbeliever~john-3v36
Topics and Themes
Key Verse
John 3:36
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. (use)