John 3:31-36

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 117:1-2
• Hymn — From All That Dwell Below the Skies
• Prayer of Invocation
• Prayer of Confession — Psalm 51
• Assurance of Pardon — Psalm 51:17
• Scripture Reading — Jonah 1
• Hymn — Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Hymn — O God Beyond All Praising
• Sermon
• Hymn — Father, I Adore You
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: The Heavenly Witness, Faith, and Love of the Son

Scripture: John 3:31-36

I. A Heavenly Witness — John 3:31-32

A. Christ comes from above and is above all; he bears witness to heavenly truth in a way no earthly emissary can

1. John the Baptist, the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, speaks only from an earthly perspective as a mere mortal
2. The Father pours out the Spirit on the Son without measure (John 3:34), surpassing the measured gift given to Old Testament prophets

B. Christ's revelation is preeminent over all prior revelation

1. Hebrews 1:1-2 — God spoke through prophets, but in these last days he has spoken through his Son
2. The book of Hebrews consistently demonstrates that Jesus Christ is better than every Old Testament type and shadow
3. The Old Testament gives types, shadows, and earthly copies of heavenly truth; Christ is the fulfillment and the key to interpreting it

C. Proper hermeneutics requires reading the Old Testament through a christocentric lens

1. Hebrews 11 — what Abraham believed when he received the promises
2. Galatians 3 — the meaning of the Abrahamic covenant
3. Interpreting the Old Testament apart from Christ (as though the New Testament does not exist) leaves the reader without the greater, more preeminent revelation

II. A Heavenly Faith — John 3:32-33, 36

A. The tension between "no one receives his testimony" (v. 32) and "whoever receives his testimony" (v. 33) is resolved by the new birth

1. John 3:3 — unless one is born again (born from above) he cannot see the kingdom of God
2. No mere earthly person can grasp heavenly truth apart from the Spirit; those born from above are enabled to receive the Son's testimony

B. Receiving the testimony means setting one's seal that God is true (v. 33)

1. The seal in the ancient world was a king's mark of ownership and guarantee on a letter
2. The believer presses the truth of God in Christ deep into mind and heart with full conviction

C. John 3:36 — belief is equated with obedience; faith in the gospel is a divine command, not merely a suggestion

1. In the New Testament (e.g., Acts), the call to believe is often cast in the Greek imperative — a command
2. God's command to believe is an expression of his love and care for sinners, not harshness
3. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life; the wrath of God remains on him

III. A Heavenly Love — John 3:34-35

A. The Father's love for the Son is expressed through the Spirit poured out without measure on the Son

1. Orthodox Trinitarian understanding: the Spirit is the mutual bond of love between Father and Son
2. In the Incarnation, the Father lavishes love on the Son through the unmeasured Spirit, and out of that love gives the Son all things to accomplish redemption

B. Our salvation flows first from the Father's love for the Son, not directly from his love for us

1. The Father's love reaches us through the Son as through a prism — the warm light of his affection reaches us in and through Christ
2. This does not diminish but heightens the Father's love for us: his love for us is as great as his love for his Son, which is unmeasured
3. Michael Reeves: "Our love for the Son is an echo and an extension of the Father's eternal love; through the Spirit the Father allows us to share in the enjoyment of what most delights him — the Son"

C. The goal of salvation is to be brought into the joy the Father has always had in the Son

1. The Spirit is given so that we might delight in what the Father has always delighted in — the Son
2. Eternal life is co-heiring with the Son and basking in the Trinitarian love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit