In the Beginning: The Book of John

(John 3:27-36 [HCSB])

27 John responded, “No one can receive a single thing unless it’s given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine is complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

31 The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth is earthly and speaks in earthly terms. The One who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what He has seen and heard, yet no one accepts His testimony. 33 The one who has accepted His testimony has affirmed that God is true. 34 For God sent Him, and He speaks God’s words, since He gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hands. 36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who refuses to believe in the Son will not see life; instead, the wrath of God remains on him.

The One who comes from above is above all. This One is our Jesus.

With Jesus as our point of reference, let’s break this down into a bite-sized theology:

 No one can receive a single thing unless it’s given to him from heaven.

 He who has the bride is the groom; the groom’s friend stands by, listens for him, and rejoices at the sound of his voice.

 He must increase, but we must decrease.

 The One who comes from above (or from heaven, from the Father) is above all.

 No one accepted the testimony of the One from above. The one who does accept the testimony affirms that God is true.

 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hands.

 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not believe will not have eternal life. God’s wrath (righteous judgment) remains on Him.

What we have in the book of John is affirmation that Jesus is indeed the Son of God; but we also have the foundation for a “progressive theology.” This term progressive does not mean new or improved, but that it builds upon itself illustrating steps from acceptance to belief and then to eternal consequence (salvation, or maybe more accurately transformation). In this passage John the Baptist’s witness is the example used to illustrate this progress toward, and culminating in, eternal consequence: we have either the gift of grace or the continued wrath of God.

The reality of our personal struggle is not lost on God, and suggests He knows the difficulty we have in rejoicing in one another’s blessing. So that no individual or congregation might boast, considering themselves “above,” He offers His gift to all.