There are 2 words here which are translated in the KJV as “believe.”  The first is “pisteuo” which means to believe in and commit oneself unto; the second is “apeitho” which means to not comply with, to refuse to obey or believe.  The second carries with it the sense of obedience.  Faith and action are linked together in this verse.  If one believes in and commits oneself to Jesus, he will act accordingly; or as James says, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:20, 26)

James 2:20  You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?

James 2:26  As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

“has” shows that eternal life is secured at the moment of believing upon Jesus.  Why is this important?

“the Son” is used absolutely.  We may become the children of God by believing upon the Christ and then we are God’s sons, but Jesus is still “the” Son; there is no one like Him, even in the relationship He has with the Father.

The wrath of God is a very real thing.  As Morris points out, “Unless we are saved from real peril there is no meaning in salvation.” (p. 250)  God’s wrath is a necessary result of His character.  He is holy and is ready to act against moral evil.  F.V. Filson states, “The wrath of God, the divine judgment, immediately and relentlessly rests on the unrepentant sinner who stubbornly rejects the offer of grace and life.  There is no place for neutrality.  Man was made as a moral being who can really live only by being obedient to his Father.  He must either believe, obey God, and find eternal life, or refuse and so suffer the ruin that his evil choices make inevitable.” (qt’d in Morris p. 250)

What significance does the word “remains” have for you in this sentence?

“has placed” = the Father loves the Son and because of this love He has given all things to Him.  This shows the dependence of Jesus on the Father.  Even though He was the Logos and the Son of God, Jesus was really and completely human while here on earth.  He had to depend upon God just like everyone else.

“everything” in this context is specifically referring to the gift of life in the Holy Spirit.  When we come to Christ for salvation, it is the same as coming to the Father.

The words which Jesus speaks are not human, but divine.  Why is this important?

“without limit” = God has given the Holy Spirit in His absolute fullness to the Son.  This again guarantees the truth of what He says.  This also says that God gives the Spirit to the Son without measure as opposed to how He gives Him to everyone else.  It implies that we are not given the Spirit without measure; i.e. there is a limitation to the giving of the Spirit to the believer.  No one else receives the Spirit in a way comparable to that of the Son.  How does this compare us with Jesus?

Eph 4:7  But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

“The man who has accepted it” is a once and for all action, a decisive act.

“seal” (KJV) or “certified” (NIV) was much used in earlier times because there were many who could not read.  A seal indicated possession but came to mean authentication, a personal guarantee by the owner of the seal that the thing sealed was the genuine article.  Luther wrote, “Among men nothing is safer and more certain than that which is given under one’s hand and seal.” If you received a sealed letter, you could be certain that it was the real thing and untouched by any other.

When a man accepts Christ he is not entering into a human relationship; he is acknowledging the truth of God as revealed in Jesus.  He is proclaiming to all that what God has said through His Son is true.

There is a change of tenses in the verse.  “What he has seen and heard” points to the existence of Jesus while “he testifies” refers to His mission.

The teaching of Jesus is not some great thoughts which He has derived from His study; He is teaching facts because He has actually seen and heard these things.  He is a witness to their validity.  There is no room for discussion; these are the facts and you can either accept or reject them.  Period. What has Jesus seen and heard?

“no-one” is not meant literally as can be seen in the following verse.  What would be the outcome of taking this literally? Why is this non-truth in the Bible?  It is an exaggeration for emphasis. Can you think of some other occurrences of a non-literal usage? One example is John 21:25.  How can you know if something is literal or not?  Could this affect some of our modern-day doctrine?

John 21:25  Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

Who is it that comes from above?  Jesus. Who is it that is of the earth?  John the Baptist and everyone else.

The teaching of the Baptist is important, but it is of earthly origin.  Notice the repetition of “above all.”  Jesus is absolutely preeminent; He is supreme over all men and over all things.  This lends significance to the next verse(s).

Any quotation marks probably should have been closed after the previous verse.  This and the following verses are probably the words of the writer of the Gospel of John.

“become greater” is to grow; the opposite is to “become less” (in authority or popularity).

“These last words of St. John are the fulness of religious sacrifice and fitly close his work” (Westcott).

Pride is the original sin, both in time, when Satan fell (Isaiah 14:12-14), and in the original fall of man (Gen 3:4-5), and it is still the easiest sin for the devil to get us to fall for.

Isaiah 14:12-14  How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.  I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

Genesis 3:4-5  “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

He uses it effectively against the non-Christian, and against the Christian. The manner in which he uses it against us Christians is usually spiritual pride. As we grow in knowledge and maturity, we start looking down our noses at others who have not come as far as we think we have or know as much as we think we do (1 Cor 8:1).

1 Cor 8:1  Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

We may not even realize it, but we separate ourselves from them in little ways and associate with those we think are most like us. Beware the traps of the evil one! He always tries to divide and conquer and this is one of the ways he divides a church and the people in it. We must be like John, whose desire was for the Lord to become more and for him to become less. Humility is an incredibly powerful and effective weapon in our struggle against the evil one. Use it! Make this verse the motto of your life:

John 3:30  He must become greater; I must become less.

Let Him become greater in you today.

“friend of the bridegroom” is similar to our “best man.” The friend of the bridegroom was responsible for many of the details of the wedding and in particular (and most importantly) for bringing the bride to the groom.  But after he had brought her forth to the groom, his job was over and he was just another participant in the joy of the groom at the wedding.  The important man at the wedding was the bridegroom, not the friend of the bridegroom.

In the Old Testament Israel is called the bride of YHWH.

Isaiah 54:5  For your Maker is your husband—the LORD Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.

Hosea 2:19-20  I will betroth you to me for ever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD.

Christ was also prophesied as being a bridegroom (Psalms 45).

1 For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies”. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. A wedding song. My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skilful writer. 2  You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you for ever. 3  Gird your sword upon your side, O mighty one; clothe yourself with splendour and majesty. 4  In your majesty ride forth victoriously on behalf of truth, humility and righteousness; let your right hand display awesome deeds. 5  Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet.

6  Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a sceptre of justice will be the sceptre of your kingdom. 7  You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. 8  All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad. 9  Daughters of kings are among your honoured women; at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.

Matthew Henry observes that “The Word was made flesh, that the disparity of nature might not be a bar to the match. Provision is made for the purifying of the church, that the defilement of sin might be no bar.”

As Murray points out, “In some real sense the Baptist testified that God Himself was in Christ betrothing His bride to Himself afresh.” (qt’d in Morris p.241) John’s task was to bring Israel, the bride, to Jesus, the bridegroom. After he had accomplished this, his job was over.

John is saying, “You already have the answer if you would only remember that I have said all along that I am not the Christ but His forerunner.”

“You yourselves” and “I” are both emphatic.

John 1:20  He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Christ.”

John 1:23  John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

Mal 3:1  “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.

Mal 4:5  “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.

John’s reply may apply to 3 different groups of people:

1. John himself.  He has only received what God has given him. He cannot be anything more than the one to go before the Messiah so don’t try to make him into something he is not called to be.
2. Jesus.  Jesus is not stealing disciples; any success He is receiving is directly from God.
3. Us.  Salvation, our ministry, and our gifts all come from God.  We should not try to be something He has not called or gifted us to be, and should never be jealous of someone who has been gifted or called to be something we would like for ourselves. (1 Cor 4:7)

1 Cor 4:7  For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

The coming of Jesus into a greater ministry than that of John was exactly what John expected and hoped for. In our ministry, it is God that is special — not we ourselves (1 Cor 3:5). We receive our abilities, callings, and ministries from God Who is the Giver of all good gifts (James 1:17). We should therefore never look down upon someone who has a different or less visible gift or calling than ours. On the other hand, though it is proper to recognize the office (2 Kings 2:23-24), we should never elevate the person who is in that position. In other words, don’t look up to someone just because they are used seemingly more mightily by God than you are. It is God Who is doing the work, not that person. Remember that it was the religious leaders of the day that Jesus was most upset with.

1 Cor 3:5  What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.

James 1:17  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

2 Kings 2:23-24  From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. “Go on up, you baldhead!” they said. “Go on up, you baldhead!” He turned round, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.

Someone once said that all service ranks the same with God. Anything that God calls us to do is of necessity always going to be great in His eyes and it should be in ours, too.