John 3:31-34 He who comes from above is above all

He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.  And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.  He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.

(31) He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.  John makes a parallel between the higher spiritual plane from which Jesus entered this world and the right to supervise all lower realms.  The Son's ultimate authority over all created things was not forfeited by His incarnation.  On the other hand, those who have only existed in the material world possess no first hand experience of the things of the spirit, and are therefore unqualified to speak with certainty concerning anything beyond the physical world.

(32) And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony.   Jesus speaks what He knows.  Jesus' declarations concerning: Heaven and Hell, salvation and judgment, righteousness and sin, eternal life and eternal damnation; were not merely speculations which were fitted together to form a cohesive, but theoretical, religious system.  All that Jesus testified to was actually known and experienced by Him as the Son of the Eternal Godhead.  Thus, when He spoke of God He was describing Himself.  When He spoke of Heaven and Earth, He was describing His own creation.  And when He spoke of the principles of life, He was expounding upon principles of His own definition.

When John said that "no one receives His testimony" he was pointing out that none of the Jewish religious leaders had received the testimony of Jesus at the onset of His ministry.

(33) He who has received His testimony has certified that God is true.  John, however, had received His testimony.  God's Word had prophesied that He would send His Christ.  So when John the Baptist testified that Jesus was the Christ, he was also certifying that God keeps His promises.  Only the true God is omniscient and outside of time - knowing the end from the beginning.

 

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel,
And his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
"I am the First and I am the Last;
Besides Me there is no God.

And who can proclaim as I do?
Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me,
Since I appointed the ancient people.
And the things that are coming and shall come,
Let them show these to them.

Do not fear, nor be afraid;
Have I not told you from that time, and declared it?
You are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?
Indeed there is no other Rock;I know not one." - Isaiah 44:6-8

(34) For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure.  John reiterates that Christ speaks the words of God; and now insists that Jesus' knowledge is not a limited knowledge, but a full knowledge.  Furthermore, John accredits Christ's ability to speak on the Father's behalf to fullness of the Holy Spirit resting upon the Son.  Isaiah prophesied that the Spirit would be given to Christ without measure.

 

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

His delight is in the fear of the Lord,
And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,
Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;

But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.

Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,
And faithfulness the belt of His waist. - Isaiah 11:1-5

 

Here we must contemplate the mystery of Jesus Christ as the God-man.  The Scriptures affirm that Jesus was both fully God, and fully man.  The incarnation of God was documented in John 1:14, and is also expressly stated in 1st Timothy 3:16, and in the Book of Colossians as "the fullness of the Godhead bodily."  Although the word "Trinity" is not used in the Bible, the Son was constantly in prayer with the Father, and constantly acting and speaking according to the Father's instructions.  On the other hand, the Son of Man was endued with, and empowered by, the Holy Spirit; which was represented by the dove at Jesus' baptism.  God's intent to represent Himself to mankind as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is manifested in the Old and New Testaments.

 

Another wonderful mystery should also be observed by John's statement that, "God does not give the Spirit by measure."  John might have said that "God did give"; or that "God does not give the Spirit to His Son by measure."  But John states, "God does not give;" making the statement general so as to be applicable to all instances in which God gives His Spirit.  The importance of this observation lies in the fact that God has sent His Holy Spirit to those who believe in Jesus.  Jesus said when "the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."

 

Similarly, Jesus said "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." - Acts 1:8  Jesus also said; "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father." - John 14:12  Jesus made it clear that the Holy Spirit would be sent to those who believed in Him after He had ascended to the Father.

 

Thus, the Holy Spirit has come to give the Christian knowledge of God's truth, boldness to be witnesses, and the power to work the kind of miracles which Jesus performed.  And the Holy Spirit is not given by measure - but in His fullness.  So what could cause the Christian to feel less than fully endued with knowledge, boldness, and power?  It is certainly not due to any limitation set by God.  The explanation is found in the example of Christ Himself.  He was, without controversy, fully endued with the Holy Spirit.  And yet, at one point in time His works were limited by the unbelief of the people.

 

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.  When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?  Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?  And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."  Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. - Matthew 13:53-58

 

We must conclude that any apparent limitation upon the Spirit's operation in the life of Jesus' followers does not proceed from God's restriction, but rather, from unbelief on the part of the believer.  "God does not give the Spirit by measure."  "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  But the 'one-to-another' gifts of the Spirit have been given, and the ministers of Christ's Church have been appointed, so that the weak might be made strong, and ultimately emulate Christ in knowledge, boldness, and power.

 

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. - Ephesians 4:11-13