He must increase but I must decrease. He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
John the Evangelist here records the words of John the Baptist regarding Jesus Christ – the God man for whom the Baptist was the herald.
Everlasting life is for those who believe on the Son. That is they put their entire trust in him; they trust what he says and act on it, believing that God will be with them, regardless of what happens.
Those who don’t entrust their lives to Christ shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.
A stark choice. A serious challenge. Incredible consequences.
Who would want to believe such a terrifying thing ?
Certainly no-one in their own humanity. Certainly no-one as identified here as earthy – someone whose world view is of this world not the next, and certainly not of the heavenly above.
And that is it. The revelation is from above, not below. It can only be received by those with an awareness of the above. And that awareness of above comes from the testimony, the witness of one who has had such revelation from above.
Either we accept the written record about Jesus Christ being the Son of God, the Saviour who delivers us from the wrath of God, or we don’t.
And to accept that message means that God has to open our eyes.
Jesus performed miracles, including making the blind see.
They were not just about compassion for a person at a certain time in a certain place; such miracles were testimony of his divinity, scripture says. But they were also illustrations – highly visible and physical illustrations – of his teaching.
God opens the ‘eyes’ of those born in spiritual blindness [the earthy] to see their condition and to see their need of him.
Unless God acts, we earthy humans remain in our earthiness, unable to see our state and our need.
The ability to receive that understanding is called faith, and faith is a gift from God. Ephesians 2 verse 8/9.
Christianity 