The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath. -John 3:31-36 NRSV
To believe in Jesus is to believe in his teaching - to accept what he said as truth. John says here that when we do this we certify that God is true. Yet many in John's day did not accept the words of Christ but chose to believe the teachings of the Jewish leaders. And some simply rejected his message because they refused to pick up their cross.
Interesting how the passage speaks of the Son giving the Spirit without measure. I love the idea that this measureless Spirit lives in all who simply accept Jesus and the words that he spoke. When one believes in the Son they receive the gift of an eternal Spirit - they are born from above and will transcend death because their new heart cannot die.
Praise you Lord Jesus Christ for giving us the Spirit without measure.
... this devotion is part of an ongoing series on the Gospel of John.
One of the great truths we live by. If only I could remember this when I don't "feel" full of the Spirit. Great Scriptures to ponder.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts Wanda. Makes me wonder how much our emotions and other things stifle or quench the flow of the Spirit in our lives.
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