The Supremacy of Christ

Today’s the day, if you would
take your Bibles and go back to the Gospel of John chapter
three. John chapter three. They say today’s the day we have
been out of the Gospel of John, I think for about a month, attending
to a number of different passages, and then as I mentioned, having
a guest in the pulpit last Lord’s Day. I was eager, as were some of
you, to return to this passage. Some time ago, actually even
just years after graduation from seminary, I was talking with
a group of pastors and we were talking about what passage we
would preach if we only had one sermon left to preach. If it
was the last sermon we were ever going to preach, whether the
Lord returned or the Lord took us, if we had one last sermon
to preach, what would we preach? produced a very fascinating discussion. You had guys all over the map
and tackling a variety of different passages. I don’t know exactly what passage
I would preach, but I can’t think of a better theme to preach than
the supremacy of Christ. And it’s just fascinating that
here in this passage, John the Baptist, who had already had
such a glorious ministry, a ministry given to him by God, the herald
of the Messiah, closes out his earthly ministry, and very definitively
here, closes it out with a sermon on the supremacy of Christ. It’s
an absolutely fascinating passage. I pray that the saints would
be blessed as we hear it. If you would, go back to chapter
three. We have wrapped up Jesus’ interaction
with Nicodemus. It has been rich, but now John
the Apostle turns the corner and he wants to take us into
the close of John the Baptist’s ministry, beginning in verse
22. Verse 22. After these things,
Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea. and there
he was spending time with them and baptizing. John was also
baptizing in Enon near Salem because there was much water
there and people were coming and were being baptized for John
had not yet been thrown into prison. Therefore, there arose
a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification. And they came to John and said
to him, Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan to whom
you have testified, behold, he is baptizing and all are coming
to him. John answered and said, a man
can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.
You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, I am not the Christ,
but I have been sent ahead of him He who has the bride is the
bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom
who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s
voice. So this joy of mine has been
made full. He must increase, but I must
decrease. He who comes from above is above
all. He who is of the earth is from
the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above
all. What he has seen and heard, of
that he testifies, and no one receives his testimony. He who
has received his testimony has set his seal to this, that God
is true. For he whom God has sent speaks
the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The
Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hands.
He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does
not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides
on him. John makes clear, John the Apostle,
makes clear that the discussion with Nicodemus has now ceased,
and he opens up with a very simple transitional phrase after these
things. after Jesus’ interaction with
Nicodemus, after those great and intense dialogues, not necessarily
immediately after, it just marks a point in time that followed. There’s nothing here to indicate
exactly when these things took place. We just know that it followed
Christ’s dialogue with Nicodemus. And it says that Jesus and his
disciples came into the land of Judea. And this is noteworthy
because if you remember Christ’s ministry, his public ministry
began in the temple and then proceeded from there out to Jerusalem,
then to Judea as is mentioned here and ultimately will go so
far but no further than Galilee. The other noteworthy thing here
is that Jesus not only came into the land of Judea but he was
spending time with them We would say that he was hanging out in
the modern parlance of the young people. He was with them. No
doubt, likely teaching, but the fascinating thing was that it
says he was baptizing. Now the gospel will go on to
tell us that Jesus himself wasn’t actually doing the baptizing,
but he was with them. And as we’ve already noted, John’s
practice of baptism was very different from our Christian
baptism. But what is this baptism of Jesus? John’s baptism was
that of preparation for the Messiah, and the Messiah’s baptism can’t
be too far from that. As one said, the baptism which
Jesus performed, those disciples did the actual baptizing, must
have been a type similar to John’s. It could not have been Christian
baptism in the full sense, for that was not instituted until
after the resurrection. And so Jesus is continuing the
practice of John the Baptist, in perpetuating this baptism
of repentance, a preparation for the Messiah, even though
John himself had already identified the Messiah. Now, the mode of
baptism that you and I know is instituted there in Matthew’s
Gospel at the very end. Go therefore, and make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to
the end of the age.” It was a different baptism that Jesus instituted
there. This is preparatory. This is
a baptism, if you will, of repentance That baptism, the Christian baptism,
is a baptism of testimony. It’s a testimony, an outward
testimony of what God had already done inwardly. Well, John the
Apostle notes that not only was Jesus baptizing, that’s the surprise,
but an even greater surprise is that John the Baptist is still
baptizing. John verse 23 was baptizing in
Enon or Salem and we don’t know exactly where this is, but one
of the fascinating things here is it says they were baptizing
there because there was much water. Now over the years, over
the years, especially those that believe in baptism by immersion
have taken this to mean because there was much water there, it
was deep enough that the individual could actually be immersed in
water. I don’t think there’s anything
that you can draw from that statement. In essence, it doesn’t hold water
to say that just because there was a lot of water there, that
means that they were baptizing by immersion. The best argument
for baptism by immersion is the nature of the word itself. We
looked at it in the context of Romans 6 the other night in our
Bible study. Romans 6 articulates not water
baptism, it articulates the fact that the believer, the new believer
is literally immersed into, placed into, submerged into, not water
there in Romans 6, but Christ. We are immersed into Christ.
The best argument for baptism by immersion is the word itself.
People were coming, it says, at the end of verse 23 being
baptized for John had not been thrown into prison. He alludes
to that episode recorded in the other gospels, the synoptic gospels,
where John the Baptist was eventually arrested, thrown in jail. Matthew
14 articulates just a little bit more detail. John just mentions
it in passing. Herod had him arrested because
John had preached against his own sins. This was one of the
original episodes of persecution. Herod had John arrested, bound
him, and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his
brother Philip. So here he is having this affair,
or at least taking his brother’s wife in marriage, and John the
Baptist confronted him. And he said, this is wrong. This
is unlawful for you to do this. Well, Herod reacts, arrests John
the Baptist. That’s what he’s alluding to.
And so this scene fits right in between, just before John’s
arrest. Go, if you will, to verse 25.
We are blitzing through these first five verses. That’s our
function with them today. Verse 25 says, there arose a
discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about purification. This discussion is identified
in three different ways. First of all, the discussion
erupted among the followers of John, John’s disciples. but it
was initiated by a Jew, someone who had not yet come to faith
in Christ, and then the particular nature of the discussion was
about purification in some sense. See, the Baptists, John the Baptist’s
disciples were rather bewildered, perhaps even frustrated, that
Jesus, who had John had pointed to as the one, the Messiah, was
now, in a sense, stealing John the Baptist’s ministry, undercutting
him, and just right down the street. And so, there develops this question. This Jew comes in and begins
to question John the Baptist’s followers and about the practice
of baptism and he was no doubt confused. I’m sure there were
many. Here’s how I suppose that this
went down. An unconverted Jewish man still
caught up in this Jewish idea of purification and frankly a
lot of professing believers get caught up in this same thing.
One of the first things that I ask a young person when they
tell me that they want to be baptized, I say, will baptism
make you more saved? Will baptism wash away your sins? You see, a lot of Christians
come to baptism with that mindset that, you know, I’ve placed my
faith in Christ, but I can’t wait to get baptized because
that’s going to, spiritually speaking, wash away my sin. No,
it doesn’t. It’s an opportunity to proclaim
Christ. And so he comes with this idea of Jewish purification. He’s already heard about John’s
baptism, which was very different. It was a baptism of repentance
to prepare the individual for the Messiah. And the man perhaps
knows about those two, but then he’s stuck trying to reconcile
why John is still baptizing, if he has already identified
the Messiah. And then, to compound things
all the more, Jesus himself and his own followers were baptizing. So watch what happens. Verse
26, they came to John, they said to him, Rabbi, he who is with
you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, he
is baptizing and all are coming to, you hear this bunch of whiners?
You hear them? Jesus just planted a church right
down the street from us. We were so happy. We were glad
to be your followers and things were going so well and we couldn’t
wait to see the Messiah. But now that he’s here, he’s
stealing our business. I mean, that’s their mentality. That somebody that John the Baptist
had worked so hard and so carefully to proclaim would do this to
a servant like John the Baptist. This is such a warped mentality. You talk about missing the point
entirely. They even use this hyperbole,
all are going to, well they hadn’t gone, so it isn’t everybody. You know what this is? This is
the story of the Baptist Church. Well, kind of. This is the story
of the First Baptist Church. Better yet, this is the story
of the First John the Baptist Church. And John cannot wait
to destroy it. John cannot wait to back away
from this idea, this club mentality, this sinful attitude toward the
very one that he came to proclaim, the Messiah. He wants to tell
them about the supremacy of Christ. What a great subject. Is there
any better? The supremacy of Christ? And in this passage, We’ll see
three clear declarations of the supremacy of Christ. Jesus Christ’s
supremacy is seen first and foremost in his contrast with the forerunner. His contrast with the forerunner.
Look, and John does this in a three-fold fashion. He not only gives us
three marks of Christ’s supremacy, but in this first one he gives
us three examples of this contrast. Look at the first, verse 27. His calling is greater. Jesus
Christ’s calling is greater than John the Baptist. How can John
the Baptist even hold a candle to who the Lord Jesus Christ
is? Look at verse 27. John answered and said, A man
can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.
You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, I am not the Christ,
but I have been set ahead of him. is so shocked by this, probably
heartbroken, that his own followers had missed the point so completely.
He can’t wait to correct them, and he does so by this general
truth. Look at this. Success, the size
of our following, all of that is given by God himself. Even
the calling that I have, says John the Baptist, the calling
to serve as Christ’s forerunner was given by God Himself. Will
I quibble with that? Should I go and take issue with
God Almighty and say, why wasn’t I made the Messiah? That’s essentially
what they’re suggesting. These gifts were God’s gifts. And John says, I am not supreme. I cannot accept this idea of
you trying to push me up the spiritual ladder as if I would
be supreme if we could only get enough followers to agree. I haven’t received it from God.
I haven’t received it from heaven. I didn’t deserve even the position
that I got. God gave it to me. John warns and he warns all of
us that we don’t aspire beyond our bounds. We long to serve
Christ. Paul said it simply when he said
to the Corinthians, what do you have that you did not receive?
It’s a great question for all of us to wrestle. Every opportunity
that we’re given is a gift from God. Every gift in service to
Christ is a gift from God himself. Every opportunity is a gift from
God himself. Every measure of that gift is
sovereignly distributed by God Himself. R.C. Sproul said here, Every
talent and ability that we have has been given to us from God.
We have our own vocations. Vocation from the Latin word
means to call. God has called each one of us
to the place where we are in this life. Sadly, we often slip
into jealousy, envy, backbiting, trying to advance our position
at others’ expense. When we do that, we despise the
gifts that God has distributed in His wisdom. John the Baptist
says, no way. If you’re going to try to draft
me into this position of pushing me up the ladder to be a Messiah
type figure, look elsewhere. A man can receive nothing unless
it has been given him from heaven. And then he goes on to remind
them how many times he had articulated, I am not the Christ. He does
it again. He calls them to remember, you
yourselves are my witnesses. You know that I’ve said this. I am not the Christ, but I have
been sent ahead of him. John had repeatedly said that.
John the Baptist, that was his great testimony, is that he was
not the Christ, but that he had come to bear witness of the Christ. One pastor said as John answered
his followers by explaining his own position in relation to Jesus
Christ, as far as John was concerned, there was no rivalry between
Jesus and as himself. John’s position as a prophet
of God was acknowledged by him as a gift from heaven. From the
very beginning, John had declared that he was just a voice, remember,
crying in the wilderness. He was the one that had come
as the forerunner for the Lord Jesus Christ. And so what John
does to begin with in this declaration of the supremacy of Christ, he
says, first and foremost, there is a contrast between me, this
lowly individual, the forerunner of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
the Messiah himself. It’s an incredible distinction.
But he says, not only is his calling greater than mine, that
God had a different purpose for me than he did for the Messiah,
Jesus, his status is greater. Look at verse 30. Pardon me,
check that. Look at verse 29. He who has
the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom
who stands and hears him rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s
voice. So this joy of mine has been
made full. Now what he says here is so utterly
obvious, you have to almost smile, that of course that’s the case.
We’ve all been to weddings, and it would not only be uncouth,
it would be utterly shocking. It would be beyond bad manners
that if the best man stepped in and started flirting at the
very minimum, If he started to flirt with the bride-to-be, he’d
be carried out, and he probably wouldn’t even be wiggling. He
who has the bride is the bridegroom. It’s patently obvious. That’s
the whole purpose of this occasion. It’s not so they could get together
and mingle. It’s so that the bride would
be given to the bridegroom. It’s a plain statement. But in
this particular passage, ultimately, this will go to point to the
entire company of believers that ultimately is going to be given
to the Lord Jesus Christ himself. The friend of the bridegroom,
John the Baptist, is facilitating that exchange. He’s facilitating
that transaction. And so what John does here is
just use a very common illustration from the Old Testament. Many
times in the Old Testament, this image of the bride being Israel
and God being the husband, Isaiah 45, pardon me, 54.5. Your husband is your maker, whose
name is the Lord of hosts, and your Redeemer is the Holy One
of Israel, who is called the God of all the earth. He uses
that same imagery. The husband, wife, the marriage,
if you will. Hosea 2.18 uses the same imagery
in that day. We’ll make a covenant with them.
with the beasts of the field, the birds of the sky, the creeping
things of the ground, and will abolish the bow, the sword, the
war from the land, will make them lie down in safety. I will
betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me
in righteousness and in justice, in loving kindness and compassion.
I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. Then you will know that I am
the Lord. God Himself used this language,
this imagery, that God Himself is the bridegroom and His people
are the bride. And that image, rather, is carried
forth into the New Testament. You know the passages. 2 Corinthians
11 says it, on one occasion, I am jealous for you with a godly
jealousy, for I betrothed you to one husband. so that to Christ
I might present you as a pure virgin. Well, that’s not the
only place that that imagery is used in the New Testament.
Remember Ephesians 5? Ephesians 5, Paul begins to talk
about the husband-wife relationship, but he comes with the illustration
beyond all others. And that’s why I say that the
highest The most precious institution in God’s eyes is not marriage. The most precious institution
in God’s eyes on the face of the earth is the local church.
It’s the church that God has set His love upon, and that’s
why He uses that as an illustration of the husband-wife relationship. The supreme place, the glorious
place, The place of supremacy belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ,
says John. He’s the bridegroom. I’m just
the best man. I have a function. And it’s a great and glorious
function. And I want to do it well. I want
to do it as unto Christ himself. But I’m not going to flirt with
the bride. I’m not going to try and stick myself between the
two of them. John was just the friend of the
bridegroom. And as such he was ready to assist
him. in all things. That was the function
of the bridegroom’s friend. Look at verse 29. He who has
the bride is the bridegroom, but the friend of the bridegroom
who stands and hears him. And now you have the picture
of the wedding actually in progress where the best man is positioned
right adjacent to the bridegroom. And he’s hearing the vows being
taken. And as he hears the bridegroom’s
voice uttering those glorious words, I do, and uttering his
vows, his own heart wells and rejoicing because his friend
is being blessed in this union. It’s a special friend. It’s a
special honor to be the best man in a wedding. in the particular culture in
which this took place, the friend of the bridegroom, the best man,
he was more than just a guy who would, you know, more than just
a stuffed suit. This was the guy. Now we can’t
imagine in our day and age having a man be the wedding planner,
but that’s essentially what he did. This guy had all the details. He organized all the details.
He kept everything running. He ran interference. He would receive the gifts. He
would wait, literally wait upon the bride and the groom. He did
everything that they needed. As one pastor said, in the East,
etiquette forbade any meetings between the bride and groom.
And that’s where you have this thing where, heaven forbid, the bride
can’t see the groom before the wedding. And so we gotta have
pictures that go on for three hours after the wedding. You’ve
been there, you went to that wedding. And so they didn’t see
each other. That was etiquette in that day.
They didn’t see each other until the very end. And all the communications
that went on between them went through the friend of the bridegroom,
the best man. You need something? You need me to talk to him? Hang
on, I’ll be right back. And off he would go. And so he would carefully bring
about the marriage details, the food. He would negotiate with
all the parties involved. He would oversee the ceremony,
the vow. And then he would stand right
next to the groomsman. He was that faithful friend,
like a watchman. When his friend uttered those
words, he rejoiced. What a beautiful image. The friend
of the bridegroom who stands and hears him, this devoted friend,
rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. You know
what John the Baptist says? I came to serve as the friend
of the bridegroom. And now I see that we’re all
the way, the wedding day is here. Christ has been identified and
He is ready to begin receiving His bride. And you people want
me to flirt with the bride? You want me to flirt with taking
the position that is only right with Him? I’m rejoicing. And it’s a familiar Hebrew expression
here. I’m rejoicing with joy. It was
a common way of saying, I’m elated at the fact that my very dear
friend, whom I am his best man, I’m elated at the fact that he
is uttering these words of commitment to his bride and she to him. As one said, for John, that was
an unspeakable privilege, a joy that was matchless and immeasurable.
He didn’t covet the bride, but he delighted to stand with the
bridegroom on the occasion of that wedding and watch the end
of verse 29. So this joy of mine has been
made full. It has been filled up and it
remains so. He would have his own followers
know that the growing popularity of Christ, the fact that Jesus
Christ was now baptizing and already beginning to gather in
his bride to himself was the very thing that he desired, the
very thing that he came for, the very function that he served. What we’re doing is looking at
the contrast that John is setting up with the Messiah. He can’t
hold a candle to the Messiah. His calling is greater. His status
is greater. He is the one who has been bestowed
this office. He is the one who is the bridegroom. Look at the third image that
John the Baptist uses. His origin and the increase.
Verse 30, He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes
from above is above all. He who is of the earth is from
the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above
all. What John says is my office,
this thing that I did, God-given calling for which I rejoice is
nothing in comparison with the Messiah himself. It’s a subordinate
office and it’s temporary. It’s almost over. John was ready
to clock out, right? See the function of a herald. had already been completed. He
had already identified Christ. Christ was already growing in
His renown. He was already growing in His
ministry. And the only proper thing. I mean, can you imagine going
back to the illustration of the bridegroom and the bride? Can
you imagine the bridegroom, you know, yielding the floor to his
best man? and saying, here, you need some
time. We need to recognize the best man. We need to, you know,
you need some accolades here. Once the wedding had been completed,
the best man begins to fade from the scene almost entirely. His
function is over. Jesus Christ was the preeminent
one. Jesus Christ was the bridegroom.
And for John, this increase would mean, ultimately, not only decline,
but imprisonment, and uncertainty, and ultimately, martyrdom. And
for John, that was the way it should be. This was my calling,
essentially, is what John says. This is what God gave me, and
I will accept it gladly. John, if you think of it, is
like the last star of the morning. You’ve seen that? Those of you
who’ve gotten up for sunrise? I’m bypassing the teenagers here. John is talking about the last
star of the morning. The sky has begun to lighten.
The sun has not yet crested the horizon. And as soon as it does,
that last star of the morning begins to fade ever so slightly.
And yet the sun just like the Lord Jesus Christ begins to grow
in his brightness, in his influence. He must increase, but I must
decrease. And it’s a must. As one commentator
said, the increase of Christ was not an option. Let’s see
how this works, John the Baptist says. Let me introduce to you
Jesus Christ. What do you think? It wasn’t
an option. It was an absolute necessity.
The increase of Christ must happen. John had his marching orders
from God. He was called to go before Christ,
and once he had announced Christ, then John was to go into the
background that Christ might emerge in the fullness of his
leadership as the appointed Messiah. It was Christ. He who comes from all is above
all. He was of the earth. is from the earth and he speaks
of the earth and he points to the fact which we’ve talked about
throughout this first three chapters. Jesus Christ came from the very
face-to-face relationship with God, communion with God. He was
above all. And he came and he is still above
all. And that’s why he says the words
that he speaks, they’re God’s words. over and over again in
John’s Gospel. He will make that point. John
8, 40. Me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from
God. John 15, 15. All things that
I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. John begins
to back away and say, look, this is the one. This is the one who
has come for that very purpose. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ. He
must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above
all. He who is of the earth.” Me, John the Baptist, little
old puny me, just a man, is from the earth and speaks of the earth. The only message I have is the
one that God gave me. But he who is from heaven is
above all. He is preeminent. But I said that there were three
indications here, three marks of Jesus Christ supremacy, that’s
just the first. In contrast with the forerunner,
there’s no comparison. Jesus Christ is preeminent. When
you look at John the Baptist, Jesus Christ is preeminent, but
John the Baptist is in the midst of arguably one of the greatest
sermons ever preached, and he goes to point two. Jesus Christ’s
supremacy is seen not only in his contrast with the forerunner,
he is seen in his divine testimony. This is what John had just alluded
to, but look at verse 32. What he has seen and heard of
that he testifies. And no one receives his testimony.
He who has received his testimony has set his seal to this, that
God is true for he whom God has sent. speaks the words of God,
for He gives the Spirit without measure.” We’ve considered from the first
three chapters that Jesus Christ was in pre-existence with God.
He had immediate knowledge of the things of heaven, the things
that God wanted Him to know and communicate. And those are precisely
what Jesus Christ comes to declare. And only Jesus Christ, as we
saw in that previous exchange with Nicodemus, only Jesus Christ
came from heaven. Only Jesus Christ has been in
a face-to-face relationship with Almighty God. Only Jesus Christ
has heard the things that He heard, and only Jesus Christ
has come down to tell a man and men that message. You can’t begin to compare the
Lord Jesus Christ with an earthly messenger. That’s what John says.
You can’t compare me to him. As one said, Christ is not like
mere human preachers who only declare what they have been taught
by the Holy Spirit and inspired to communicate as others. As
God, he declares with authority truths which he had seen and
heard and known from all eternity with the Father.” J.C. Ryle. What he has seen and heard of
that he testifies and no one receives his testimony. There
is hyperbole in that because there had been those who had
received his testimony, but by and large, the entire nation
to whom he had come did not. repent of their sins, did not
receive Him. But verse 33, look at the amazing
thing here. He who has received His testimony
has set His seal to this. And He stamps it down. He has
set His seal to this, that God is true. That little word was
used of sealing a document. A lot of people didn’t write.
back then, and so they would drip wax on a piece of paper
on an envelope. You’ve done it. You’ve had to
go get things notarized, giving verification, validity to the
document that you’re signing. That’s what he’s talking about
here. That when somebody places their faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, they put their stamp of approval on what God has said.
He’s right. God is absolutely right. Jesus
Christ’s message here is absolutely right. I believe it. I endorse it. I give it my full confirmation.
Yay and amen to what is said. One described it, the seal was
in ancient times as in modern attached to any document in confirmation
and attestation, John declares that whoever accepts heartily
the testimony of Jesus Christ becomes himself a confirmation
of its truth to others. Did you hear that? It doesn’t
even matter how skilled you are at evangelism if you have placed
your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and you articulate that. You have already put your mark
of approval on the very truth of God. You have attested that it’s true.
When a man accepts Jesus Christ’s testimony about life and salvation
and the gospel and God’s plan of redemption, he sets his seal
to the proposition that God is true. He’s right. I believe it. Matthew 5.14 says it this way,
you are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be
hidden. If you’ve placed your faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ, you can’t hide. You can’t hide your testimony. Your neighbor knows that you’re
a Christian. It is a testimony too and you
have set your stamp of approval on God’s truth. 2 Corinthians
3.2. You are our letter written in
our hearts, known and read by all men. Isn’t that a beautiful
image? To your neighbors, to your friends,
to your family members who do not know Christ, you are a letter
written by the very hand of God. And at the end of it, you set
your seal of approval. I believe it. I believe God is
true. Get this one. Most of you partake of communion.
Do you know that every time you partake of communion, it is a
testimony? It’s a testimony not only to
those who are here, but to those who are without. 1 Corinthians
11.26, as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. It’s a testimony. It’s an impressive attestation
that, you know what, I believe the truth. I believe that God
is true. Look at the passage if you would.
Verse 32, What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies.
No one receives his testimony. He who has received his testimony
has set his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God
has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit
without measure. You see what he says here? That
when Jesus Christ came, and it says that he speaks the words
of God, it’s not just that he came with a gospel. It’s not
just that he came with a message. It’s not just that he came with
a sermon on the mount. It’s the complete message of
God. He is the revelation of God himself. He is the revelation
of God’s great plan of redemption. As one said, other prophets from
ages past had brought segments of God’s truth, but their revelation
was only partial. This is because the Spirit’s
power which had come upon them to impart their message was granted
to them in measured amounts. But for Jesus Christ, it says,
John the Baptist declares that he gives the Spirit without measure.
God didn’t measure it out to him. God didn’t dole it out to
him. God wasn’t stingy when he sent
Christ and said, I’ll give you a little bit of the Spirit so
we can get you started. He poured it out on him. It was
the Father’s good pleasure, Colossians 119, for all the fullness to
dwell in him. It was in no small degree that
the Holy Spirit attended Christ’s ministry. It was the very truth
of God. It was attended by God’s own
Spirit. And now we begin to see, we begin
to see that John the Baptist, there’s no way that John the
Baptist would acquiesce to his crowd’s demands, this rabble
that was trying to push him up the spiritual ladder and take
a position that wasn’t his. He says that Jesus Christ is
supreme, not me. And he says that Jesus Christ’s
supremacy is clearly seen not only in His contrast with the
forerunner, not only in His divine testimony, but look at verse
35 and 36. Jesus Christ’s supremacy is seen
in His sovereignty and grace. The Father, verse 35, loves the
Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes
in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the
Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Sobering words, but words that were meant by John the Baptist
to extol the great truth that Jesus Christ is supreme. Jesus
Christ is absolutely sovereign. Over and over again in John’s
Gospel, we’ll see them, these statements reflecting what God
had given. John 6, 39 and 13, 13 and over
and over and over again, dozens of them. What God had given,
God gave to Christ everything. And here, essentially what He
says at the very start is just that. That He has given all things
into His hand. And when He says He’s given it
into His hand, He intimates there that all things now are at his
disposal. They are under his control. He
is absolutely sovereign over all things. And he’s given the son these
things to administer according to his own pleasure and rule.
One pastor said, the Father has given to the Son power over all
flesh to quicken whom He will, to justify, to sanctify, to keep,
to glorify His people, to judge, and at last, to take to Himself
a kingdom over all the world and to put down every enemy under
His feet. He’s supreme. The Lord Jesus Christ is absolutely
preeminent. Look at verse 36. What kinds
of things were given into His hands? Judgment, as we will see
in chapter 5. Life, chapter 5. Authority, chapter
17. Glory in His name. Commandments,
disciples. But look at here. In this particular
passage, it points to the very element of salvation. He who
believes in the Son of God has eternal life, and that is Christ
to give. But he who does not obey the
Son, and you think of the scores of people who think there are
multiple paths, multiple courses to heaven, that they don’t have
to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s okay if I believe
that He’s just a prophet. It’s okay that if I believe that
He’s related in some way, shape, or form to the devil himself.
It’s okay that I have a scurrious view of Christ. No, it isn’t. Paul said that God highly exalted
him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name so
that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow. And it will be
either a bowing in reverence and faith or it will be a bowing
the knee in an utterly shamed utterly
regretful fashion. Every knee will bow of those
who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth. Even eternal
life is the gift of Christ now. It is that principle that is
implanted in the individual, the gift of faith and salvation,
forgiveness in Christ. John the Baptist, he says, There’s
no way. There’s no way that I measure
up in any way, shape or form to compare with Christ. Christ
is absolutely preeminent. His contrast with the forerunner,
His divine testimony, His sovereignty and grace. Jesus Christ is preeminent. Thomas
Brooks, the Puritan, said it this way, The soul can crave
nothing, nor wish for anything but what is to be found in Christ. Just ponder that for a moment.
The soul can crave nothing, nor wish for anything but what can
be found in Christ. What you need most, what we need
supremely, what we need exclusively, more than anything in the whole
world, can only be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Brooks continues
and says, health is not more suitable to the sick man, nor
wealth to the poor man, nor bread to the hungry man, nor drink
to the thirsty man, nor clothes to the naked man, nor balm to
the wounded man, nor ease to the tormented man, nor health
to the diseased man, nor pardon to the condemned man, nor a guide
to the blind than Christ is suitable for all the necessities of man. Would you rejoice before him
if you are in Christ? Our merciful God, we humble ourselves
in your glorious presence. And for those of us who have
placed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we felt your drawing. We felt you bring us to repentance. We felt you revive us from the
sleep of death. And you showed to us Christ and
how could we not turn He was everything. He was supreme. We found Him to be preeminent
and we’ve never seen anything else from Him since. Oh Lord Jesus, we come before
you though on behalf of any in our midst who have not come to
Christ, who have not bent the knee in faith. One day they will. One day they will bow their knee,
whether it’s in faith or in shame. And so, Father, today we pray. If there is even a single individual
here who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ, would you so move
in their heart? Would you bring them to repentance
for their sin? There are no more or no less
sinful than the rest of us. All have sinned. and fall short
of the glory of God. Father, would you move in their
heart and not only convict them of their sin, but draw them to
the only hope for sinners. That is the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is absolutely preeminent. He is absolutely supreme. It’s
in Jesus Christ’s name that we pray. Amen. So we close, if you
would take your hymnals and turn to two. Oh, worship the king. And let’s stand as we close.