Scripture Reading: John 3:5-6, 8, 14-16, 29-30, 31-36
In our reading of John 3 we need a proper realization and appreciation of five matters: the serpentine human being (vv. 6, 14), the universal increase of Christ (vv. 6, 30), the unlimited Christ (vv. 29-36), the immeasurable Spirit (vv. 5-6, 34), and eternal life (vv. 15-16, 36). Actually, these five matters form the title of this chapter: “The Serpentine People Becoming the Universal Increase of the Unlimited Christ by the Immeasurable Spirit with the Eternal Life.” I would call your attention to the adjectives used to describe people, increase, Christ, Spirit, and life. The people are serpentine, the increase is universal, Christ is unlimited, the Spirit is immeasurable, and the life is eternal. Let us now go on to consider each of these five matters.
In John 3 the serpentine nature of human beings is unveiled. The Lord told Nicodemus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh” (v. 6). In verse 14 the Lord said to him, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” This word implies that Nicodemus had a serpentine nature. Nicodemus may have been a gentleman, but he was a serpentine gentleman. Furthermore, Nicodemus may have considered himself a moral and good man. But no matter how good or moral he may have been outwardly, inwardly he had the serpentine nature. The Lord indicated to Nicodemus that as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness, so He would be lifted up on the cross to die as Nicodemus’s Substitute. This surely indicates that, like all the other fallen human beings, Nicodemus was serpentine. Hence, in this chapter we definitely have the unveiling of the serpentine nature.
John 3:30 refers to the increase of Christ. The universal increase of Christ is related to the spirit, the spiritual part of a human being. John 3:6b says, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” We believers have both a serpentine nature in our being and also a spiritual part of our being. We all need to recognize the fact that we have these two kinds of being. If we do not live in our spirit, then surely we will live in our serpentine nature, no matter whether what we do is good or bad. It is possible for both good things and bad things to be done in our serpentine being.
The title of this chapter speaks of serpentine people becoming the universal increase of the unlimited Christ. Our regenerated human spirit is part of the increase of Christ, and this increase is Christ’s multiplication and reproduction. Through the process of regeneration, serpentine human beings can become part of Christ’s increase.
In chapter 3 of John we can see at least nine aspects of the unlimited Christ. First, the unlimited Christ is from above, that is, from the heavens: “He who comes from above is above all; he who is from the earth is of the earth and speaks out of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all” (v. 31). At that time Christ was in the flesh, and the flesh is from earth. But within Him there was a part that was from above, from the heavens.
According to 3:31, the unlimited Christ not only comes from above but also is above all. The One who comes from the heavens is above all. Even though He was on earth, under the heavens, yet He was above all. Because Christ is all-inclusive, unlimited, and universal, He is above all. While He was on earth, He was still in the heavens (v. 13).
John 3:35 says, “The Father loves the Son and has given all into His hand.” The words the Father loves the Son are very important. This verse implies that apart from Christ or besides Christ, nothing pleases God. Nothing that is outside of Christ is pleasing to God the Father. The Father loves only one person, and that person is Christ.
When some hear that Christ is the unique One loved by the Father, they may point out that John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world. However, God’s love of the world is related to Christ. Apart from Christ, God does not love anyone or anything. Although God loves the world, if we did not have Christ, we would miss God’s love.
We need to put verses 16 and 35 together, and then we will see where we can enjoy the Father’s love. Only in Christ can we enjoy the love of God the Father. We need to be in Christ by believing into Him. If we are outside of Christ, we have nothing to do with God’s love. Yes, God so loves the world, but we will miss that love if we are not in Christ. We can meet the love of the Father only in Christ.
John 3:35 says not only that the Father loves the Son but also that the Father has given all things into the Son’s hand. The Father has given all things, including us, to Christ. The entire universe has been given to the Christ whom God the Father loves. He is the unique recipient of the Father’s love and gifts. This implies that if we are not in Christ, we will not receive any gifts from the Father. Christ is the unique object of the Father’s love and also the unique recipient of the gifts given by the Father. If we would enjoy God’s love, we need to be in Christ. Likewise, if we would participate in what God gives, we also need to be in Christ. Paul says that all things are ours and that we are Christ’s (1 Cor. 3:21-23). If we are not for Christ, nothing can be for us.
This One who is from above, who is above all, who is loved by the Father, and who has been given all things by the Father, has also been sent by God. Verse 34 says, “He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for He gives the Spirit not by measure.” Christ is God’s Ambassador. He was sent by God and from God.
The Lord Jesus was sent not only from God but also from with God. John 6:46 says, “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except Him who is from God, He has seen the Father.” The Greek preposition translated “from” in this verse, para, means “by the side of.” The meaning here is “from with.” The Lord is not only from God but also with God. While He is from God, He is still with God. Furthermore, when the Lord came as the One sent from with the Father, the Father came with Him.
According to 3:34, Christ as the One sent by God speaks the words of God. The Greek word translated “words” is rhema, which refers to the instant and present spoken word. It differs from logos, which refers to the constant word, as in John 1:1. In John 6:63 the Lord Jesus said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.” Here also the Greek word rhema is used. The Spirit is living and real but rather mysterious and intangible and difficult for us to comprehend. But the Lord’s words are substantial. First, the Lord indicated that for giving life, He would become the Spirit. Then He said that the words He speaks are spirit and life. This shows that His spoken words are the embodiment of the life-giving Spirit. He is now the life-giving Spirit in resurrection, and the Spirit is embodied in His words. When we receive His words by exercising our spirit, we receive the Spirit who is life.
The nature and essence of the Godhead is Spirit. John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit.” In this verse the word Spirit does not denote the person of God; rather, it denotes the essence or nature of God. As the essence of a chair is wood, so the essence of God is Spirit. The Spirit is God’s essence.
How is it possible for God’s essence to enter our being? This is possible through Christ as the One sent by God. As God’s sent One, Christ is the first and foremost Apostle. Concerning this, Hebrews 3:1 says, “Therefore, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus.” The Apostle is the One who was sent to us from God and with God. As the Apostle, Christ came to us with God to share God with us so that we may partake of His life and nature. Furthermore, as the Apostle, God’s sent One and Ambassador, Christ speaks the word of God. The word Christ speaks is the rhema, the word that is spirit and life.
Many of us can testify that when we handle the Word of God properly by exercising our spirit, the word that comes into us becomes spirit, and when it becomes spirit, it also becomes life. When the word is spoken, it is still the word. But after it comes into us, the word becomes spirit and life. Then as we speak out the word that has become spirit and life within us, it once again becomes the word. After such a word enters into someone else, it again becomes spirit and life. In this way God, who is Himself Spirit and life, is spoken into us. By this means God’s essence is spoken into our being.
The word of the Lord Jesus is actually the essence of God. Therefore, when this word enters our being, God’s essence comes into our being. This essence is the Spirit.
Have you ever heard that the Spirit is God’s essence and that this essence is conveyed through God’s spoken word? I am deeply saddened by the fact that many Christians do not know this. Actually, concerning the Spirit, there is much confusion among believers today.
In the Old Testament God spoke in diverse ways, in different ways, through the prophets. But in the New Testament God speaks through only one person, and that person is His Son. Regarding this, Hebrews 1:1-2a says, “God, having spoken of old in many portions and in many ways to the fathers in the prophets, has at the last of these days spoken to us in the Son.” All the New Testament ministers of the Word are part of God’s speaking in the Son. Paul’s speaking in his ministry, for example, was part of this speaking of God in His Son. Likewise, today we are speaking the word of God in the Son, for we are all in the Son. We are not speaking the word of God outside of the Son; rather, we are speaking the word of God in the Son.
In our speaking we desire to be one spirit with Christ, the Son of God. Often before I minister the Word, I pray, “Lord, be one spirit with me in my speaking. Lord, I want to practice being one spirit with You in the speaking of Your word.” If I do not have the assurance that I am one spirit with the Lord, I do not have any desire to speak.
To be one spirit with the Lord in our speaking of the word means that we are truly in the Son of God. All the genuine speakers of the divine word of the New Testament are part of God’s speaking in the Son. Today God the Father speaks in the Son, and the Son includes all the New Testament ministers of the Word.
What are we doing as we carry on the ministry of the Word? We are speaking God into people. We are speaking the divine essence into others. Many of us can testify that as a result of listening to the genuine ministry of the Word, we receive the essence of God. We hear the word and receive it. Then after the word has been received by us, it becomes spirit and life in us. The Spirit is actually the essence of God becoming the very life within us. Any message that we listen to that cannot become spirit and life in us is not a proper message. Such a message may be correct doctrinally or scripturally, but it does not convey the essence of God. The word in our ministry must be the very essence of our God.
The unlimited Christ is from above, He is above all, He is loved by the Father, He has been given all things by the Father, and He has been sent by God as God’s Apostle. Now we must see that this One speaks the word of God. He does not speak His own word or someone else’s word — He speaks only the word of God. This word is spirit and life as the essence of God Himself.
In our speaking we need to be one spirit with the Lord so that we can speak the essence of God into others. When we preach the gospel, we should preach the essence of God into sinners. When we give a message, we should impart the essence of God into the saints. Whenever we minister the Word, we should impart the essence of God into others. This means that in the ministry of the Word we are stewards serving the saints with the essence of God as their nourishment. As a waiter serves others with food, so those who minister the Word of God should serve the saints with the essence of God. The essence of God is conveyed to us through the word of God.
The all-inclusive, unlimited Christ is continually speaking the essence of God into us. For this reason, all the speaking in the meetings of the church should be the speaking of this One. This means that He speaks in our speaking. Only He has come from above and is above all. Only He is loved by the Father, has been given all by the Father, and has been sent by the Father to speak God into us. We today should not be separate from Him as we speak. Rather, we should be joined to Him as one spirit and speak with Him so that He speaks in our speaking. Today the Lord is still speaking. He does not speak any word other than the word, the rhema of God, which is spirit and life.
