What Do You Prefer Earthly or Heavenly Teaching? John 3:31-36

 31 The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34 For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Once again John is comparing and contrasting his ministry with the ministry and teaching of Jesus.  He is clearly asserting Jesus' divinity, as One who comes from above.  If you want to know about plumbing you talk to a plumber, if you want to know about having surgery, you talk to a doctor.  But if you want to know about God, you would want to hear from someone who comes directly from God.  That person is Jesus.  Jesus' teaching is greater than all because it is straight from heaven.  

Because Jesus is from heaven and has direct knowledge of God, He could testify to what He had seen and heard there. John prophetically announces that though Jesus testified to what he had seen and heard from heaven, his testimony was rejected by most people.  Since Jesus was directly bringing knowledge from God those who rejected him were in effect rejecting God.  

Contrary to previous prophets who spoke and were inspired by the Holy Spirit for their specific messages, everything Jesus said was inspired by the Holy Spirit which He possessed without limit.  We see the Holy Spirit connected with the preaching of the Word.  We see at Pentecost in Acts 2 that the Holy Spirit came upon the first apostles, and they were filled with and spoke the gospel by the same power of the Holy Spirit.  

John uses the personal language of the Trinity when he says, "The Father loves the Son".  Here we see the clear distinction of God the Father and God the Son.  Though the bible doesn't EXPLICITY teach the Trinity, one can certainly see here the Trinity at work.  The Father sends the Son to earth and gives Him the Spirit through whom He teaches all the things about God we need to hear.  

Once again John teaches the clear divinity of Jesus when he says, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life."  Given everything Jesus teaches is from God, it would make sense that to accept Jesus is to accept God.  But the One who rejects Jesus rejects God.  

This is true in life.  You may know the truth about something, but if you don't believe or accept it, you cannot be helped by it.  Like we may know toothpaste helps prevent cavities, but if we never use it, our teeth likely to decay.  When John uses the term "believe", he does not just mean intellectual assent, but believe with one's whole being.  

I love how the message puts it,

"That is why whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever! And that is also why the person who avoids and distrusts the Son is in the dark and doesn’t see life. All he experiences of God is darkness, and an angry darkness at that.”

There is no in between.  Either you believe in Jesus and who He says He is or you reject it, even by indifference of apathy.  Jesus is very clear about who He is, and who He isn't".  He hasn't left that up for debate.   

Why is Jesus' teaching different than anyone else's?  If Jesus' teaching is directly from heaven, do you think we should spend more or less time studying it?  How much time do you spend immersing yourself in Jesus' teaching as opposed to others you listen to or study? 


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