Bible Study Series: John 3:31-36. The Father sent the Son. We must place our full faith in him.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together how to apply these truths to our lives.
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For the Greek text, click here:
At that link, I provide a lot more commentary.
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: John 3:31-36
31 “The One coming from above is over all. The one who is from the earth is of the earth and speaks from the earth; the One coming from heaven is over all. 32 What he sees and hears—he testifies to this, and no one accepts his testimony. 33 The One who accepted his testimony has certified that God is true. 34 God has sent the One who speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without limit.
35 The Father loves the Son and has given everything in his hands. 36 The one believing in the Son has eternal life, but the one disobeying the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:31-36)
Comments
31-36:
These verses present a sharp contrast between the one who comes down from heaven and the one who is earthly and who speaks in earthly terms. It extends the discussion John had with his disciples. Jesus came from heaven, and John is from the earth (Mounce, comment on v. 31). He does not have a heavenly origin, but Jesus does. John accepted Jesus’s testimony and certified that God is true. So once again, we see that the author of the Fourth Gospel begins with a bleak assessment (no one accepts Jesus’s testimony), but then here comes an alleviating exception (John accepted and certified it). “The point is not to declare the earthly as valueless but to show its subordination to the heavenly, both in origin and type. Whatever its value, that which is earthly is finite and limited” … (Klink, comment on v. 31).
“testify … testimony”: see v. 11 for more comments.
The one who comes down from above speaks the truth because God is his source and God is truth. God gives the Spirit to the Son without limit; the Spirit came on Jesus at his baptism and remained (John 1:32-33). “The fullness of the Spirit sets Jesus apart from the prophets through whom God had spoken from time to time (cf. Heb. 1:1)” Mounce, comment on v. 34). Therefore, the Son is over all. This means over all people and everything else. The Son has authority over everyone and everything because God does, and God has sent his Son—the one who has come from above—and bestowed on him this authority.
These verses in 1 John reflect John’s theology:
Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:10-12)
Jesus is the Logos (Word), and now he speaks the words (rhēma) of God. “It is as God that Jesus is given unlimited access to the Spirit, who is God” (Klink, comment on. v. 34).
The wrath of God is coming. Wrath means “judicial reckoning.” God does not fly off the handle and lose his temper. No, picture him as an English judge with a white wig on. Let’s learn a lesson. It took hundreds of years before God judged his people, the ancient Israelites. He sent numerous prophets to warn them about the coming judgment. But they refused to repent, except a remnant. His judgment-wrath came by deporting them, but he allowed a remnant to return to the land of Israel, seventy years later.
God’s wrath is judicial, implemented after he slooooowly evaluates all of the facts and thoughts and actions.
It is not like this:
(Source)
But like this:
(Source)
That is a picture of God in judgment. That is his wrath. He does not look like he is filled with uncontrollable rage.
The Wrath of God in the New Testament
Do I Really Know God? He Shows Wrath
The Wrath of God in the Old Testament
Everyone Shall Be Judged by Their Works and Words
Bible Basics about the Final Judgment
So in other words, God does not compel people not to accept him, but humans out of their free will, can resist the call of the Spirit-empowered gospel. Humans have enough free will to resist, but not enough free will to strut into God’s kingdom uninvited, unwooed. So when a human resists, the natural consequence is God’s judgment, which equals wrath. Jesus did not come into a neutral world, but a hostile one, generally speaking. Now it is under God’s wrath until individuals repent and then believe in Jesus’s name.
I like Mounce here: “By nature, people believe what suits them rather than what bears the marks of authenticity. The fall of the human race resulted in darkened minds that hear selectively. It is the Holy Spirit rather than logic that opens people’s minds to the truth” (comment on v. 32).
John sets in contrast to faith, not unbelief, but disobedience. “Saving faith involved obedience as well as believing, a point often overlooked by those for whom correct doctrine tends to eclipse the necessity of a changed life” (Mounce again, comment on v. 36).
However, some translators have “reject” and not “disobey” in v. 36.
Finally, to “see” life is to enter it and experience it.
A true acronym:
F-A-I-T-H
=
Forsaking All, I Trust Him
One has to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus.
The bottom line is that for John’s Gospel believing and faith must not get stuck in an intellectual assent. “I believe that God exists and Jesus lived.” Instead, everyone who believes or has faith must put their complete trust in God’s Son.
Word Study on Faith and Faithfulness
GrowApp for John 3:31-36
1. When did you believe in the Son and enter into eternal life?
2. What moved you to make the final decision for Jesus? Tell your story.
RELATED
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
12. Eyewitness Testimony in John’s Gospel
4. Church Fathers and John’s Gospel
3. Archaeology and John’s Gospel
SOURCES
For the bibliography, click on this link and scroll down to the very bottom:
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 